List of countries by air pollution explained

The following list of countries by air pollution sorts the countries of the world according to their average measured concentration of particulate matter (PM2.5) in micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m³). The World Health Organization's recommended limit is 5 micrograms per cubic meter, although there are also various national guideline values, which are often much higher. Air pollution is among the biggest health problems of modern industrial society and is responsible for more than 10 percent of all deaths worldwide (nearly 4.5 million premature deaths in 2019), according to The Lancet. Air pollution can affect nearly every organ and system of the body, negatively affecting nature and humans alike. Air pollution is a particularly big problem in emerging and developing countries, where global environmental standards often cannot be met. The data in this list refers only to outdoor air quality and not indoor air quality, which caused an additional two million premature deaths in 2019.^[1]

2022 list (UChicago ACLI 2022)

All data are valid for the year 2022 and are taken from the Air Quality Life Index (ACLI) of the University of Chicago. In addition to particulate matter pollution, the modeled potential loss of life expectancy of the population due to particulate matter pollution is given.^[2]

Rank	Particulate matter (PM2.5) (in μg/m³) WHO-Guideline=5	Loss of life expectancy (years)
1	54.17	−4.82
2	41.39	−3.57
3	39.18	−3.35
4	39.16	−3.35
5	38.90	−3.32
6	34.20	−2.86
7	34.04	−2.85
8	33.37	−2.78
9	32.87	−2.73
10	32.58	−2.70
11	31.94	−2.64
12	32.42	−2.69
13	30.10	−2.46
14	29.63	−2.41
15	28.64	−2.32
16	28.18	−2.27
17	27.87	−2.24
18	27.81	−2.24
19	27.50	−2.20
20	27.43	−2.20
21	25.65	−2.02
22	25.48	−2.01
23	25.13	−1.97
24	25.02	−1.96
25	24.99	−1.96
26	24.52	−1.91
27	23.93	−1.86
28	23.58	−1.82
29	23.53	−1.82
30	23.26	−1.75
31	22.84	−0.91
32	22.82	−1.75
33	22.78	−1.74
34	22.75	−1.74
35	22.18	−1.68
36	21.77	−1.64
37	21.15	−1.58
38	21.10	−1.58
39	21.07	−1.57
40	20.82	−1.55
41	20.71	−1.54
42	19.70	−1.44
43	19.51	−1.42
44	19.17	−1.39
45	19.16	−1.39
46	19.13	−1.38
47	19.02	−1.37
48	18.86	−1.36
49	18.80	−1.35
50	18.64	−1.34
51	18.62	−1.33
52	18.60	−1.33
53	18.43	−1.32
54	18.32	−1.31
55	18.25	−1.30
56	18.17	−1.29
57	17.61	−1.24
58	17.31	−1.21
59	17.29	−1.20
60	17.08	−1.18
61	16.98	−1.17
62	16.95	−1.17
63	16.94	−1.17
64	16.94	−1.17
65	16.76	−1.15
66	16.47	−1.12
67	16.38	−1.12
68	16.23	−1.10
69	15.97	−1.08
70	15.97	−1.08
71	15.64	−1.04
72	15.64	−1.04
73	15.48	−1.03
74	15.09	−0.99
75	14.68	−0.95
76	14.62	−0.94
77	14.51	−0.93
78	14.49	−0.93
79	14.45	−0.93
80	14.43	−0.92
81	14.32	−0.91
82	14.15	−0.90
83	14.09	−0.89
84	13.99	−0.88
85	13.89	−0.87
86	13.73	−0.86
87	13.67	−0.85
88	13.65	−0.85
89	13.51	−0.83
90	13.44	−0.83
91	13.31	−0.81
92	13.23	−0.81
93	13.17	−0.80
94	13.11	−0.79
95	12.70	−0.75
96	12.63	−0.75
97	12.60	−0.74
98	12.56	−0.74
99	12.47	−0.73
100	12.44	−0.73
101	12.32	−0.72
102	12.14	−0.70
103	12.10	−0.70
104	12.09	−0.69
105	12.06	−0.69
106	12.01	−0.69
107	11.96	−0.68
108	11.93	−0.68
109	11.87	−0.67
110	11.49	−0.64
111	11.49	−0.64
112	11.27	−0.61
113	11.26	−0.61
114	11.10	−0.60
115	10.96	−0.58
116	10.82	−0.57
117	10.81	−0.57
118	10.56	−0.54
119	10.45	−0.53
120	10.38	−0.53
121	10.28	−0.52
122	10.18	−0.51
123	10.18	−0.51
124	9.92	−0.48
125	9.90	−0.48
126	9.89	−0.48
127	9.87	−0.48
128	9.84	−0.47
129	9.82	−0.47
130	9.70	−0.46
131	9.65	−0.46
132	9.53	−0.44
133	9.52	−0.44
134	9.39	−0.43
135	9.30	−0.42
136	9.08	−0.40
137	8.90	−0.38
138	8.89	−0.38
139	8.82	−0.37
140	8.73	−0.37
141	8.72	−0.36
142	8.66	−0.36
143	8.51	−0.34
144	8.49	−0.34
145	8.45	−0.34
146	8.28	−0.32
147	8.20	−0.31
148	8.15	−0.31
149	8.00	−0.29
150	8.00	−0.29
151	7.94	−0.29
152	7.86	−0.28
153	7.50	−0.24
154	7.30	−0.23
155	7.16	−0.21
156	7.15	−0.21
157	7.08	−0.20
158	7.06	−0.20
159	7.02	−0.20
160	6.99	−0.20
161	6.91	−0.19
162	6.86	−0.18
163	6.63	−0.16
164	6.34	−0.13
165	6.33	−0.13
166	6.14	−0.11
167	6.05	−0.10
168	6.04	−0.10
169	5.67	−0.07
170	5.67	−0.07
171	5.65	−0.06
172	5.61	−0.06
173	5.53	−0.05
174	5.41	−0.04
175	5.12	−0.01
176	4.96	0.00
177	4.88	0.00
178	4.86	0.00
179	4.84	0.00
180	4.37	0.00
181	3.90	0.00
182	3.70	0.00
183	3.69	0.00
184	3.51	0.00
185	3.40	0.00
186	3.36	0.00
187	3.23	0.00
188	3.11	0.00
189	2.90	0.00
190	2.80	0.00
191	2.74	0.00
192	2.72	0.00
193	2.61	0.00
194	2.60	0.00
195	2.40	0.00
196	2.40	0.00
197	2.34	0.00
198	2.21	0.00
199	2.19	0.00
200	2.18	0.00
201	2.15	0.00
202	2.02	0.00
203	2.00	0.00
204	1.98	0.00
205	1.79	0.00
206	1.75	0.00
207	1.69	0.00
208	1.56	0.00
209	1.52	0.00
210	1.40	0.00
211	1.40	0.00
212	1.19	0.00
213	1.18	0.00
214	1.13	0.00
215	1.11	0.00
216	1.02	0.00
217	0.94	0.00
218	0.90	0.00

List (2018−2023)

All data are valid for the year 2018-2023 and are taken from the IQAir 2023 World Air Quality Ranking^[3] ^[4] ^[5] ^[6]

List of Countries/Regions by particulate matter (PM2.5)
in (μg/m³)!Rank!Country/Region!2018!2019!2020!2021!2022!2023!Population
1	97.1	83.3	77.1	76.9	65.8	79.9	173,562,364
2	74.3	65.8	59	66.8	70.9	73.7	231,402,117
3	72.5	58.1	51.9	58.1	53.3	54.4	1,407,563,842
4	--	--	30.9	59.4	46	49	9,750,064
5	--	--	--	--	63	46.6	22,100,683
6	--	39.6	--	49.7	80.1	43.8	43,533,592
7	49.9	38.9	29.2	36	45.9	43	9,365,145
8	54.1	44.5	39.2	46	40.1	42.4	30,034,989
9	--	18	--	29.1	46.5	42.4	109,262,178
10	--	32.1	--	--	15.5	40.8	95,894,118
11	56	38.3	34	29.7	55.8	39.9	4,250,114
12	59.8	46.8	39.7	49.8	66.6	39.2	1,463,265
13	--	--	44.3	38.2	42.5	37.6	2,688,235
14	42	51.7	40.7	34.3	30.4	37.1	273,753,191
15	--	--	--	--	44	36.8	13,461,888
16	--	--	--	--	--	33.3	15,993,524
17	--	30.3	26.9	25.9	30.2	33.2	32,833,031
18	--	33.2	43.5	50.8	31.1	33.1	6,691,800
19	41.2	39.1	34.7	32.6	30.6	32.5	1,412,360,000
20	--	--	--	--	--	30.4	6,735,277
21	--	23.1	22.4	21.5	27.6	29.6	7,275,556
22	32.9	34.1	28	24.7	27.2	29.6	97,468,029
23	34.3	41.2	29.9	42.8	33.5	28.6	34,915,100
24	--	--	--	--	--	28.5	2,639,916
25	--	31	29.4	25.9	24.3	28.2	53,798,084
26	--	--	11.2	--	20.4	28.2	16,876,720
27	40	34.6	40.6	27.8	33.6	27.5	3,270,943
28	40.8	29.1	26.1	27.6	39.6	27.3	45,853,778
29	27.1	20.1	14.7	23.9	31.3	27	120,283,026
30	--	22.1	23.3	32.7	41.5	26.5	35,950,396
31	--	25.5	24.9	33.9	31.4	26.4	2,790,974
32	35.5	32.4	30.6	25.4	25.6	25.2	2,065,092
33	--	--	--	--	24.6	24.1	19,473,125
34	--	--	--	--	--	24	27,198,628
35	44.8	21.4	--	34	36.9	23.9	213,401,323
36	26.4	24.3	21.4	20.2	18.1	23.3	71,601,103
37	20.1	21.1	21.1	19.8	8.3	22.8	16,589,023
38	--	19.4	15.6	19.4	17.7	22.5	33,573,874
39	58.5	62	46.6	33.1	29.5	22.5	3,347,782
40	29.8	23.6	21.9	31.1	23	22.2	19,000,988
41	--	--	26.1	35.2	15.7	21.3	619,211
42	--	--	20	21	23.7	20.6	28,915,653
43	23.9	23.3	24.3	25.5	24.7	20.5	6,834,326
44	21.9	20.6	18.7	20	21.1	20.3	84,775,404
45	18.5	17.2	15	16.2	13.4	20.2	23,816,775
46	20.3	20	18.9	19.3	19.5	20.1	126,705,138
47	--	21.6	18	22.7	23.4	19.9	59,392,255
48	--	--	--	--	14.2	19.5	6,314,167
49	32	25.2	22.4	17.4	20.7	19.3	22,156,000
50	24	24.8	19.5	19.1	18.3	19.2	51,744,876
51	28	23.3	17.9	29.6	23.5	18.8	33,715,471
52	--	--	--	17.6	18.9	18.8	10,137,750
53	24.9	22.6	19.3	21.7	22.2	18.8	19,493,184
54	--	20.2	19.2	19.5	18.6	18.7	17,109,746
55	--	--	--	--	--	18.6	3,000,021
56	18.6	20.8	16.9	18.7	18.8	17.8	9,364,000
57	--	22.5	18.4	19	19	17.4	10,641,221
58	--	--	--	--	12.6	17.1	804,567
59	--	--	--	--	25	16.9	2,341,179
60	--	--	16	12.5	14.5	16.7	2,811,666
61	--	--	21.9	--	22.5	16.6	29,389,150
62	--	20.1	20.4	21	17	16.4	3,708,610
63	--	--	--	--	--	16.3	8,644,829
64	21.2	23.5	17.8	17	15.4	16.2	686,607
65	--	--	--	--	22.6	15.7	2,615,199
66	--	--	--	--	8.9	15.7	6,850,540
67	18.6	18.3	15.8	15.3	17.2	15.7	19,119,880
68	20.2	20.3	15.4	15.9	14.5	15.6	7,413,100
69	--	--	--	--	10.9	15.3	521,457
70	--	--	--	11.8	10.2	15.1	10,278,345
71	14.9	17.1	18.5	15.2	18.9	15	59,109,668
72	--	--	--	13.3	15.1	14.9	2,108,079
73	17.6	19.7	15.8	14.8	15.6	14.3	1,244,188
74	22.4	18.7	16.9	19.1	16.3	14.1	37,747,124
75	13.9	14.6	15.6	14.1	15.7	14.1	51,516,562
76	--	--	--	--	--	13.9	13,531,906
77	22.2	19.1	21.2	25.4	23.5	13.8	3,899,000
78	--	21.2	20.2	20	17.8	13.8	44,177,969
79	14.6	17.6	12.8	15.6	14.9	13.5	113,880,328
80	14.8	19	11.8	13.8	13.3	13.4	5,453,566
81	25.8	25.5	27.5	16.3	18.3	13.2	6,877,743
82	18.5	16.1	15.3	16	14.5	13.1	5,447,247
83	16.3	15.8	14.2	13.6	12.2	12.6	214,326,223
84	--	--	--	--	7.3	12.6	12,079,472
85	30.4	23.5	20	14.7	14.7	12.1	1,786,038
86	11	9.4	11.8	13.5	11.7	12	518,536
87	16.8	14.6	14.3	15.5	12.6	12	9,709,891
88	--	--	--	14.2	11.3	11.7	3,426,260
89	20.2	14.4	12.3	13.9	13.4	11.5	10,505,772
90	--	--	14.2	14.3	11.5	10.6	53,005,614
91	--	--	--	--	7	10.6	612,985
92	17.5	14.5	11.7	13.2	13.2	10.4	2,800,839
93	7.9	7.7	7.3	8.5	7.4	10.3	38,246,108
94	11.4	9.9	9.3	12.3	11.2	10	143,449,286
95	10.3	9.7	10.4	10.7	10.9	9.9	47,415,750
96	12	11.4	9.8	9.1	9.1	9.6	125,681,593
97	--	--	--	--	9	9.6	4,351,267
98	15	12.2	10.9	11.4	10.6	9.6	8,955,797
99	13.2	12.3	11.1	11.4	11.5	9.5	67,749,632
100	13.5	12.5	8.9	11.5	10.8	9.4	11,592,952
101	--	14.6	14.2	8.2	7.7	9.2	45,808,747
102	9.1	9	9.6	10.3	8.9	9.1	331,893,745
103	13	11	10.1	10.6	11	9	83,196,078
104	11.6	10.9	9	10.8	10	8.9	8,703,405
105	11.2	9.6	9	9	7.4	8.9	640,064
106	11.7	10.9	9.7	11.3	11	8.7	17,533,044
107	14	16.6	19.2	18.5	9.7	8.6	43,792,855
108	--	--	--	--	5.6	8.3	400,031
109	--	13.3	11.3	--	10.1	8	1,884,490
110	--	--	7.4	7.3	5.4	7.9	79,034
111	--	15.9	13	11	8.8	7.8	34,503,774
112	10.8	10.5	8.3	8.8	8.9	7.7	67,326,569
113	--	9.6	9.4	9.6	8.6	7.7	5,856,733
114	--	--	--	--	--	7.4	15,094
115	--	8.6	7.6	8.4	--	7.4	17,797,737
116	--	--	--	7.2	8.3	7.2	39,039
117	--	--	--	--	--	7.1	2,827,695
118	9.4	9.3	9.1	7.1	8.1	6.8	10,325,147
119	9.5	10.6	8.6	8	7.5	6.3	5,033,165
120	7.6	6.9	5.7	7.5	7	6.3	5,408,320
121	--	10.4	8.2	7.8	7.9	6.1	5,153,957
122	--	--	--	7.1	5.1	5.8	1,525,663
123	--	3.3	--	5.5	--	5.2	407,906
124	7.4	6.6	5	6.6	6.2	5.1	10,415,811
125	6.6	5.6	5	5.5	5	4.9	5,541,017
126	7.2	6.2	5.9	5.9	4.9	4.7	1,330,932
127	13.7	10.2	3.7	4.8	4.3	4.5	3,263,584
128	6.8	8	7.6	5.7	4.2	4.5	25,688,079
129	7.7	7.5	7	6.8	4.8	4.3	5,122,600
130	--	--	--	--	3	4.1	63,867
131	--	--	--	5.5	3.8	4.1	124,610
132	5	5.5	7.2	6.1	3.4	4	372,520
133	--	--	--	--	--	3.5	1,266,060
134	--	--	--	--	2.5	3.2	304,032

External links

IQAir World Air Quality Ranking

Notes and References

Ritchie . Hannah . Hannah Ritchie . Roser . Max . Max Roser . 2013-11-16 . Indoor Air Pollution . Our World in Data.
Web site: The Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) . 2023-03-08 . AQLI . en.
Web site: World's Most Polluted Countries in 2023 - PM2.5 Ranking | IQAir .
Web site: The Air Quality Life Index (AQLI) . 2023-03-08 . AQLI . en.
Web site: World's Most Polluted Countries in 2022 - PM2.5 Ranking IQAir . 2023-06-29 . www.iqair.com . en.
.Web site: Most Polluted Countries 2023 . 2023-06-29 . worldpopulationreview.com.