Central African Republic: Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (% change from 1990)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Central African Republic's nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (% change from 1990) rose 13.31 percentage points on 2023 (from -5.8% to 7.51%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.2 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 13.81 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.9 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 28.58 percentage points in 1998 and the biggest yearly fall was 28.14 percentage points in 2002. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 24% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2024, Central African Republic had the 139th highest value of the 203 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Central African Republic in the 2024 ranking

• New Zealand — 135th of 203: 12.41%
• Mauritius — 136th of 203: 8.04%
• Antigua and Barbuda — 137th of 203: 7.76%
• Venezuela, RB — 139th of 203: 7.18%
• Syrian Arab Republic — 140th of 203: 5.76%
• St. Vincent and the Grenadines — 141st of 203: 5.75%

What this measures

Change of emissions (as %) of current year with respect to emissions in baseline year 1990 emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O), one of the six Kyoto greenhouse gases (GHG), from the agriculture, energy, waste, and industrial sectors, excluding LULUCF.. The measure is standardized to carbon dioxide equivalent values using the Global Warming Potential (GWP) factors of IPCC's 5th Assessment Report (AR5). Negative values indicate that the emission level for that year is lower than the emissions level in 1990.

Limitations: Global GHG emissions are currently not directly measurable, but approaches for their estimation exist, and numerous sources exist to supply data for this indicator. Reputable scientific organizations produce these data for use for research, policy analysis, climate negotiations, and broader public communications. The estimated accuracy from fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes are quite high, as quantities of fossil fuels and other emissive materials (such as cement and steel) produced are well known. For these sectors, emissions estimates are roughly accurate to within 10% when aggregated to the global level and between 4% and 35% at the country level (Crippa et al., 2023).

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average using 1990 emission levels as weights.

All 34 values

Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (% change from 1990) in nearby economies

• Angola — 42.67% (2024)
• Benin — 171.71% (2024)
• Botswana — -21.81% (2024)
• Burkina Faso — 138.08% (2024)
• Burundi — 129.51% (2024)
• Cabo Verde — 55.98% (2024)
• Cameroon — 39.22% (2024)
• Chad — 726.54% (2024)
• Comoros

More environment data for Central African Republic

• Population in largest city — 1.02 million (2025)
• Population in the largest city (% of urban population) — 41.37% (2025)
• Rural population — 3.06 million (2025)
• Rural population (% of total population) — 55.45% (2025)
• Urban population — 2.46 million (2025)
• Urban population (% of total population) — 44.55% (2025)
• Aquaculture production (metric tons) — 410 (2024)
• Capture fisheries production (metric tons) — 29,000 (2024)
• Total fisheries production (metric tons) — 29,410 (2024)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Central African Republic's nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF (% change from 1990)?

7.51% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1991?

It is up 3.13 percentage points from 4.38% in 1991. The highest value was 23.03% in 2016 and the lowest -16.96% in 1997.

How does Central African Republic rank?

139th highest of 203 economies with data for 2024.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator EN.GHG.N2O.ZG.AR5, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research) Community GHG Database, Joint Research Centre (JRC) - European Commission, uri: https://edgar.jrc.ec.europa.eu/dataset_ghg2024, publisher: JRC European Commission, date published: 2024; EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Resear… Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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