Ghana: Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) (Mt CO2e)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Ghana's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) (Mt CO2e) fell 15.4% on 2023 (from 1.2 to 1.01).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +72% and a typical year strayed about 260.9% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations below 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 1,385.7% in 1998 and the biggest yearly fall was 94.7% in 1997. 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 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.09 a year. A straight line explains 58% of the movement over 10 observed years.

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

How it compares

In 2024, Ghana had the 79th highest value of the 190 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 Ghana in the 2024 ranking

• Cameroon — 76th of 190: 1.15
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 77th of 190: 1.13
• Mongolia — 78th of 190: 1.1
• Yemen, Rep. — 80th of 190: 0.99
• Tunisia — 81st of 190: 0.98
• Croatia — 82nd of 190: 0.88

What this measures

A measure of annual emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), one of the six Kyoto greenhouse gases (GHG), from fugitive emissions (subsector of the energy sector) including IPCC 2006 codes 1.A.1.bc Petroleum Refining - Manufacture of Solid Fuels and Other Energy Industries, 1.B.1 Solid Fuels, 1.B.2 Oil and Natural Gas, 5.B. The measure is standardized to carbon dioxide equivalent values using the Global Warming Potential (GWP) factors of IPCC's 5th Assessment Report (AR5).

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 sum.

All 55 values

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) (Mt CO2e) in nearby economies

• Angola — 4.89 (2024)
• Benin — 0.0052 (2024)
• Botswana — 0.02 (2024)
• Burkina Faso — 0 (2024)
• Burundi — 0 (2024)
• Cabo Verde — 0 (2024)
• Cameroon — 1.15 (2024)
• Central African Republic — 0 (2024)
• Chad

More environment data for Ghana

• Population in largest city — 4.04 million (2025)
• Population in the largest city (% of urban population) — 19.54% (2025)
• Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million — 6.82 million (2025)
• Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million (% of total population) — 19.46% (2025)
• Rural population — 14.4 million (2025)
• Rural population (% of total population) — 41.08% (2025)
• Urban population — 20.66 million (2025)
• Urban population (% of total population) — 58.92% (2025)
• Aquaculture production (metric tons) — 121,810 (2024)
• Capture fisheries production (metric tons)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Ghana's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) (Mt CO2e)?

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

How has it changed since 1970?

It is up 2,051% from 0.05 in 1970 (5.85% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 1.46 in 2021 and the lowest 0.0028 in 1997.

How does Ghana rank?

79th highest of 190 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) (Mt CO2e) unusual for Ghana?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator EN.GHG.CO2.FE.MT.CE.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; International Energy Agency (IEA), uri: https://edgar.j… 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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