PM2.5 pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding WHO Interim Target-2 value (% of total) by country

What this measures

Percent of population exposed to ambient concentrations of PM2.5 that exceed the World Health Organization (WHO) Interim Target 2 (IT-2) is defined as the portion of a country’s population living in places where mean annual concentrations of PM2.5 are greater than 25 micrograms per cubic meter. The Air Quality Guideline (AQG) of 10 micrograms per cubic meter is recommended by the WHO as the lower end of the range of concentrations over which adverse health effects due to PM2.5 exposure have been observed.

Limitations: Pollutant concentrations are sensitive to local conditions, and even monitoring sites in the same city may register different levels. Direct monitoring of PM2.5 is still rare in most parts of the world, and measurement protocols and standards are not the same for all countries. These data should be considered only a general indication of air quality, intended to inform cross-country comparisons of the health risks due to particulate matter pollution. The guideline set by the World Health Organization (WHO) for PM2.5 is that annual mean concentrations should not exceed 10 micrograms per cubic meter, representing the lower range over which adverse health effects have been observed.

Each country's latest available year is shown; countries report on different schedules, so compare years before comparing values.

Ranking

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Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, EN.ATM.PM25.MC.T2.ZS, CC BY 4.0. Original source: Brauer, M. et al. 2017, for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. View on data.worldbank.org; the full definition is in the World Bank's metadata glossary.