A global ranking of the worst countries for air pollution, measured by the number of deaths per 100,000 people.

in Data / CC BY 4.0)
Air pollution is one of the world’s leading health and environmental problems and one of the world’s leading risk factors for death.
Typically, air pollution falls into two categories: indoor (or household) and outdoor air pollution.
Indoor air pollution is usually caused by burning solid fuels such as firewood, crop waste and dung for cooking and heating. This creates air pollution that causes respiratory diseases which often results in premature death.
Indoor air pollution is typically worse in poorer households.
Outdoor air pollution is typically worse in countries becoming industrialised and transitioning from low to middle incomes.
The ranking below is an aggregate of deaths from air pollution – both indoor and outdoor. The data and report are from Our World in Data.
10 best & worst countries for air pollution
Key findings from the analysis
- Air pollution is attributed to 5 million global deaths each year, representing 9% (nearly one-in-10) of all deaths globally.
- This ranges from 2% across high-income countries, to nearly 15% across many countries in South and East Asia.
- Globally, death rates from air pollution have been falling, mainly as a result of progress made with tackling indoor pollution.
- Death rates tend to be highest across Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
- Since 1990, the number of deaths per 100,000 people has nearly halved.
- 95% of the world’s population is exposed to concentrations of particulate matter which exceed the WHO recommended limit of 10 micrograms per cubic meter.
- Papua New Guinea has the highest death rate of 245.3 deaths per 100,000 people.
- Finland has the lowest death rate of 8.5.
- New Zealand is the highest-ranked country in Oceania in 2nd place, followed by Australia in 6th.
- Japan is the highest-ranked Asian country in 8th place.
- Canada is the highest-ranked country in the Americas in 5th place.
- Seychelles is the highest-ranked African nation in 71st place.
Worst countries for air pollution – complete ranking
The table ranks the world’s countries and territories by the number of deaths per 100,000 people.
Some countries have been omitted due to insufficient data.
Rank | Country | Death rate |
---|---|---|
1 | Finland | 8.50 |
2 | New Zealand | 8.60 |
3 | Sweden | 9.40 |
4 | Iceland | 9.90 |
5 | Canada | 10.70 |
6 | Australia | 10.80 |
7 | Norway | 10.90 |
8 | Japan | 11.40 |
9 | Switzerland | 11.70 |
10 | France | 11.80 |
11 | Spain | 14.50 |
12 | Ireland | 14.70 |
13 | Portugal | 15.50 |
14 | Andorra | 15.60 |
15 | Estonia | 15.70 |
16 | Luxembourg | 16.00 |
17 | Italy | 16.80 |
18 | Puerto Rico | 17.00 |
19 | Austria | 17.60 |
20 | Bermuda | 17.60 |
21 | UK | 17.80 |
22 | Netherlands | 18.60 |
23 | USA | 18.80 |
24 | Belgium | 19.10 |
25 | Denmark | 19.30 |
26 | Slovenia | 19.70 |
27 | Germany | 19.80 |
28 | Singapore | 20.00 |
29 | Brunei | 20.30 |
30 | Uruguay | 20.40 |
31 | Costa Rica | 21.20 |
32 | Israel | 21.30 |
33 | Panama | 21.30 |
34 | Maldives | 21.40 |
35 | South Korea | 21.70 |
36 | Colombia | 22.10 |
37 | Malta | 23.60 |
38 | Chile | 24.30 |
39 | Greece | 25.70 |
40 | Cyprus | 26.00 |
41 | Ecuador | 27.10 |
42 | Peru | 30.10 |
43 | Czech Rep. | 30.20 |
44 | Brazil | 30.30 |
45 | Argentina | 31.10 |
46 | Bahamas | 32.20 |
47 | Antigua & Barbuda | 32.40 |
48 | Cuba | 32.50 |
49 | Greenland | 32.70 |
50 | Taiwan | 32.70 |
51 | Thailand | 32.80 |
52 | Lithuania | 33.20 |
53 | Nicaragua | 33.40 |
54 | Croatia | 33.60 |
55 | Latvia | 34.30 |
56 | Poland | 34.30 |
57 | Venezuela | 34.70 |
58 | Kuwait | 34.80 |
59 | Barbados | 35.10 |
60 | Slovakia | 35.40 |
61 | Dominican Rep. | 37.00 |
62 | Dominica | 37.70 |
63 | Sri Lanka | 38.50 |
64 | Hungary | 39.20 |
65 | Saint Lucia | 39.20 |
66 | Jordan | 39.40 |
67 | Romania | 40.40 |
68 | Albania | 40.50 |
69 | Jamaica | 41.90 |
70 | Paraguay | 42.00 |
71 | Seychelles | 42.30 |
72 | Iraq | 42.70 |
73 | Russia | 42.70 |
74 | Algeria | 43.70 |
75 | Belize | 44.20 |
76 | Guam | 44.20 |
77 | Mexico | 44.40 |
78 | El Salvador | 45.90 |
79 | Iran | 46.20 |
80 | Caribbean | 46.40 |
81 | Turkey | 46.80 |
82 | Montenegro | 47.50 |
83 | Mauritius | 48.70 |
84 | Saint Vincent & Gren. | 48.70 |
85 | Suriname | 48.70 |
86 | Grenada | 49.20 |
87 | Lebanon | 49.80 |
88 | Moldova | 49.90 |
89 | Macedonia | 50.00 |
90 | Malaysia | 50.40 |
91 | Belarus | 50.70 |
92 | Cape Verde | 50.80 |
93 | Bulgaria | 51.40 |
94 | Honduras | 51.40 |
95 | Tunisia | 51.60 |
96 | Trinidad & Tobago | 51.80 |
97 | Kazakhstan | 52.10 |
98 | Palestine | 52.60 |
99 | Oman | 53.70 |
100 | Bolivia | 53.90 |
101 | South Africa | 57.90 |
102 | Bosnia & Herz. | 58.10 |
103 | Vietnam | 60.30 |
104 | Qatar | 61.80 |
105 | Serbia | 62.60 |
106 | Bahrain | 62.90 |
107 | Guyana | 63.10 |
108 | Ukraine | 63.90 |
109 | Saudi Arabia | 64.10 |
110 | Syria | 64.20 |
111 | Armenia | 64.80 |
112 | Guatemala | 66.00 |
113 | Indonesia | 66.20 |
114 | Morocco | 67.30 |
115 | Turkmenistan | 67.30 |
116 | Botswana | 69.80 |
117 | Kyrgyzstan | 70.20 |
118 | Georgia | 70.50 |
119 | Tonga | 70.70 |
120 | Gabon | 72.10 |
121 | China | 72.70 |
122 | Libya | 72.80 |
123 | Bhutan | 73.10 |
124 | Namibia | 75.60 |
125 | Samoa | 76.80 |
126 | UAE | 77.80 |
127 | Equatorial Guinea | 78.40 |
128 | Azerbaijan | 80.20 |
129 | Djibouti | 80.70 |
130 | Nigeria | 81.20 |
131 | Mongolia | 81.60 |
132 | Mauritania | 83.80 |
133 | Ethiopia | 88.80 |
134 | Micronesia | 90.20 |
135 | Kenya | 90.30 |
136 | Marshall Islands | 93.00 |
137 | Uganda | 93.70 |
138 | Comoros | 94.00 |
139 | Tajikistan | 94.30 |
140 | Angola | 95.20 |
141 | Sudan | 95.70 |
142 | Tanzania | 96.50 |
143 | Yemen | 96.50 |
144 | Rwanda | 97.10 |
145 | Timor | 97.70 |
146 | Zambia | 98.90 |
147 | Fiji | 100.60 |
148 | Malawi | 104.90 |
149 | Uzbekistan | 105.10 |
150 | Ghana | 105.40 |
151 | Senegal | 106.10 |
152 | Swaziland | 106.30 |
153 | Philippines | 106.90 |
154 | Mali | 107.10 |
155 | Cambodia | 108.00 |
156 | Bangladesh | 108.50 |
157 | Sao Tome & Principe | 110.10 |
158 | Congo | 113.00 |
159 | Benin | 113.20 |
160 | Liberia | 113.20 |
161 | Egypt | 113.40 |
162 | Cameroon | 114.00 |
163 | Togo | 115.20 |
164 | Myanmar | 118.10 |
165 | Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) | 118.80 |
166 | Laos | 119.70 |
167 | Haiti | 121.40 |
168 | Pakistan | 123.20 |
169 | Zimbabwe | 125.00 |
170 | Mozambique | 125.90 |
171 | India | 132.00 |
172 | Eritrea | 132.70 |
173 | Burkina Faso | 133.20 |
174 | Nepal | 133.30 |
175 | Gambia | 134.40 |
176 | Niger | 138.50 |
177 | Vanuatu | 139.70 |
178 | North Korea | 140.40 |
179 | DR Congo | 142.70 |
180 | Burundi | 142.80 |
181 | Sierra Leone | 149.60 |
182 | Lesotho | 152.00 |
183 | Kiribati | 153.70 |
184 | Madagascar | 155.10 |
185 | South Sudan | 156.20 |
186 | Chad | 159.10 |
187 | Guinea | 160.50 |
188 | Guinea-Bissau | 161.80 |
189 | Somalia | 165.80 |
190 | Afghanistan | 183.90 |
191 | Solomon Islands | 187.30 |
192 | Central African Rep. | 199.70 |
193 | Papua New Guinea | 245.30 |
Source: Our World in Data