Chalkboard

Climate Vulnerability vs Emissions

A country-by-country look at one of climate politics’ central mismatches: the places under the most climate stress are often not the places emitting the most per person.

Built from the ND-GAIN Country Index and a country-year CO₂ emissions series.

Updated through 2023 ND-GAIN · What this shows ·

Climate vulnerability vs emissions per capita, 2023

Circle size shows each country’s annual CO₂ emissions in the selected year. X-axis uses log scale. Higher means more vulnerability. Farther right means more emissions.

In 2023, 187 countries have comparable values for CO₂ emissions per capita and overall climate vulnerability.

Data table

Open data table Showing 187 countries · 2023 · Overall climate vulnerability vs CO₂ emissions per capita

187 rows shown. Sorted by CO₂ emissions per capita (tCO₂/person) (descending).

Countries with comparable values in 2023 for CO₂ emissions per capita and Overall climate vulnerability
	ISO3				Income group	Region
Qatar More ISO3 QAT Income group High income Region Asia	QAT	40.13	0.351	119.5 MtCO₂	High income	Asia
Brunei Darussalam More ISO3 BRN Income group High income Region Asia	BRN	27.24	0.404	12.5 MtCO₂	High income	Asia
Kuwait More ISO3 KWT Income group High income Region Asia	KWT	25.45	0.362	123.2 MtCO₂	High income	Asia
Bahrain More ISO3 BHR Income group High income Region Asia	BHR	24.71	0.436	38.8 MtCO₂	High income	Asia
Trinidad and Tobago More ISO3 TTO Income group High income Region Latin America & Caribbean	TTO	23.64	0.371	35.5 MtCO₂	High income	Latin America & Caribbean
Saudi Arabia More ISO3 SAU Income group High income Region Asia	SAU	20.37	0.408	677.4 MtCO₂	High income	Asia
United Arab Emirates More ISO3 ARE Income group High income Region Asia	ARE	19.77	0.383	210.4 MtCO₂	High income	Asia
Oman More ISO3 OMN Income group High income Region Asia	OMN	15.81	0.420	79.8 MtCO₂	High income	Asia
Australia More ISO3 AUS Income group High income Region Oceania	AUS	14.53	0.316	384.3 MtCO₂	High income	Oceania
United States More ISO3 USA Income group High income Region North America	USA	14.32	0.312	4.9 GtCO₂	High income	North America
Kazakhstan More ISO3 KAZ Income group Upper middle income Region Asia	KAZ	14.08	0.316	286.2 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Asia
Canada More ISO3 CAN Income group High income Region North America	CAN	13.88	0.282	545.5 MtCO₂	High income	North America
Turkmenistan More ISO3 TKM Income group Upper middle income Region Asia	TKM	12.96	0.372	95.4 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Asia
Mongolia More ISO3 MNG Income group Upper middle income Region Asia	MNG	12.87	0.365	44.2 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Asia
Palau More ISO3 PLW Income group High income Region Oceania	PLW	12.18	0.513	0.2 MtCO₂	High income	Oceania
Russia More ISO3 RUS Income group High income Region Europe	RUS	11.92	0.324	1.7 GtCO₂	High income	Europe
South Korea More ISO3 KOR Income group High income Region Asia	KOR	11.39	0.357	589.2 MtCO₂	High income	Asia
Luxembourg More ISO3 LUX Income group High income Region Europe	LUX	10.29	0.311	6.8 MtCO₂	High income	Europe
Iceland More ISO3 ISL Income group High income Region Europe	ISL	9.05	0.322	3.5 MtCO₂	High income	Europe
Singapore More ISO3 SGP Income group High income Region Asia	SGP	8.82	0.389	51.1 MtCO₂	High income	Asia
Libya More ISO3 LBY Income group Upper middle income Region Africa	LBY	8.79	0.416	64.2 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Africa
Iran More ISO3 IRN Income group Upper middle income Region Asia	IRN	8.72	0.376	789.7 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Asia
China More ISO3 CHN Income group Upper middle income Region Asia	CHN	8.56	0.382	12.2 GtCO₂	Upper middle income	Asia
Japan More ISO3 JPN Income group High income Region Asia	JPN	7.94	0.369	986.9 MtCO₂	High income	Asia
Malaysia More ISO3 MYS Income group Upper middle income Region Asia	MYS	7.87	0.367	276.3 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Asia
Czechia More ISO3 CZE Income group High income Region Europe	CZE	7.70	0.264	83.2 MtCO₂	High income	Europe
Bahamas More ISO3 BHS Income group High income Region Latin America & Caribbean	BHS	7.40	0.458	3.0 MtCO₂	High income	Latin America & Caribbean
Poland More ISO3 POL Income group High income Region Europe	POL	7.31	0.306	283.2 MtCO₂	High income	Europe
Belgium More ISO3 BEL Income group High income Region Europe	BEL	7.23	0.335	84.7 MtCO₂	High income	Europe
Norway More ISO3 NOR Income group High income Region Europe	NOR	7.04	0.256	38.9 MtCO₂	High income	Europe
Germany More ISO3 DEU Income group High income Region Europe	DEU	7.02	0.301	593.8 MtCO₂	High income	Europe
South Africa More ISO3 ZAF Income group Upper middle income Region Africa	ZAF	6.91	0.395	436.6 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Africa
Antigua and Barbuda More ISO3 ATG Income group High income Region Latin America & Caribbean	ATG	6.86	0.468	0.6 MtCO₂	High income	Latin America & Caribbean
Netherlands More ISO3 NLD Income group High income Region Europe	NLD	6.47	0.354	117.0 MtCO₂	High income	Europe
Ireland More ISO3 IRL Income group High income Region Europe	IRL	6.46	0.316	33.6 MtCO₂	High income	Europe
Estonia More ISO3 EST Income group High income Region Europe	EST	6.40	0.334	8.7 MtCO₂	High income	Europe
Serbia More ISO3 SRB Income group Upper middle income Region Europe	SRB	6.34	0.422	42.9 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Europe
Bosnia and Herzegovina More ISO3 BIH Income group Upper middle income Region Europe	BIH	6.24	0.347	19.9 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Europe
Austria More ISO3 AUT Income group High income Region Europe	AUT	6.23	0.295	56.9 MtCO₂	High income	Europe
Belarus More ISO3 BLR Income group Upper middle income Region Europe	BLR	6.11	0.323	55.7 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Europe
New Zealand More ISO3 NZL Income group High income Region Oceania	NZL	6.10	0.304	31.6 MtCO₂	High income	Oceania
Israel More ISO3 ISR Income group High income Region Asia	ISR	5.98	0.289	55.4 MtCO₂	High income	Asia
Finland More ISO3 FIN Income group High income Region Europe	FIN	5.68	0.280	31.8 MtCO₂	High income	Europe
Slovenia More ISO3 SVN Income group High income Region Europe	SVN	5.67	0.314	12.0 MtCO₂	High income	Europe
Türkiye More ISO3 TUR Income group Upper middle income Region Asia	TUR	5.58	0.375	486.9 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Asia
Slovakia More ISO3 SVK Income group High income Region Europe	SVK	5.58	0.360	30.8 MtCO₂	High income	Europe
Cyprus More ISO3 CYP Income group High income Region Asia	CYP	5.34	0.359	7.2 MtCO₂	High income	Asia
Guyana More ISO3 GUY Income group High income Region Latin America & Caribbean	GUY	5.30	0.430	4.4 MtCO₂	High income	Latin America & Caribbean
Italy More ISO3 ITA Income group High income Region Europe	ITA	5.25	0.342	312.3 MtCO₂	High income	Europe
Bulgaria More ISO3 BGR Income group High income Region Europe	BGR	5.08	0.354	34.5 MtCO₂	High income	Europe
Greece More ISO3 GRC Income group High income Region Europe	GRC	5.08	0.337	52.0 MtCO₂	High income	Europe
Iraq More ISO3 IRQ Income group Upper middle income Region Asia	IRQ	5.06	0.436	227.9 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Asia
Seychelles More ISO3 SYC Income group High income Region Africa	SYC	5.01	0.444	0.6 MtCO₂	High income	Africa
Nauru More ISO3 NRU Income group High income Region Oceania	NRU	4.93	0.509	0.1 MtCO₂	High income	Oceania
Denmark More ISO3 DNK Income group High income Region Europe	DNK	4.85	0.347	28.8 MtCO₂	High income	Europe
Croatia More ISO3 HRV Income group High income Region Europe	HRV	4.74	0.380	18.5 MtCO₂	High income	Europe
Barbados More ISO3 BRB Income group High income Region Latin America & Caribbean	BRB	4.66	0.371	1.3 MtCO₂	High income	Latin America & Caribbean
Suriname More ISO3 SUR Income group Upper middle income Region Latin America & Caribbean	SUR	4.56	0.404	2.9 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Latin America & Caribbean
Spain More ISO3 ESP Income group High income Region Europe	ESP	4.50	0.305	215.5 MtCO₂	High income	Europe
United Kingdom More ISO3 GBR Income group High income Region Europe	GBR	4.48	0.288	307.8 MtCO₂	High income	Europe
Algeria More ISO3 DZA Income group Upper middle income Region Africa	DZA	4.39	0.367	202.8 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Africa
Lithuania More ISO3 LTU Income group High income Region Europe	LTU	4.38	0.360	12.5 MtCO₂	High income	Europe
Venezuela More ISO3 VEN Income group Not classified Region Latin America & Caribbean	VEN	4.23	0.373	119.6 MtCO₂	Not classified	Latin America & Caribbean
Maldives More ISO3 MDV Income group Upper middle income Region Asia	MDV	4.19	0.550	2.2 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Asia
Hungary More ISO3 HUN Income group High income Region Europe	HUN	4.17	0.353	40.3 MtCO₂	High income	Europe
Azerbaijan More ISO3 AZE Income group Upper middle income Region Asia	AZE	4.14	0.404	42.7 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Asia
France More ISO3 FRA Income group High income Region Europe	FRA	4.07	0.304	270.3 MtCO₂	High income	Europe
North Macedonia More ISO3 MKD Income group Upper middle income Region Europe	MKD	4.01	0.372	7.3 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Europe
Chile More ISO3 CHL Income group High income Region Latin America & Caribbean	CHL	3.95	0.332	77.6 MtCO₂	High income	Latin America & Caribbean
Argentina More ISO3 ARG Income group Upper middle income Region Latin America & Caribbean	ARG	3.92	0.383	178.4 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Latin America & Caribbean
Marshall Islands More ISO3 MHL Income group Upper middle income Region Oceania	MHL	3.80	0.590	0.1 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Oceania
Montenegro More ISO3 MNE Income group Upper middle income Region Europe	MNE	3.80	0.363	2.4 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Europe
Equatorial Guinea More ISO3 GNQ Income group Upper middle income Region Africa	GNQ	3.74	0.410	6.9 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Africa
Thailand More ISO3 THA Income group Upper middle income Region Asia	THA	3.69	0.435	264.7 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Asia
Ukraine More ISO3 UKR Income group Upper middle income Region Europe	UKR	3.69	0.365	139.3 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Europe
Portugal More ISO3 PRT Income group High income Region Europe	PRT	3.61	0.318	37.6 MtCO₂	High income	Europe
Switzerland More ISO3 CHE Income group High income Region Europe	CHE	3.61	0.251	32.0 MtCO₂	High income	Europe
Mauritius More ISO3 MUS Income group Upper middle income Region Africa	MUS	3.60	0.412	4.6 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Africa
Romania More ISO3 ROU Income group High income Region Europe	ROU	3.55	0.412	67.9 MtCO₂	High income	Europe
Mexico More ISO3 MEX Income group Upper middle income Region Latin America & Caribbean	MEX	3.53	0.387	458.3 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Latin America & Caribbean
Latvia More ISO3 LVA Income group High income Region Europe	LVA	3.50	0.360	6.6 MtCO₂	High income	Europe
Sweden More ISO3 SWE Income group High income Region Europe	SWE	3.48	0.317	36.7 MtCO₂	High income	Europe
Vietnam More ISO3 VNM Income group Lower middle income Region Asia	VNM	3.46	0.468	347.4 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Asia
Uzbekistan More ISO3 UZB Income group Lower middle income Region Asia	UZB	3.45	0.359	122.9 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Asia
Malta More ISO3 MLT Income group High income Region Europe	MLT	3.32	0.320	1.8 MtCO₂	High income	Europe
Laos More ISO3 LAO Income group Lower middle income Region Asia	LAO	3.15	0.486	24.2 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Asia
Georgia More ISO3 GEO Income group Upper middle income Region Asia	GEO	3.13	0.394	11.9 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Asia
Grenada More ISO3 GRD Income group Upper middle income Region Latin America & Caribbean	GRD	3.10	0.383	0.4 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Latin America & Caribbean
Botswana More ISO3 BWA Income group Upper middle income Region Africa	BWA	2.92	0.432	7.2 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Africa
Panama More ISO3 PAN Income group High income Region Latin America & Caribbean	PAN	2.92	0.406	13.0 MtCO₂	High income	Latin America & Caribbean
Saint Lucia More ISO3 LCA Income group Upper middle income Region Latin America & Caribbean	LCA	2.88	0.375	0.5 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Latin America & Caribbean
Jamaica More ISO3 JAM Income group Upper middle income Region Latin America & Caribbean	JAM	2.84	0.422	8.1 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Latin America & Caribbean
Dominican Republic More ISO3 DOM Income group Upper middle income Region Latin America & Caribbean	DOM	2.81	0.433	31.8 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Latin America & Caribbean
Indonesia More ISO3 IDN Income group Upper middle income Region Asia	IDN	2.71	0.430	762.4 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Asia
Lebanon More ISO3 LBN Income group Lower middle income Region Asia	LBN	2.70	0.399	15.6 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Asia
Tunisia More ISO3 TUN Income group Lower middle income Region Africa	TUN	2.60	0.379	31.7 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Africa
Armenia More ISO3 ARM Income group Upper middle income Region Asia	ARM	2.52	0.357	7.4 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Asia
Ecuador More ISO3 ECU Income group Upper middle income Region Latin America & Caribbean	ECU	2.48	0.461	44.6 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Latin America & Caribbean
Dominica More ISO3 DMA Income group Upper middle income Region Latin America & Caribbean	DMA	2.47	0.439	0.2 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Latin America & Caribbean
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines More ISO3 VCT Income group Upper middle income Region Latin America & Caribbean	VCT	2.43	0.431	0.2 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Latin America & Caribbean
North Korea More ISO3 PRK Income group Low income Region Asia	PRK	2.35	0.460	62.0 MtCO₂	Low income	Asia
Brazil More ISO3 BRA Income group Upper middle income Region Latin America & Caribbean	BRA	2.29	0.369	484.0 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Latin America & Caribbean
Uruguay More ISO3 URY Income group High income Region Latin America & Caribbean	URY	2.25	0.375	7.6 MtCO₂	High income	Latin America & Caribbean
Egypt More ISO3 EGY Income group Lower middle income Region Africa	EGY	2.19	0.411	250.2 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Africa
Gabon More ISO3 GAB Income group Upper middle income Region Africa	GAB	2.14	0.436	5.3 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Africa
Cuba More ISO3 CUB Income group Upper middle income Region Latin America & Caribbean	CUB	2.13	0.441	23.5 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Latin America & Caribbean
India More ISO3 IND Income group Lower middle income Region Asia	IND	2.13	0.485	3.1 GtCO₂	Lower middle income	Asia
Bhutan More ISO3 BTN Income group Lower middle income Region Asia	BTN	2.07	0.515	1.6 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Asia
Jordan More ISO3 JOR Income group Lower middle income Region Asia	JOR	2.02	0.366	23.1 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Asia
Bolivia More ISO3 BOL Income group Lower middle income Region Latin America & Caribbean	BOL	2.01	0.451	24.6 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Latin America & Caribbean
Peru More ISO3 PER Income group Upper middle income Region Latin America & Caribbean	PER	1.95	0.409	66.1 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Latin America & Caribbean
Belize More ISO3 BLZ Income group Upper middle income Region Latin America & Caribbean	BLZ	1.86	0.467	0.8 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Latin America & Caribbean
Morocco More ISO3 MAR Income group Lower middle income Region Africa	MAR	1.83	0.368	69.0 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Africa
Moldova More ISO3 MDA Income group Upper middle income Region Europe	MDA	1.74	0.394	5.3 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Europe
Colombia More ISO3 COL Income group Upper middle income Region Latin America & Caribbean	COL	1.72	0.405	90.0 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Latin America & Caribbean
Costa Rica More ISO3 CRI Income group High income Region Latin America & Caribbean	CRI	1.66	0.376	8.5 MtCO₂	High income	Latin America & Caribbean
Kyrgyzstan More ISO3 KGZ Income group Lower middle income Region Asia	KGZ	1.58	0.311	11.1 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Asia
Albania More ISO3 ALB Income group Upper middle income Region Europe	ALB	1.57	0.380	4.4 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Europe
Fiji More ISO3 FJI Income group Upper middle income Region Oceania	FJI	1.50	0.453	1.4 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Oceania
Philippines More ISO3 PHL Income group Lower middle income Region Asia	PHL	1.40	0.444	161.0 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Asia
Tonga More ISO3 TON Income group Upper middle income Region Oceania	TON	1.39	0.607	0.1 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Oceania
El Salvador More ISO3 SLV Income group Upper middle income Region Latin America & Caribbean	SLV	1.37	0.425	8.7 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Latin America & Caribbean
Syria More ISO3 SYR Income group Low income Region Asia	SYR	1.34	0.486	31.7 MtCO₂	Low income	Asia
Congo More ISO3 COG Income group Lower middle income Region Africa	COG	1.34	0.522	8.3 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Africa
Micronesia More ISO3 FSM Income group Lower middle income Region Oceania	FSM	1.28	0.621	0.1 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Oceania
Cambodia More ISO3 KHM Income group Lower middle income Region Asia	KHM	1.23	0.481	21.4 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Asia
Honduras More ISO3 HND Income group Lower middle income Region Latin America & Caribbean	HND	1.17	0.445	12.4 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Latin America & Caribbean
Namibia More ISO3 NAM Income group Lower middle income Region Africa	NAM	1.16	0.454	3.4 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Africa
Paraguay More ISO3 PRY Income group Upper middle income Region Latin America & Caribbean	PRY	1.12	0.372	7.6 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Latin America & Caribbean
Tuvalu More ISO3 TUV Income group Upper middle income Region Oceania	TUV	1.11	0.576	0.0 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Oceania
Cabo Verde More ISO3 CPV Income group Upper middle income Region Africa	CPV	1.09	0.420	0.6 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Africa
Guatemala More ISO3 GTM Income group Upper middle income Region Latin America & Caribbean	GTM	1.09	0.434	19.7 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Latin America & Caribbean
Samoa More ISO3 WSM Income group Upper middle income Region Oceania	WSM	1.08	0.513	0.2 MtCO₂	Upper middle income	Oceania
Lesotho More ISO3 LSO Income group Lower middle income Region Africa	LSO	1.08	0.472	2.5 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Africa
Mauritania More ISO3 MRT Income group Lower middle income Region Africa	MRT	1.00	0.578	5.0 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Africa
Tajikistan More ISO3 TJK Income group Lower middle income Region Asia	TJK	0.99	0.356	10.3 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Asia
Eswatini More ISO3 SWZ Income group Lower middle income Region Africa	SWZ	0.84	0.448	1.0 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Africa
Sri Lanka More ISO3 LKA Income group Lower middle income Region Asia	LKA	0.83	0.475	19.2 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Asia
Zimbabwe More ISO3 ZWE Income group Lower middle income Region Africa	ZWE	0.82	0.498	13.4 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Africa
Papua New Guinea More ISO3 PNG Income group Lower middle income Region Oceania	PNG	0.80	0.550	8.4 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Oceania
Nicaragua More ISO3 NIC Income group Lower middle income Region Latin America & Caribbean	NIC	0.80	0.446	5.4 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Latin America & Caribbean
Senegal More ISO3 SEN Income group Lower middle income Region Africa	SEN	0.78	0.535	14.1 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Africa
Pakistan More ISO3 PAK Income group Lower middle income Region Asia	PAK	0.76	0.515	186.9 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Asia
Comoros More ISO3 COM Income group Lower middle income Region Africa	COM	0.64	0.541	0.5 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Africa
Nepal More ISO3 NPL Income group Lower middle income Region Asia	NPL	0.62	0.490	18.3 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Asia
Bangladesh More ISO3 BGD Income group Lower middle income Region Asia	BGD	0.61	0.568	104.5 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Asia
Sao Tome and Principe More ISO3 STP Income group Lower middle income Region Africa	STP	0.61	0.542	0.1 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Africa
Ghana More ISO3 GHA Income group Lower middle income Region Africa	GHA	0.60	0.448	20.1 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Africa
Angola More ISO3 AGO Income group Lower middle income Region Africa	AGO	0.59	0.506	21.7 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Africa
Vanuatu More ISO3 VUT Income group Lower middle income Region Oceania	VUT	0.59	0.563	0.2 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Oceania
Myanmar More ISO3 MMR Income group Lower middle income Region Asia	MMR	0.59	0.514	31.8 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Asia
Zambia More ISO3 ZMB Income group Lower middle income Region Africa	ZMB	0.57	0.485	11.8 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Africa
Nigeria More ISO3 NGA Income group Lower middle income Region Africa	NGA	0.57	0.481	129.4 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Africa
Kiribati More ISO3 KIR Income group Lower middle income Region Oceania	KIR	0.52	0.557	0.1 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Oceania
Djibouti More ISO3 DJI Income group Lower middle income Region Africa	DJI	0.48	0.502	0.6 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Africa
Timor-Leste More ISO3 TLS Income group Lower middle income Region Asia	TLS	0.46	0.538	0.6 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Asia
Côte d'Ivoire More ISO3 CIV Income group Lower middle income Region Africa	CIV	0.45	0.489	14.1 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Africa
Benin More ISO3 BEN Income group Lower middle income Region Africa	BEN	0.42	0.571	5.9 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Africa
Kenya More ISO3 KEN Income group Lower middle income Region Africa	KEN	0.38	0.500	21.2 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Africa
Sudan More ISO3 SDN Income group Low income Region Africa	SDN	0.35	0.612	17.7 MtCO₂	Low income	Africa
Solomon Islands More ISO3 SLB Income group Lower middle income Region Oceania	SLB	0.35	0.629	0.3 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Oceania
Cameroon More ISO3 CMR Income group Lower middle income Region Africa	CMR	0.34	0.486	9.7 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Africa
Tanzania More ISO3 TZA Income group Lower middle income Region Africa	TZA	0.31	0.516	20.3 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Africa
Togo More ISO3 TGO Income group Low income Region Africa	TGO	0.29	0.503	2.7 MtCO₂	Low income	Africa
Gambia More ISO3 GMB Income group Low income Region Africa	GMB	0.29	0.524	0.8 MtCO₂	Low income	Africa
Mali More ISO3 MLI Income group Low income Region Africa	MLI	0.28	0.576	6.7 MtCO₂	Low income	Africa
Burkina Faso More ISO3 BFA Income group Low income Region Africa	BFA	0.27	0.521	6.3 MtCO₂	Low income	Africa
Mozambique More ISO3 MOZ Income group Low income Region Africa	MOZ	0.27	0.493	9.1 MtCO₂	Low income	Africa
Guinea More ISO3 GIN Income group Lower middle income Region Africa	GIN	0.27	0.529	3.9 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Africa
Yemen More ISO3 YEM Income group Low income Region Asia	YEM	0.26	0.534	10.1 MtCO₂	Low income	Asia
Afghanistan More ISO3 AFG Income group Low income Region Asia	AFG	0.25	0.588	10.5 MtCO₂	Low income	Asia
Haiti More ISO3 HTI Income group Lower middle income Region Latin America & Caribbean	HTI	0.25	0.509	2.9 MtCO₂	Lower middle income	Latin America & Caribbean
Eritrea More ISO3 ERI Income group Low income Region Africa	ERI	0.21	0.592	0.7 MtCO₂	Low income	Africa
Sierra Leone More ISO3 SLE Income group Low income Region Africa	SLE	0.16	0.597	1.4 MtCO₂	Low income	Africa
Guinea-Bissau More ISO3 GNB Income group Low income Region Africa	GNB	0.15	0.613	0.3 MtCO₂	Low income	Africa
Liberia More ISO3 LBR Income group Low income Region Africa	LBR	0.15	0.538	0.8 MtCO₂	Low income	Africa
Chad More ISO3 TCD Income group Low income Region Africa	TCD	0.15	0.640	2.8 MtCO₂	Low income	Africa
Rwanda More ISO3 RWA Income group Low income Region Africa	RWA	0.14	0.567	2.0 MtCO₂	Low income	Africa
Madagascar More ISO3 MDG Income group Low income Region Africa	MDG	0.14	0.558	4.4 MtCO₂	Low income	Africa
Ethiopia More ISO3 ETH Income group Not classified Region Africa	ETH	0.14	0.522	17.6 MtCO₂	Not classified	Africa
Uganda More ISO3 UGA Income group Low income Region Africa	UGA	0.13	0.536	6.2 MtCO₂	Low income	Africa
Niger More ISO3 NER Income group Low income Region Africa	NER	0.12	0.633	3.1 MtCO₂	Low income	Africa
Malawi More ISO3 MWI Income group Low income Region Africa	MWI	0.09	0.549	1.9 MtCO₂	Low income	Africa
Central African Republic More ISO3 CAF Income group Low income Region Africa	CAF	0.08	0.579	0.4 MtCO₂	Low income	Africa
Somalia More ISO3 SOM Income group Low income Region Africa	SOM	0.07	0.611	1.3 MtCO₂	Low income	Africa
Burundi More ISO3 BDI Income group Low income Region Africa	BDI	0.07	0.553	0.9 MtCO₂	Low income	Africa
Democratic Republic of the Congo More ISO3 COD Income group Low income Region Africa	COD	0.06	0.561	5.9 MtCO₂	Low income	Africa

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Author: Jamie
Published: 2026-04-04
Topics: climate
As of: 2026-04-04

Story thesis

The countries most vulnerable to climate stress are often not the countries emitting the most per person. But the pattern changes when you switch from per-capita to total, cumulative, or sector-specific views.

Most climate coverage trains people to picture disasters: floods, wildfires, storms, heatwaves. Vulnerability asks a different question: how exposed a country is, how sensitive its systems are, and how much capacity it has to cope when climate stress hits.

This page lets you test how that pattern changes when you switch the emissions lens, break vulnerability into sectors, or compare countries side by side.

Use it as a country-level reference, not a household-level one.

How to read this chart

Higher = more climate vulnerability Farther right = more emissions Bigger = more annual emissions Color = income group

Start with the default view. Then, switch one lens at a time—emissions or vulnerability—to see how the chart changes.

This is a descriptive country-average comparison. It is not a causal model, a household-level equity measure, or a policy recommendation.

What this shows

How countries compare in climate vulnerability and emissions, year by year.

What this does not show

This page does not show who inside a country is protected first, how adaptation is distributed across households, whether emissions caused a country’s current vulnerability level, or which policy response is best.

Try these examples

Here are some interesting case studies to explore in the chart.

India Albania United Kingdom Singapore Pakistan

India: Start on per-capita emissions. Then switch to total, then cumulative. India does not look especially extreme on a per-person basis, but it moves much farther right once you switch to total and cumulative emissions, partly because it is now the world’s most populous country.
Albania: Move the year slider from 1995 to 2023. Albania’s overall vulnerability falls steadily over time, with especially large gains in food, infrastructure, and health, making it one of the easiest improvement stories to see on the chart.
United Kingdom: Watch its emissions over time. Both per-capita and total CO₂ decrease sharply; however, vulnerability does not fall nearly as much. This shows that emissions and vulnerability do not move together in a simple way.
Singapore: Observe its raw vulnerability score over time. Then switch the y-axis to GDP-adjusted vulnerability. The raw score moves only a little. The adjusted score moves much more. Singapore’s vulnerability does not change dramatically in absolute terms, but it looks increasingly less vulnerable than ND-GAIN would expect for a country at its income level. This is one of the clearest cases where the GDP-adjusted lens changes the reading.
Pakistan: Switch from Overall vulnerability to Water vulnerability. Pakistan already looks vulnerable on the overall score. On water, it looks worse. Pakistan is widely described as water-stressed, with low water availability per person and major pressure on its water system.

Context FAQ

Open the sections below for background and interpretation guidance.

Why this comparison matters

The countries under the greatest climate pressure are often not the biggest per-person emitters. That gap sits behind recurring debates over climate finance, adaptation, responsibility, and development.

But even that sentence hides choices. Are we talking about emissions per person, total emissions, or historical buildup? Are we talking about overall vulnerability, or water, food, health, and infrastructure separately? What looks like one climate story at first often turns out to be three or four different stories, depending on which lens you choose.

This page is built to keep the chart grammar stable while those interpretations change.

Why use ND-GAIN?

This page compares countries on vulnerability, not just on disaster exposure.

ND-GAIN, short for the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative, is one of the best-known public frameworks for comparing country-level climate vulnerability across time.

It measures both vulnerability and adaptation readiness. This page uses vulnerability as the main comparison axis, because the goal here is to compare climate stress with emissions, not institutional readiness on its own.

Within vulnerability, ND-GAIN looks at exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity across food, water, health, ecosystems, human habitat, and infrastructure.

ND-GAIN is not the only way to think about climate risk, but it is a documented, public baseline that readers can inspect and question.

About the measures

What “vulnerability” means here

Here, vulnerability means how exposed a country is to climate-related stress, how sensitive its systems are, and how much adaptive capacity exists to absorb the shock.

On this page, higher vulnerability scores mean worse climate vulnerability. The values shown are normalized index values, not percentages and not probabilities.

Why vulnerability, not readiness

ND-GAIN tracks both vulnerability and readiness. This page centers vulnerability because it gives the clearest comparison against emissions. Readiness still matters, but it answers a different question: how well positioned a country is to respond.

What sits inside the score

The overall vulnerability score rolls up six sector views: food, water, health, ecosystems, human habitat, and infrastructure. Looking at those sectors separately can reveal differences the overall score smooths over.

GDP-adjusted vulnerability

ND-GAIN also publishes a GDP-adjusted version because vulnerability and income are closely linked. Instead of comparing every country against the full global spread, this version asks a narrower question: compared with countries at a similar income level in the same year, does this country look more vulnerable than expected, or less?

In ND-GAIN’s methodology, the adjusted value is the distance between a country’s actual score and the score the index would expect at that GDP per capita for that year. Positive values mean lower vulnerability than expected. Negative values mean higher vulnerability than expected.

Emissions lenses

Per-capita emissions compare average present-day responsibility. Total emissions show scale. Cumulative emissions bring historical buildup and fairness questions into view.

Support

If this story helped you see something more clearly, you can support the project and help keep the site open, independent, and ad-free.

Method & sources

This page pairs annual ND-GAIN country scores with annual CO₂ emissions data. ND-GAIN provides overall vulnerability and sector measures. The emissions side provides per-capita, total, and cumulative CO₂ series. Records are matched by ISO3 and year.

Method notes

The default emissions lens is territorial CO₂, the measure countries use for official reporting and climate targets.

Cumulative emissions on this page is built from that same territorial CO₂ series.

Land-use change emissions, emissions embodied in traded goods, and emissions from international aviation and shipping are excluded from the default chart because they require separate accounting and datasets.

If either the ND-GAIN value or the emissions value is missing for a given country-year, that country is not plotted for that state.

Core claim

The countries most vulnerable to climate-related stress are often not the same countries that emit the most per person. But that picture changes once you switch from per-capita to total or cumulative emissions, or once you stop treating vulnerability as a single number.

Definitions

ND-GAIN: The Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative’s Country Index, a public annual framework for comparing country-level vulnerability and readiness.
Vulnerability: A country-level summary of exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity across six sectors.
Per-capita emissions: Average annual CO₂ emissions per person.
Total emissions: The total CO₂ emitted inside a country’s borders in a given year.
Cumulative emissions: The total CO₂ added over time, which brings historical responsibility into view rather than looking only at the present year.
GDP-adjusted vulnerability: A version of vulnerability that compares a country’s score with what ND-GAIN would expect for countries at a similar income level in that year. Positive values mean lower vulnerability than expected; negative values mean higher.

Limitations

Interpretation limits

This page is descriptive. It shows patterns, not causal effects.
Country averages can hide large within-country differences in exposure, wealth, and adaptation access.
Per-capita, total, and cumulative emissions answer different questions, so the same country can look very different depending on the lens.

Coverage limits

This page does not show trade-adjusted, or consumption-based, emissions. It uses territorial CO₂ only, so countries that import emissions-intensive goods can look different than they would under a consumption-based lens.
Land-use change, international aviation, and international shipping are excluded from the default chart, so this is not a full accounting of every climate-relevant source.

Missing-data and comparability limits

ND-GAIN does not cover every territory or small jurisdiction, so some places cannot appear in the chart at all.
A small number of places are present in ND-GAIN but lack comparable emissions values in some years or lenses, including the default 2023 view.
If a country lacks either the selected vulnerability value or the selected emissions value for the current state, it is omitted from chart marks but may still appear in search or compare with a missing-value note.

Sources & citation

Latest source accessed: Apr 1, 2026

ND-GAIN Country Index (2026 package) (opens in a new tab)

Accessed Apr 1, 2026

Using local files under docs/posts/climate-vulnerability-vs-emissions/ndgain_countryindex_2026 for deterministic artifact generation.
Our World in Data - CO₂ and Greenhouse Gas Emissions (opens in a new tab)

Accessed Apr 1, 2026

Using local snapshot files under docs/posts/climate-vulnerability-vs-emissions/owid-co2-data.csv and codebook.
World Bank - Country Metadata (opens in a new tab)

Accessed Apr 1, 2026

Using local metadata snapshot for income group mapping.
United Nations M49 Standard (opens in a new tab)

Accessed Apr 1, 2026

Region taxonomy system for geography grouping is UN M49.

How to cite

Climate Vulnerability vs Emissions. Slicing / Dicing. https://dataviz-767.pages.dev/chalkboard/climate-vulnerability-vs-emissions. Published 2026-04-04. Coverage 1995-01-01 to 2023-12-31.

Takeaway: The countries under the highest climate stress are often not the countries emitting the most per person, and the pattern changes by emissions and vulnerability lens.

Why it matters: Climate finance, adaptation, and responsibility debates depend on which emissions and vulnerability lenses are compared.

Link: https://dataviz-767.pages.dev/chalkboard/climate-vulnerability-vs-emissions

Updates

Apr 4, 2026 · Clarification

Initial release.

Added annual ND-GAIN series through 2023, emissions lens switcher, sector vulnerability switcher, compare mode, and shareable URL state.

Corrections

Report a possible error or review the corrections policy .