⚠️ Unconfirmedenvironmental2020
Annual average sound pressure level (dBA), daytime (Lday) — city model estimates
Modeled daytime urban noise exposure (Lday, dBA) by country, based on global city estimates. Highlights where urban sound levels are highest.
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Key Insights
Global Average
62.2dBA
Median: 62.6dBA
Countries Covered
174
with available data
Highest
India
72.1dBA
Lowest
Iceland
52.3dBA
Top 5 Countries
1India72.1dBA
2People's Republic of China69.8dBA
3Islamic Republic of Iran69.6dBA
4Philippines69.5dBA
5Pakistan69.2dBA
By Region
Asia66.8dBA(25 countries)
Africa65.0dBA(9 countries)
Other62.6dBA(95 countries)
South America61.4dBA(7 countries)
North America59.7dBA(4 countries)
Key Findings
- •Modeled daytime urban noise levels are generally higher in very dense, traffic-heavy countries and megacity regions.
- •Even high-income countries can exhibit elevated daytime noise where urban density and road traffic are high.
- •Noise exposure is strongly urban-centric; national figures mostly reflect city environments rather than countryside soundscapes.
Country Rankings
Top 10 Countries
Bottom 10 Countries
Data Analysis
Value Distribution
How countries are distributed across the value range
Low (52.3dBA)High (74.8dBA)
Regional Comparison
Average values by world region (Global avg: 62.2dBA)
Asia (25)
Africa (9)
Other (95)
South America (7)
North America (4)
Europe (32)
Oceania (2)
About This Statistic
Environmental noise is a widespread but often overlooked public-health risk. This statistic summarizes modeled **daytime (Lday)** sound pressure levels in urban areas, expressed in **A-weighted decibels (dBA)**. Higher values indicate noisier daytime environments, typically driven by road traffic, dense land use, and urban activity.
The underlying dataset provides city-level modeled noise estimates; to create a country statistic suitable for global comparison, values are aggregated to the national level (population-weighted across included cities). This produces a comparable, headline number per country that can be used to explore regional patterns in urban noise exposure.
Full Data
| Rank ↑ | Country ↕ | Value ↕ |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | India | 72.1dBA |
| 2 | People's Republic of China | 69.8dBA |
| 3 | Islamic Republic of Iran | 69.6dBA |
| 4 | Philippines | 69.5dBA |
| 5 | Pakistan | 69.2dBA |
| 6 | Indonesia | 69.0dBA |
| 7 | Singapore | 68.9dBA |
| 8 | Egypt | 68.3dBA |
| 9 | Thailand | 68.1dBA |
| 10 | Vietnam | 68.0dBA |
| 11 | North Korea | 67.9dBA |
| 12 | Iraq | 67.4dBA |
| 13 | Malaysia | 67.2dBA |
| 14 | Bangladesh | 67.2dBA |
| 15 | Nigeria | 67.1dBA |
| 16 | Djibouti | 67.0dBA |
| 17 | Sudan | 67.0dBA |
| 18 | Chad | 66.9dBA |
| 19 | Kuwait | 66.9dBA |
| 20 | Ethiopia | 66.8dBA |
| 21 | Nepal | 66.8dBA |
| 22 | Somalia | 66.8dBA |
| 23 | Bahrain | 66.8dBA |
| 24 | Qatar | 66.7dBA |
| 25 | Türkiye | 66.7dBA |
| 26 | Cameroon | 66.6dBA |
| 27 | United Arab Emirates | 66.6dBA |
| 28 | Democratic Republic of the Congo | 66.5dBA |
| 29 | Morocco | 66.5dBA |
| 30 | Niger | 66.5dBA |
| 31 | Yemen | 66.5dBA |
| 32 | Guinea | 66.4dBA |
| 33 | Saudi Arabia | 66.4dBA |
| 34 | Brunei Darussalam | 66.4dBA |
| 35 | Lebanon | 66.3dBA |
| 36 | Central African Republic | 66.2dBA |
| 37 | Ghana | 66.2dBA |
| 38 | Israel | 66.2dBA |
| 39 | Jordan | 66.2dBA |
| 40 | Myanmar | 66.1dBA |
| 41 | Eritrea | 66.1dBA |
| 42 | Sierra Leone | 66.1dBA |
| 43 | Benin | 66.0dBA |
| 44 | Haiti | 66.0dBA |
| 45 | Kenya | 66.0dBA |
| 46 | Guinea-Bissau | 66.0dBA |
| 47 | Burkina Faso | 66.0dBA |
| 48 | Mali | 65.9dBA |
| 49 | Cambodia | 65.8dBA |
| 50 | Cote d'Ivoire | 65.8dBA |
| 51 | Cyprus | 65.7dBA |
| 52 | Mozambique | 65.6dBA |
| 53 | Senegal | 65.4dBA |
| 54 | Togo | 65.4dBA |
| 55 | Oman | 65.3dBA |
| 56 | Uganda | 65.2dBA |
| 57 | State of Palestine | 65.1dBA |
| 58 | Lao People's Democratic Republic | 65.1dBA |
| 59 | United Republic of Tanzania | 65.0dBA |
| 60 | Algeria | 64.9dBA |
| 61 | Republic of The Gambia | 64.8dBA |
| 62 | Malawi | 64.8dBA |
| 63 | Republic of the Congo | 64.7dBA |
| 64 | Zambia | 64.7dBA |
| 65 | Mexico | 64.6dBA |
| 66 | Mauritania | 64.4dBA |
| 67 | Rwanda | 64.4dBA |
| 68 | Cape Verde | 64.3dBA |
| 69 | Venezuela | 64.3dBA |
| 70 | Dominican Republic | 64.2dBA |
| 71 | South Sudan | 64.2dBA |
| 72 | South Africa | 64.1dBA |
| 73 | Sri Lanka | 64.0dBA |
| 74 | Madagascar | 64.0dBA |
| 75 | Colombia | 63.9dBA |
| 76 | Burundi | 63.8dBA |
| 77 | Jamaica | 63.8dBA |
| 78 | Gabon | 63.7dBA |
| 79 | Zimbabwe | 63.5dBA |
| 80 | Uzbekistan | 63.4dBA |
| 81 | Guatemala | 63.3dBA |
| 82 | Afghanistan | 63.1dBA |
| 83 | Brazil | 63.0dBA |
| 84 | Honduras | 62.9dBA |
| 85 | Tajikistan | 62.8dBA |
| 86 | El Salvador | 62.6dBA |
| 87 | Peru | 62.6dBA |
| 88 | Tunisia | 62.6dBA |
| 89 | South Korea | 62.5dBA |
| 90 | Bolivia | 62.4dBA |
| 91 | Nicaragua | 62.2dBA |
| 92 | Cuba | 62.0dBA |
| 93 | Kazakhstan | 61.9dBA |
| 94 | Paraguay | 61.9dBA |
| 95 | Eswatini | 61.8dBA |
| 96 | Albania | 61.8dBA |
| 97 | Greece | 61.6dBA |
| 98 | Mauritius | 61.6dBA |
| 99 | Ecuador | 61.5dBA |
| 100 | Italy | 61.5dBA |
| 101 | Russian Federation | 61.3dBA |
| 102 | Papua New Guinea | 61.2dBA |
| 103 | Belize | 61.1dBA |
| 104 | Georgia | 61.0dBA |
| 105 | Moldova, Republic of | 60.8dBA |
| 106 | Panama | 60.8dBA |
| 107 | Trinidad and Tobago | 60.8dBA |
| 108 | Kyrgyzstan | 60.7dBA |
| 109 | Ukraine | 60.7dBA |
| 110 | Argentina | 60.7dBA |
| 111 | New Caledonia | 60.6dBA |
| 112 | Suriname | 60.6dBA |
| 113 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 60.5dBA |
| 114 | Japan | 60.4dBA |
| 115 | Spain | 60.4dBA |
| 116 | Namibia | 60.3dBA |
| 117 | Armenia | 60.3dBA |
| 118 | Costa Rica | 60.2dBA |
| 119 | Lesotho | 60.2dBA |
| 120 | Mongolia | 60.2dBA |
| 121 | Bermuda | 60.1dBA |
| 122 | Chile | 59.6dBA |
| 123 | Portugal | 59.5dBA |
| 124 | Serbia | 59.3dBA |
| 125 | Belarus | 59.2dBA |
| 126 | Vanuatu | 58.9dBA |
| 127 | Azerbaijan | 58.9dBA |
| 128 | Bulgaria | 58.8dBA |
| 129 | Romania | 58.8dBA |
| 130 | Montenegro | 58.7dBA |
| 131 | Uruguay | 58.7dBA |
| 132 | Comoros | 58.6dBA |
| 133 | Timor-Leste | 58.6dBA |
| 134 | Croatia | 58.4dBA |
| 135 | Hungary | 58.3dBA |
| 136 | France | 58.0dBA |
| 137 | Slovenia | 57.9dBA |
| 138 | Barbados | 57.8dBA |
| 139 | Czech Republic | 57.7dBA |
| 140 | Slovakia | 57.7dBA |
| 141 | Andorra | 57.6dBA |
| 142 | Germany | 57.3dBA |
| 143 | Dominica | 57.2dBA |
| 144 | Poland | 57.2dBA |
| 145 | Country 532 | 57.1dBA |
| 146 | Austria | 57.1dBA |
| 147 | Aruba | 57.0dBA |
| 148 | Faroe Islands | 56.9dBA |
| 149 | United Kingdom | 56.9dBA |
| 150 | Belgium | 56.9dBA |
| 151 | Cayman Islands | 56.8dBA |
| 152 | Puerto Rico | 56.4dBA |
| 153 | United States of America | 56.2dBA |
| 154 | Australia | 56.2dBA |
| 155 | Lithuania | 56.1dBA |
| 156 | Bhutan | 56.0dBA |
| 157 | Latvia | 55.9dBA |
| 158 | Botswana | 55.9dBA |
| 159 | Ireland | 55.8dBA |
| 160 | Netherlands | 55.7dBA |
| 161 | Estonia | 55.6dBA |
| 162 | Switzerland | 55.6dBA |
| 163 | Fiji | 55.4dBA |
| 164 | Angola | 55.4dBA |
| 165 | Maldives | 55.3dBA |
| 166 | Denmark | 55.1dBA |
| 167 | New Zealand | 54.9dBA |
| 168 | Sweden | 54.9dBA |
| 169 | Canada | 54.8dBA |
| 170 | Solomon Islands | 54.7dBA |
| 171 | Finland | 54.6dBA |
| 172 | Luxembourg | 54.5dBA |
| 173 | Norway | 54.4dBA |
| 174 | Iceland | 52.3dBA |
Showing 174 of 174 countries
Topics
Data Source
This data comes from European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) / Global Urban Noise dataset (city-level model estimates) (2020).
View Original Source