⚠️ Unconfirmedhealth2021

Share of deaths attributed to air pollution (outdoor PM2.5 + household air pollution)

Share of all deaths attributed to air pollution (ambient PM2.5 plus household air pollution) by country, based on Global Burden of Disease 2021 estimates.

Loading visualization...

Key Insights

Global Average
7.8%
Median: 6.0%
Countries Covered
154
with available data
Highest
India
23.0%
Lowest
United States of America
2.0%
Top 5 Countries
1India23.0%
2People's Republic of China22.0%
3Mali20.0%
4Pakistan20.0%
5Bangladesh20.0%
By Region
Africa10.1%(9 countries)
Asia9.6%(24 countries)
Other9.4%(77 countries)
South America4.1%(7 countries)
Europe3.7%(31 countries)
Key Findings
  • In several South and East Asian countries, roughly one-fifth or more of all deaths are attributed to air pollution in 2021 estimates.
  • Countries with high household solid-fuel use tend to have elevated shares due to household air pollution contributions.
  • Many high-income countries show low shares (around ~2–3%), reflecting lower PM2.5 exposure and near-universal clean cooking, though impacts persist.

Country Rankings

Top 10 Countries

Bottom 10 Countries

Data Analysis

Value Distribution

How countries are distributed across the value range

Low (0.5%)High (28.0%)

Regional Comparison

Average values by world region (Global avg: 7.8%)

Africa (9)
Asia (24)
Other (77)
South America (7)
Europe (31)
North America (4)
Oceania (2)

About This Statistic

This statistic measures the percentage of all deaths in a country that are attributable to air pollution—combining exposure to outdoor fine particulate matter (ambient PM2.5) and indoor household air pollution from solid fuels. It is a risk-attribution metric: it estimates how many deaths would be avoided if exposure were reduced to a theoretical minimum-risk level.

Because it is a share of total deaths, it highlights where air pollution is a comparatively larger driver of mortality (often where PM2.5 is high, clean-cooking access is low, or baseline health risks are elevated). The figures come from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) comparative risk assessment framework and are comparable across countries for the same year.

Full Data

Rank Country Value
1India23.0%
2People's Republic of China22.0%
3Mali20.0%
4Pakistan20.0%
5Bangladesh20.0%
6Myanmar19.0%
7Ethiopia19.0%
8Niger19.0%
9Mauritania18.0%
10Nepal18.0%
11Sudan18.0%
12Cambodia17.0%
13Chad17.0%
14Burkina Faso17.0%
15Burundi16.0%
16Malawi16.0%
17Togo16.0%
18Zambia16.0%
19Bulgaria15.0%
20Eritrea15.0%
21Islamic Republic of Iran15.0%
22Madagascar14.0%
23Mozambique14.0%
24Rwanda14.0%
25Mongolia13.0%
26Uganda13.0%
27Uzbekistan13.0%
28Democratic Republic of the Congo12.0%
29Benin12.0%
30Guinea12.0%
31Iraq12.0%
32Cote d'Ivoire12.0%
33Liberia12.0%
34Nigeria12.0%
35Senegal12.0%
36Egypt12.0%
37United Republic of Tanzania12.0%
38Yemen12.0%
39Republic of The Gambia11.0%
40Indonesia11.0%
41Guinea-Bissau11.0%
42Sierra Leone11.0%
43Zimbabwe11.0%
44Cameroon10.0%
45Republic of the Congo10.0%
46Djibouti10.0%
47Gabon10.0%
48Kenya10.0%
49Lao People's Democratic Republic10.0%
50Libya10.0%
51Vietnam10.0%
52Syrian Arab Republic10.0%
53Thailand10.0%
54Sri Lanka9.0%
55Kazakhstan9.0%
56Kyrgyzstan9.0%
57Somalia9.0%
58Albania9.0%
59Angola9.0%
60Ghana8.0%
61Algeria8.0%
62Bolivia8.0%
63Brunei Darussalam8.0%
64Cape Verde7.0%
65Central African Republic7.0%
66Kuwait7.0%
67Morocco7.0%
68Oman7.0%
69Papua New Guinea7.0%
70Philippines7.0%
71Saudi Arabia7.0%
72Afghanistan6.5%
73Haiti6.0%
74Malaysia6.0%
75Moldova, Republic of6.0%
76Namibia6.0%
77Peru6.0%
78Qatar6.0%
79Romania6.0%
80South Africa6.0%
81Türkiye6.0%
82Venezuela6.0%
83Austria6.0%
84Belarus5.0%
85Cuba5.0%
86Czech Republic5.0%
87El Salvador5.0%
88Georgia5.0%
89Guyana5.0%
90Jordan5.0%
91Mexico5.0%
92Paraguay5.0%
93Russian Federation5.0%
94Serbia5.0%
95Slovakia5.0%
96Tunisia5.0%
97Ukraine5.0%
98Brazil5.0%
99Guatemala4.5%
100Solomon Islands4.5%
101Colombia4.0%
102Croatia4.0%
103Ecuador4.0%
104Estonia4.0%
105Honduras4.0%
106Hungary4.0%
107Lebanon4.0%
108Latvia4.0%
109Lithuania4.0%
110Mauritius4.0%
111New Caledonia4.0%
112Nicaragua4.0%
113Panama4.0%
114Poland4.0%
115Slovenia4.0%
116Suriname4.0%
117Barbados4.0%
118Bosnia and Herzegovina4.0%
119Belize4.0%
120Greece3.5%
121Argentina3.5%
122Chile3.0%
123Cyprus3.0%
124Dominican Republic3.0%
125Israel3.0%
126Jamaica3.0%
127New Zealand3.0%
128Uruguay3.0%
129Australia3.0%
130Armenia3.0%
131Botswana3.0%
132Canada2.5%
133Denmark2.5%
134France2.5%
135State of Palestine2.5%
136Germany2.5%
137Italy2.5%
138Spain2.5%
139Bahamas2.5%
140Belgium2.5%
141Costa Rica2.0%
142Finland2.0%
143Ireland2.0%
144Japan2.0%
145South Korea2.0%
146Luxembourg2.0%
147Netherlands2.0%
148Norway2.0%
149Portugal2.0%
150Singapore2.0%
151Sweden2.0%
152Switzerland2.0%
153United Kingdom2.0%
154United States of America2.0%
Showing 154 of 154 countries

Topics

Data Source

This data comes from Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) — Global Burden of Disease (GBD) (2021).

View Original Source