World rankings / DATA EXPLORER

THE GLOBAL INDEX #105

PM2.5 exposure2021

Population-weighted annual mean exposure to PM2.5, in micrograms per cubic metre.

World Bank
Comparable ranking year2023Latest published year: 2023
Economies with data200 / 217No observation: 17
First-ranked country or territoryQatar107.89 µg/m³

Top 10

µg/m³ · 2021
01Qatar
107.89
03Bangladesh
73.11
04Nigeria
63.75
05Niger
62.7
06Kuwait
61.97
07Pakistan
58.59
08Bahrain
57.53
09Nepal
56.84

Complete ranking

Download CSV ↓
PM2.5 exposure · 2021 · µg/m³
RankCountry / territoryValue (µg/m³)Year
01Qatar107.892021
02Saudi Arabia73.672021
03Bangladesh73.112021
04Nigeria63.752021
05Niger62.72021
06Kuwait61.972021
07Pakistan58.592021
08Bahrain57.532021
09Nepal56.842021
10United Arab Emirates56.312021
11India55.622021
12Cameroon53.152021
13Mauritania48.992021
14Iraq48.82021
15Mongolia48.752021
16Oman45.762021
17Senegal42.372021
18Yemen41.732021
19Equatorial Guinea41.592021
20Egypt41.512021
21Iran41.092021
22Benin40.842021
23Chad40.252021
24Afghanistan39.742021
25Sudan38.72021
26Gambia38.452021
27Burkina Faso37.332021
28Rwanda37.12021
29Myanmar (Burma)36.862021
30Burundi36.852021
31Congo - Kinshasa36.852021
32Congo - Brazzaville36.752021
33Djibouti36.212021
34Turkmenistan35.132021
35Mali34.912021
36Tajikistan34.792021
37Togo34.512021
38Uzbekistan34.22021
39Central African Republic33.262021
40Bhutan32.482021
41Uganda32.272021
42China31.922021
43Guinea-Bissau31.782021
44Guatemala31.172021
45Jordan30.952021
46Syria30.572021
47Armenia30.532021
48Gabon30.452021
49Eritrea30.332021
50Honduras30.292021
51Ghana29.32021
52Peru28.952021
53El Salvador28.612021
54Bolivia28.122021
55South Africa27.722021
56Azerbaijan27.222021
57Lesotho27.112021
58Guinea27.12021
59Laos26.072021
60Bosnia & Herzegovina25.62021
61Vietnam25.232021
62Lebanon25.232021
63Türkiye25.222021
64South Sudan24.92021
65Thailand23.812021
66Ethiopia23.792021
67Philippines22.742021
68Jamaica22.212021
69North Macedonia22.122021
70Chile22.062021
71North Korea22.062021
72Libya22.052021
73Palestinian Territories21.872021
74Kyrgyzstan21.832021
75South Korea21.552021
76Sri Lanka21.462021
77Sierra Leone21.372021
78Côte d’Ivoire21.352021
79Israel21.282021
80Kazakhstan20.792021
81Kenya20.742021
82Tanzania20.62021
83Bulgaria20.312021
84Nicaragua20.072021
85Tunisia20.062021
86Indonesia19.992021
87Zambia19.592021
88Cambodia19.582021
89Georgia19.572021
90Serbia19.092021
91Cape Verde19.092021
92Morocco18.882021
93Poland18.612021
94Ecuador18.612021
95Montenegro18.562021
96Angola18.492021
97Guyana18.222021
98Venezuela18.172021
99Costa Rica18.052021
100Eswatini17.882021
101Suriname16.962021
102Somalia16.892021
103Algeria16.872021
104Liberia16.862021
105Mexico16.822021
106Colombia16.662021
107Cyprus16.412021
108Haiti16.262021
109Romania16.12021
110Belize15.852021
111Albania15.832021
112Croatia15.832021
113Paraguay15.772021
114Ukraine15.732021
115Malawi15.72021
116Greece15.662021
117Latvia15.652021
118Moldova15.612021
119Slovakia15.212021
120Zimbabwe15.142021
121Italy14.912021
122São Tomé & Príncipe14.822021
123Panama14.752021
124Trinidad & Tobago14.712021
125Papua New Guinea14.652021
126Namibia14.452021
127Hungary14.382021
128Mauritius14.242021
129Malaysia14.12021
130Botswana13.972021
131Czechia13.932021
132Argentina13.922021
133Belarus13.862021
134Singapore13.822021
135Brazil13.692021
136Dominican Republic13.672021
137Mozambique13.312021
138Lithuania13.132021
139Russia12.932021
140Timor-Leste12.922021
141Madagascar12.742021
142Slovenia12.712021
143Dominica12.372021
144Grenada12.352021
145Barbados12.172021
146Malta11.922021
147St. Vincent & Grenadines11.832021
148St. Lucia11.822021
149San Marino11.82021
150Monaco11.732021
151Japan11.542021
152Uruguay11.152021
153Austria10.772021
154Maldives10.752021
155Belgium10.732021
156Spain10.242021
157Netherlands10.032021
158United Kingdom102021
159France9.942021
160Comoros9.932021
161Germany9.92021
162Cuba9.832021
163St. Kitts & Nevis9.742021
164Switzerland9.532021
165Antigua & Barbuda9.352021
166Andorra9.252021
167Luxembourg8.982021
168Portugal8.912021
169Seychelles8.82021
170Puerto Rico8.382021
171United States8.232021
172Solomon Islands8.162021
173Ireland8.092021
174Canada7.842021
175Denmark7.832021
176Brunei7.412021
177Estonia7.222021
178U.S. Virgin Islands7.032021
179New Zealand6.652021
180Norway6.332021
181Vanuatu6.182021
182Fiji5.982021
183Sweden5.822021
184Iceland5.812021
185Bahamas5.762021
186Australia5.482021
187Bermuda5.422021
188Finland5.262021
189Palau5.022021
190Tuvalu4.782021
191Tonga4.622021
192Marshall Islands4.282021
193Nauru4.022021
194Samoa3.682021
195Micronesia3.572021
196Kiribati3.462021
197American Samoa3.452021
198Guam3.412021
199Northern Mariana Islands2.782021
200Greenland1.722021

How this ranking works

For annual statistics, the default is the newest year covering at least 70% of the maximum available country coverage, and at least 20 economies where possible. A ranking uses one year or report edition; missing observations are not replaced with another year. Newer years with lower coverage can be selected.

Intentional homicide rates and peace scores rank from lowest to highest; other indicators rank from highest to lowest. Ranks use original values and competition ranking for ties, for example 1, 2, 2, 4. Filtering or changing display order does not recalculate global ranks. Higher values are not necessarily better.

Statistics reflect the public source snapshot, not live measurements. Some series are modeled estimates or multi-year averages. See original metadata.

No observation (17)

Aruba · British Virgin Islands · Cayman Islands · Channel Islands · Curaçao · Faroe Islands · French Polynesia · Gibraltar · Hong Kong SAR China · Isle of Man · Kosovo · Liechtenstein · Macao SAR China · New Caledonia · Sint Maarten · St. Martin · Turks & Caicos Islands

Source & definition

Indicator definition
Population-weighted annual mean exposure to PM2.5, in micrograms per cubic metre.
Unit
µg/m³
Source & definition
World Bank · EN.ATM.PM25.MC.M3
Open original source ↗
Original metadata
Population-weighted exposure to ambient PM2.5 pollution is defined as the average level of exposure of a nation's population to concentrations of suspended particles measuring less than 2.5 microns in aerodynamic diameter, which are capable of penetrating deep into the respiratory tract and causing severe health damage. Exposure is calculated by weighting mean annual concentrations of PM2.5 by population in both urban and rural areas.

{
  "id": "EN.ATM.PM25.MC.M3",
  "name": "PM2.5 air pollution, mean annual exposure (micrograms per cubic meter)",
  "unit": "",
  "source": {
    "id": "2",
    "value": "World Development Indicators"
  },
  "sourceNote": "Population-weighted exposure to ambient PM2.5 pollution is defined as the average level of exposure of a nation's population to concentrations of suspended particles measuring less than 2.5 microns in aerodynamic diameter, which are capable of penetrating deep into the respiratory tract and causing severe health damage. Exposure is calculated by weighting mean annual concentrations of PM2.5 by population in both urban and rural areas.",
  "sourceOrganization": "Global Burden of Disease Study 2023 (GBD 2023) Air Pollution Exposure Estimates and Risk Curves 1990-2023, GBD Collaborator Network, uri: https://ghdx.healthdata.org/record/ihme-data/gbd-2023-air-pollution-exposure-estimates-1990-2023, note: Need to create account to retrieve data., publisher: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), date accessed: 2026-04-03, date published: 2026-01-23",
  "topics": [
    {
      "id": "16",
      "value": "Urban Development "
    },
    {
      "id": "6",
      "value": "Environment "
    }
  ]
}