← Environment & infrastructure
PM2.5 air pollution exposure
µg/m³, population-weighted annual mean
direct measuremodelled estimatelower is better
What it measures
Air quality where people actually live.From published value to score
- Published value. Native scale: micrograms per cubic metre, positive.
- Transform: ln(value) — so that equal ratios count equally: going from 1,000 to 2,000 scores the same as 20,000 to 40,000.
- Goalposts (fixed for all years; 2.5th and 97.5th percentiles of all observed country-years): worst = 62.1 (transformed 4.1294) scores 0, best = 4.44 (transformed 1.4901) scores 100.
- Direction: lower is better, so the position is flipped (1 − position).
- Clip and scale: anything below the worst goalpost scores 0 and anything above the best scores 100; multiply by 100.
Goalposts come from 4,800 observed country-years since 2000. Coverage: 200 countries · 4,800 observed country-years · 200 carried forward (max 4 years) · last year with ≥100 countries observed: 2023. Open any country row below to see this calculation applied to its value.
Where the numbers come from
Downloaded from
World Bank API v2, series EN.ATM.PM25.MC.M3 (World Development Indicators) · series page · metadata · source updated 2026-07-13 · fetched 2026-10-04Built from one source
- IHME Global Burden of Disease 2023, air pollution exposure estimates produces the series — Population-weighted PM2.5 modelled from satellite retrievals, chemical-transport models and ground monitors; the World Bank republishes it (an account is needed to download from IHME directly).
Source statement as published by the data provider (verbatim)
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
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.
Every country row below has a “verify” link to this series filtered to that country, so each value can be checked against the source.
History
Dots mark years with a published observation; flat stretches are carried forward.
Countries ranked on this indicator
200 countries have a usable value for 2024 (200 carried forward from an earlier year); 17 have none within 4 years.
| # | Country | Value | Observed | Score | Verify |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greenland | 1.64 | carried from 2023 | 100 | source ↗ |
| 2 | Northern Mariana Islands | 2.68 | carried from 2023 | 100 | source ↗ |
| 3 | Guam | 3.47 | carried from 2023 | 100 | source ↗ |
| 4 | Micronesia, Fed. Sts. | 3.52 | carried from 2023 | 100 | source ↗ |
| 5 | Kiribati | 3.87 | carried from 2023 | 100 | source ↗ |
| 6 | Marshall Islands | 4.10 | carried from 2023 | 100 | source ↗ |
| 7 | American Samoa | 4.33 | carried from 2023 | 100 | source ↗ |
| 8 | Finland | 4.57 | carried from 2023 | 99 | source ↗ |
| 9 | Samoa | 4.58 | carried from 2023 | 99 | source ↗ |
| 10 | Bermuda | 4.63 | carried from 2023 | 98 | source ↗ |
| 11 | Tonga | 4.69 | carried from 2023 | 98 | source ↗ |
| 12 | Naoero | 4.84 | carried from 2023 | 97 | source ↗ |
| 13 | Iceland | 4.93 | carried from 2023 | 96 | source ↗ |
| 14 | Palau | 4.94 | carried from 2023 | 96 | source ↗ |
| 15 | Tuvalu | 5.22 | carried from 2023 | 94 | source ↗ |
| 16 | Sweden | 5.26 | carried from 2023 | 94 | source ↗ |
| 17 | Bahamas, The | 5.28 | carried from 2023 | 93 | source ↗ |
| 18 | Norway | 5.52 | carried from 2023 | 92 | source ↗ |
| 19 | Estonia | 5.92 | carried from 2023 | 89 | source ↗ |
| 20 | Australia | 6.41 | carried from 2023 | 86 | source ↗ |
| 21 | Fiji | 6.45 | carried from 2023 | 86 | source ↗ |
| 22 | Canada | 6.55 | carried from 2023 | 85 | source ↗ |
| 23 | Virgin Islands (U.S.) | 6.79 | carried from 2023 | 84 | source ↗ |
| 24 | New Zealand | 6.88 | carried from 2023 | 83 | source ↗ |
| 25 | United States | 6.97 | carried from 2023 | 83 | source ↗ |
| 26 | Vanuatu | 6.99 | carried from 2023 | 83 | source ↗ |
| 27 | Luxembourg | 7.43 | carried from 2023 | 81 | source ↗ |
| 28 | Denmark | 7.50 | carried from 2023 | 80 | source ↗ |
| 29 | Ireland | 7.51 | carried from 2023 | 80 | source ↗ |
| 30 | Brunei Darussalam | 7.57 | carried from 2023 | 80 | source ↗ |
| 31 | Puerto Rico (US) | 7.84 | carried from 2023 | 78 | source ↗ |
| 32 | France | 8.23 | carried from 2023 | 77 | source ↗ |
| 33 | Switzerland | 8.32 | carried from 2023 | 76 | source ↗ |
| 34 | Antigua and Barbuda | 8.42 | carried from 2023 | 76 | source ↗ |
| 35 | Belgium | 8.45 | carried from 2023 | 76 | source ↗ |
| 36 | Netherlands | 8.59 | carried from 2023 | 75 | source ↗ |
| 37 | Portugal | 8.77 | carried from 2023 | 74 | source ↗ |
| 38 | Germany | 8.81 | carried from 2023 | 74 | source ↗ |
| 39 | St. Kitts and Nevis | 8.87 | carried from 2023 | 74 | source ↗ |
| 40 | Andorra | 8.88 | carried from 2023 | 74 | source ↗ |
| 41 | Seychelles | 9.26 | carried from 2023 | 72 | source ↗ |
| 42 | Cuba | 9.45 | carried from 2023 | 71 | source ↗ |
| 43 | United Kingdom | 9.46 | carried from 2023 | 71 | source ↗ |
| 44 | Solomon Islands | 9.77 | carried from 2023 | 70 | source ↗ |
| 45 | Austria | 10.0 | carried from 2023 | 69 | source ↗ |
| 46 | Spain | 10.1 | carried from 2023 | 69 | source ↗ |
| 47 | Comoros | 10.2 | carried from 2023 | 69 | source ↗ |
| 48 | St. Lucia | 10.4 | carried from 2023 | 68 | source ↗ |
| 49 | St. Vincent and the Grenadines | 10.6 | carried from 2023 | 67 | source ↗ |
| 50 | Lithuania | 10.7 | carried from 2023 | 67 | source ↗ |
| 51 | Malta | 10.8 | carried from 2023 | 66 | source ↗ |
| 52 | Uruguay | 10.9 | carried from 2023 | 66 | source ↗ |
| 53 | Barbados | 10.9 | carried from 2023 | 66 | source ↗ |
| 54 | Grenada | 11.0 | carried from 2023 | 66 | source ↗ |
| 55 | Maldives | 11.2 | carried from 2023 | 65 | source ↗ |
| 56 | Monaco | 11.4 | carried from 2023 | 64 | source ↗ |
| 57 | Japan | 11.5 | carried from 2023 | 64 | source ↗ |
| 58 | Dominica | 11.5 | carried from 2023 | 64 | source ↗ |
| 59 | Russian Federation | 11.6 | carried from 2023 | 64 | source ↗ |
| 60 | Belarus | 12.0 | carried from 2023 | 62 | source ↗ |
| 61 | Timor-Leste | 12.0 | carried from 2023 | 62 | source ↗ |
| 62 | Madagascar | 12.4 | carried from 2023 | 61 | source ↗ |
| 63 | Slovenia | 12.6 | carried from 2023 | 61 | source ↗ |
| 64 | San Marino | 12.7 | carried from 2023 | 60 | source ↗ |
| 65 | Czechia | 12.7 | carried from 2023 | 60 | source ↗ |
| 66 | Latvia | 13.0 | carried from 2023 | 59 | source ↗ |
| 67 | Botswana | 13.2 | carried from 2023 | 59 | source ↗ |
| 68 | Brazil | 13.4 | carried from 2023 | 58 | source ↗ |
| 69 | Dominican Republic | 13.5 | carried from 2023 | 58 | source ↗ |
| 70 | Hungary | 13.7 | carried from 2023 | 57 | source ↗ |
| 71 | Slovak Republic | 13.7 | carried from 2023 | 57 | source ↗ |
| 72 | Mozambique | 13.7 | carried from 2023 | 57 | source ↗ |
| 73 | Trinidad and Tobago | 13.8 | carried from 2023 | 57 | source ↗ |
| 74 | Mauritius | 14.1 | carried from 2023 | 56 | source ↗ |
| 75 | Papua New Guinea | 14.1 | carried from 2023 | 56 | source ↗ |
| 76 | Greece | 14.1 | carried from 2023 | 56 | source ↗ |
| 77 | Namibia | 14.2 | carried from 2023 | 56 | source ↗ |
| 78 | Italy | 14.3 | carried from 2023 | 56 | source ↗ |
| 79 | Argentina | 14.3 | carried from 2023 | 56 | source ↗ |
| 80 | Ukraine | 14.9 | carried from 2023 | 54 | source ↗ |
| 81 | Moldova | 14.9 | carried from 2023 | 54 | source ↗ |
| 82 | Zimbabwe | 15.0 | carried from 2023 | 54 | source ↗ |
| 83 | Sao Tome and Principe | 15.1 | carried from 2023 | 54 | source ↗ |
| 84 | Panama | 15.1 | carried from 2023 | 54 | source ↗ |
| 85 | Singapore | 15.1 | carried from 2023 | 54 | source ↗ |
| 86 | Paraguay | 15.3 | carried from 2023 | 53 | source ↗ |
| 87 | Albania | 15.5 | carried from 2023 | 53 | source ↗ |
| 88 | Suriname | 15.7 | carried from 2023 | 52 | source ↗ |
| 89 | Croatia | 15.8 | carried from 2023 | 52 | source ↗ |
| 90 | Haiti | 15.8 | carried from 2023 | 52 | source ↗ |
| 91 | Malaysia | 15.9 | carried from 2023 | 52 | source ↗ |
| 92 | Romania | 16.0 | carried from 2023 | 51 | source ↗ |
| 93 | Cyprus | 16.1 | carried from 2023 | 51 | source ↗ |
| 94 | Poland | 16.5 | carried from 2023 | 50 | source ↗ |
| 95 | Algeria | 16.5 | carried from 2023 | 50 | source ↗ |
| 96 | Mexico | 16.6 | carried from 2023 | 50 | source ↗ |
| 97 | Malawi | 16.7 | carried from 2023 | 50 | source ↗ |
| 98 | Eswatini | 16.7 | carried from 2023 | 50 | source ↗ |
| 99 | Belize | 16.8 | carried from 2023 | 50 | source ↗ |
| 100 | Guyana | 16.9 | carried from 2023 | 49 | source ↗ |
| 101 | Costa Rica | 17.7 | carried from 2023 | 48 | source ↗ |
| 102 | Liberia | 17.9 | carried from 2023 | 47 | source ↗ |
| 103 | Colombia | 18.4 | carried from 2023 | 46 | source ↗ |
| 104 | Montenegro | 18.5 | carried from 2023 | 46 | source ↗ |
| 105 | Somalia, Fed. Rep. | 18.5 | carried from 2023 | 46 | source ↗ |
| 106 | Georgia | 18.6 | carried from 2023 | 46 | source ↗ |
| 107 | Ecuador | 18.6 | carried from 2023 | 46 | source ↗ |
| 108 | Morocco | 18.7 | carried from 2023 | 46 | source ↗ |
| 109 | Tunisia | 18.9 | carried from 2023 | 45 | source ↗ |
| 110 | Venezuela, RB | 19.2 | carried from 2023 | 45 | source ↗ |
| 111 | Serbia | 19.3 | carried from 2023 | 44 | source ↗ |
| 112 | Cambodia | 19.4 | carried from 2023 | 44 | source ↗ |
| 113 | Kazakhstan | 19.6 | carried from 2023 | 44 | source ↗ |
| 114 | Bulgaria | 19.7 | carried from 2023 | 44 | source ↗ |
| 115 | Angola | 19.9 | carried from 2023 | 43 | source ↗ |
| 116 | Libya | 20.0 | carried from 2023 | 43 | source ↗ |
| 117 | Kyrgyz Republic | 20.1 | carried from 2023 | 43 | source ↗ |
| 118 | Tanzania | 20.2 | carried from 2023 | 43 | source ↗ |
| 119 | Cabo Verde | 20.2 | carried from 2023 | 43 | source ↗ |
| 120 | Zambia | 20.2 | carried from 2023 | 43 | source ↗ |
| 121 | Kenya | 20.3 | carried from 2023 | 43 | source ↗ |
| 122 | Cote d'Ivoire | 20.4 | carried from 2023 | 42 | source ↗ |
| 123 | Nicaragua | 20.4 | carried from 2023 | 42 | source ↗ |
| 124 | Indonesia | 20.8 | carried from 2023 | 41 | source ↗ |
| 125 | Jamaica | 21.7 | carried from 2023 | 40 | source ↗ |
| 126 | Korea, Dem. People's Rep. | 21.8 | carried from 2023 | 40 | source ↗ |
| 127 | North Macedonia | 21.8 | carried from 2023 | 40 | source ↗ |
| 128 | Korea, Rep. | 21.9 | carried from 2023 | 40 | source ↗ |
| 129 | Israel | 21.9 | carried from 2023 | 40 | source ↗ |
| 130 | Philippines | 22.2 | carried from 2023 | 39 | source ↗ |
| 131 | West Bank and Gaza | 22.4 | carried from 2023 | 39 | source ↗ |
| 132 | Sierra Leone | 22.5 | carried from 2023 | 39 | source ↗ |
| 133 | Sri Lanka | 22.7 | carried from 2023 | 38 | source ↗ |
| 134 | Chile | 23.1 | carried from 2023 | 38 | source ↗ |
| 135 | Thailand | 23.5 | carried from 2023 | 37 | source ↗ |
| 136 | South Sudan | 23.7 | carried from 2023 | 37 | source ↗ |
| 137 | Azerbaijan | 23.7 | carried from 2023 | 37 | source ↗ |
| 138 | Ethiopia | 23.8 | carried from 2023 | 36 | source ↗ |
| 139 | Viet Nam | 24.8 | carried from 2023 | 35 | source ↗ |
| 140 | Lao PDR | 26.0 | carried from 2023 | 33 | source ↗ |
| 141 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 26.1 | carried from 2023 | 33 | source ↗ |
| 142 | Turkiye | 26.4 | carried from 2023 | 32 | source ↗ |
| 143 | Lesotho | 26.4 | carried from 2023 | 32 | source ↗ |
| 144 | Lebanon | 26.7 | carried from 2023 | 32 | source ↗ |
| 145 | Guinea | 27.3 | carried from 2023 | 31 | source ↗ |
| 146 | South Africa | 27.7 | carried from 2023 | 31 | source ↗ |
| 147 | Bolivia | 28.1 | carried from 2023 | 30 | source ↗ |
| 148 | Ghana | 28.1 | carried from 2023 | 30 | source ↗ |
| 149 | Armenia | 28.6 | carried from 2023 | 30 | source ↗ |
| 150 | El Salvador | 29.6 | carried from 2023 | 28 | source ↗ |
| 151 | Guatemala | 29.7 | carried from 2023 | 28 | source ↗ |
| 152 | Bhutan | 30.1 | carried from 2023 | 28 | source ↗ |
| 153 | Honduras | 30.7 | carried from 2023 | 27 | source ↗ |
| 154 | Peru | 31.1 | carried from 2023 | 26 | source ↗ |
| 155 | Uganda | 31.2 | carried from 2023 | 26 | source ↗ |
| 156 | Turkmenistan | 31.2 | carried from 2023 | 26 | source ↗ |
| 157 | Gabon | 31.3 | carried from 2023 | 26 | source ↗ |
| 158 | China | 32.0 | carried from 2023 | 25 | source ↗ |
| 159 | Syrian Arab Republic | 32.1 | carried from 2023 | 25 | source ↗ |
| 160 | Guinea-Bissau | 32.3 | carried from 2023 | 25 | source ↗ |
| 161 | Jordan | 32.6 | carried from 2023 | 24 | source ↗ |
| 162 | Uzbekistan | 32.8 | carried from 2023 | 24 | source ↗ |
| 163 | Central African Republic | 33.3 | carried from 2023 | 24 | source ↗ |
| 164 | Tajikistan | 33.3 | carried from 2023 | 24 | source ↗ |
| 165 | Eritrea | 33.7 | carried from 2023 | 23 | source ↗ |
| 166 | Togo | 34.3 | carried from 2023 | 23 | source ↗ |
| 167 | Myanmar | 35.1 | carried from 2023 | 22 | source ↗ |
| 168 | Mali | 35.5 | carried from 2023 | 21 | source ↗ |
| 169 | Burundi | 35.7 | carried from 2023 | 21 | source ↗ |
| 170 | Congo, Dem. Rep. | 35.8 | carried from 2023 | 21 | source ↗ |
| 171 | Rwanda | 36.0 | carried from 2023 | 21 | source ↗ |
| 172 | Congo, Rep. | 36.5 | carried from 2023 | 20 | source ↗ |
| 173 | Burkina Faso | 37.3 | carried from 2023 | 19 | source ↗ |
| 174 | Sudan | 37.6 | carried from 2023 | 19 | source ↗ |
| 175 | Afghanistan | 37.9 | carried from 2023 | 19 | source ↗ |
| 176 | Gambia, The | 38.3 | carried from 2023 | 18 | source ↗ |
| 177 | Benin | 39.7 | carried from 2023 | 17 | source ↗ |
| 178 | Iran, Islamic Rep. | 40.2 | carried from 2023 | 17 | source ↗ |
| 179 | Djibouti | 40.3 | carried from 2023 | 16 | source ↗ |
| 180 | Senegal | 41.6 | carried from 2023 | 15 | source ↗ |
| 181 | Equatorial Guinea | 42.2 | carried from 2023 | 15 | source ↗ |
| 182 | Mongolia | 42.7 | carried from 2023 | 14 | source ↗ |
| 183 | Chad | 43.0 | carried from 2023 | 14 | source ↗ |
| 184 | Egypt, Arab Rep. | 43.1 | carried from 2023 | 14 | source ↗ |
| 185 | Mauritania | 46.5 | carried from 2023 | 11 | source ↗ |
| 186 | Yemen, Rep. | 46.8 | carried from 2023 | 11 | source ↗ |
| 187 | Oman | 46.9 | carried from 2023 | 11 | source ↗ |
| 188 | Iraq | 49.5 | carried from 2023 | 9 | source ↗ |
| 189 | Nepal | 53.2 | carried from 2023 | 6 | source ↗ |
| 190 | India | 54.1 | carried from 2023 | 5 | source ↗ |
| 191 | Cameroon | 55.6 | carried from 2023 | 4 | source ↗ |
| 192 | Bahrain | 56.6 | carried from 2023 | 4 | source ↗ |
| 193 | United Arab Emirates | 57.2 | carried from 2023 | 3 | source ↗ |
| 194 | Pakistan | 58.4 | carried from 2023 | 2 | source ↗ |
| 195 | Kuwait | 62.3 | carried from 2023 | 0 | source ↗ |
| 196 | Niger | 65.2 | carried from 2023 | 0 | source ↗ |
| 197 | Nigeria | 65.7 | carried from 2023 | 0 | source ↗ |
| 198 | Bangladesh | 69.3 | carried from 2023 | 0 | source ↗ |
| 199 | Saudi Arabia | 73.5 | carried from 2023 | 0 | source ↗ |
| 200 | Qatar | 108 | carried from 2023 | 0 | source ↗ |
No official value for 2024: 17 countries
Aruba, Channel Islands, Curacao, Cayman Islands, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Hong Kong SAR, China, Isle of Man, Liechtenstein, Macao SAR, China, St. Martin (French part), New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Sint Maarten (Dutch part), Turks and Caicos Islands, British Virgin Islands, Kosovo