Iran vs South Africa: Coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions
Iran
2.19 million tonnes
in 2022
South Africa
2.83 million tonnes
in 2022
Iran rank
8th
South Africa rank
7th
Coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions over time
- Iran
- South Africa
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 2.83 million tonnes against 2.19 million tonnes in Iran, a difference of 634,390 tonnes.
That makes South Africa's figure about 1.3 times Iran's.
The two have swapped places 11 times across 273 shared years of data; in 1750 it was Iran ahead.
Iran ranks 8th and South Africa ranks 7th of 220 countries.
Across the 28 decades both report, Iran averaged higher in 8 and South Africa in 20.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Iran | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1750s | 376.77 tonnes | 305.51 tonnes | 71.26 tonnes | Iran |
| 1760s | 383.47 tonnes | 314.85 tonnes | 68.62 tonnes | Iran |
| 1770s | 390.16 tonnes | 324.95 tonnes | 65.21 tonnes | Iran |
| 1780s | 396.82 tonnes | 335.92 tonnes | 60.9 tonnes | Iran |
| 1790s | 403.44 tonnes | 347.88 tonnes | 55.56 tonnes | Iran |
| 1800s | 409.98 tonnes | 360.96 tonnes | 49.03 tonnes | Iran |
| 1810s | 416.43 tonnes | 382.53 tonnes | 33.91 tonnes | Iran |
| 1820s | 429.42 tonnes | 415.44 tonnes | 13.98 tonnes | Iran |
| 1830s | 450.19 tonnes | 452.74 tonnes | 2.55 tonnes | South Africa |
| 1840s | 470.36 tonnes | 819.09 tonnes | 348.73 tonnes | South Africa |
| 1850s | 488.32 tonnes | 1,944 tonnes | 1,455 tonnes | South Africa |
| 1860s | 500.38 tonnes | 2,549 tonnes | 2,049 tonnes | South Africa |
| 1870s | 531.3 tonnes | 6,782 tonnes | 6,250 tonnes | South Africa |
| 1880s | 584.62 tonnes | 14,911 tonnes | 14,327 tonnes | South Africa |
| 1890s | 627.96 tonnes | 46,915 tonnes | 46,287 tonnes | South Africa |
| 1900s | 602.77 tonnes | 110,548 tonnes | 109,945 tonnes | South Africa |
| 1910s | 3,939 tonnes | 242,416 tonnes | 238,477 tonnes | South Africa |
| 1920s | 15,972 tonnes | 290,679 tonnes | 274,707 tonnes | South Africa |
| 1930s | 27,648 tonnes | 300,061 tonnes | 272,413 tonnes | South Africa |
| 1940s | 47,760 tonnes | 495,170 tonnes | 447,410 tonnes | South Africa |
| 1950s | 83,771 tonnes | 651,952 tonnes | 568,182 tonnes | South Africa |
| 1960s | 334,824 tonnes | 911,336 tonnes | 576,512 tonnes | South Africa |
| 1970s | 920,160 tonnes | 1.57 million tonnes | 646,970 tonnes | South Africa |
| 1980s | 1.28 million tonnes | 2.01 million tonnes | 731,854 tonnes | South Africa |
| 1990s | 2.13 million tonnes | 2.35 million tonnes | 227,694 tonnes | South Africa |
| 2000s | 2.89 million tonnes | 2.92 million tonnes | 32,420 tonnes | South Africa |
| 2010s | 2.56 million tonnes | 3.25 million tonnes | 691,889 tonnes | South Africa |
| 2020s | 2.14 million tonnes | 2.90 million tonnes | 767,253 tonnes | South Africa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions, Iran or South Africa?
- South Africa, at 2.83 million tonnes against 2.19 million tonnes in Iran as of 2022.
- What is the difference in coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions between Iran and South Africa?
- 634,390 tonnes, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Iran and South Africa?
- 273 years are reported by both, from 1750 to 2022.
- How do Iran and South Africa rank globally for coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions?
- Iran ranks 8th and South Africa ranks 7th of 220 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Hoesly et al. (2024) - Community Emissions Data System (CEDS) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Coal consumption and sulphur dioxide emissions. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Sulfur dioxide (SO₂) is an air pollutant formed from the burning of fuels that contain sulfur, such as coal. SO₂ is one of the main chemicals that forms acid rain.