Country Explorer
Every country, for any year you pick, and any one country over time. Nothing here is a fixed conclusion; the nine findings draw those from the same data.
Countries reporting all three
Avg life expectancy (yrs)
Avg grid (gCO₂e/kWh)
Avg low-carbon electricity
Carbon intensity of the grid, 2024
gCO₂e per kWh generated (900 or more shown as 900)
Coal-heavy grids sit near 800 g, nuclear and hydro grids under 50. Gas ranges from about 400 with modern plant to 700 with old plant or oil, which is why grids with no coal can still be dark. The figure is a lifecycle one in CO₂e, counting the emissions upstream of the plant, which is why a hydro grid reads about 24 g rather than zero.
Clean electricity and life expectancy, 2024
Bubbles are sized by population. Read the spread, not a trend: a high low-carbon share is as easily one large dam in a low-income country as a deliberate build-out in a rich one.
Electricity prices in Europe, 2024
Household prices with all taxes, against the low-carbon share. Cleaner power does not mean cheaper power: tax, network and policy choices dominate. What the annual average hides →
One country over time
Carbon intensity of the economy, by income group
Every country is counted in the group the World Bank placed it in that year, so the low-income line steps down each time a large emitter leaves the group: China in 1997, India in 2007. Why the grouping matters →
The most carbon-efficient economies, 2024
Countries over 5 million people; without the floor this is a list of financial micro-states. Low CO₂ per dollar has three causes: clean power (Sweden, France), industry that happens elsewhere (finding 4), or little commercial energy use at all. Ireland's figure is also flattered by profit-shifting into its GDP.
Sources: OWID CO₂, OWID Energy, World Bank WDI, Eurostat electricity prices.