China, home to 1.4 billion people, is the most populous country in the world. The East Asian country has been one of the world’s top economic powers for centuries, and today it has the fastest growing economy in the world due to its intensive manufacturing sector. China faces pollution issues both from the huge industry of manufacturing, as well as the massive number of vehicles on the road.
China’s industry and agriculture, along with poor waste practices, make it a relatively polluted country. We’ll look at these different scales to see where exactly China ranks in terms of pollution:
Summary of Pollution in China
China is a polluted country, sitting at 120 out of 180 countries in Yale’s 2020 Environmental Performance Index (EPI), and an overall score of 37.3 out of 100 points.
Download Full Report: China EPI Country Profile
According to the EPI’s country scorecard, China ranks below or well below the world average in almost every category evaluated. The scores also tend to be below regional averages. While China ranks above most countries in wastewater management and drinking water, it falls well behind in land pollution markers and has an especially low score in air quality.
Air Pollution in China
As just covered, China’s air pollution is the worst of all the areas discussed in this article. The overall air quality ranks at just 160 out of 180 countries, with a score of 27.1 out of 100. In fact, in 2017, China’s air quality had six times the amount of particulate matter (PM2.5) than deemed acceptable by the WHO, and the poor air quality leads to an estimated 1 million deaths per year.
China’s air pollution is bad for a few reasons:
- Burning fuel to power motor vehicles
- Coal-burning power plants used to power the industry
- Household heating and cooking
Of these reasons, industrial use of energy from coal-burning power plants contributes the most by far to the poor air quality in China. Although the government has taken many strides over the past 10 to 15 years to improve air quality, China has a long way to go until it has healthy air quality.
Learn more about air quality standards and how they’re measured.
Water Pollution in China
Water pollution is not quite as bad as air pollution is in China, however, half of the population does not have access to clean drinking water, and wastewater is often not treated and instead dumped into local water sources.
Water pollution in China is caused by:
- Untreated household runoff into lakes and rivers
- Untreated industrial waste runoff into lakes and rivers
- Fertilizer from farms running into rivers and lakes
Learn more about water pollution and how it is measured.
China’s Water Quality
The EPI ranks China just O.K. in terms of drinking water, but with a score of just 9.4, the study found that wastewater treatment is almost nonexistent in the country.
Drinking Water
- Rank: 45/180
- EPI Score: 58.2/100
Wastewater Management
- Rank: 64/180
- EPI Score: 9.4/100
Wastewater management is the most important factor to prevent agricultural, industrial, and household waste from harming rivers, lakes, and oceans. Untreated wastewater can also get into clean water supplies and create unsafe drinking water.
Land Pollution in China
The land pollution in China is poor, but not as bad compared to its air quality. Land pollution in China happens due to:
- Soil pollution from agricultural and industrial runoff
- Deforestation for industrial and agricultural development
- Solid waste pollution (e.g. landfills)
Solid Waste Management
- Rank: 66/180
- EPI Score: 51.8/100
Ecosystem Services
- Rank: 90/180
- EPI Score: 34.3/100
The low ecosystem services score indicates that China has lost significant tree cover and natural habitat over the last few years. Habitat destruction leads to increased soil and land pollution, especially when agriculture or industry takes over the area where the natural habitat was removed.
Key Takeaways
Here’s the big picture of pollution in China:
- Overall EPI Ranking: 120/180
- Air Pollution: Poor air pollution and intense smog mostly from coal-burning power plants.
- Air Pollution Rank: 160/180
- Water Pollution: Many Chinese citizens do not have access to safe drinking water, wastewater is mostly untreated and creates harmful runoff.
- Drinking Water Rank: 45/180
- Wastewater Management Rank: 64/180
- Land Pollution: Poor solid waste management and lots of recent habitat destruction to make way for agriculture and industry.
- Solid waste management rank: 66/180
- Ecosystem Services rank: 90/180