Humanity burns through the resources of 1.5 Earths in a year, meaning it takes the planet a year and a half to regenerate what we use annually. High-income countries have the largest ecological footprint.
[Read full story on the new biodiversity report]
Here are the top 25 most greedy resource consumers per capita as of 2008:
|
Ranking |
Country |
|
1 |
Qatar |
|
2 |
Kuwait |
|
3 |
United Arab Emirates |
|
4 |
Denmark |
|
5 |
USA |
|
6 |
Belgium |
|
7 |
Australia |
|
8 |
Canada |
|
9 |
The Netherlands |
|
10 |
Ireland |
|
11 |
Finland |
|
12 |
Singapore |
|
13 |
Sweden |
|
14 |
Oman |
|
15 |
Mongolia |
|
16 |
Macedonia TFYR |
|
17 |
Austria |
|
18 |
Czech Republic |
|
19 |
Slovenia |
|
20 |
Uruguay |
|
21 |
Switzerland |
|
22 |
Greece |
|
23 |
France |
|
24 |
Norway |
|
25 |
Spain |
The most minimal resource users tend to be the poorest countries. Here are the bottom resource users, from most to least:
|
Ranking |
Country |
|
25 |
Guinea-Bissau |
|
24 |
Cameroon |
|
23 |
Congo |
|
22 |
Lesotho |
|
21 |
Togo |
|
20 |
Philippines |
|
19 |
Kenya |
|
18 |
Tajikistan |
|
17 |
Angola |
|
16 |
Yemen |
|
15 |
India |
|
14 |
Burundi |
|
13 |
Zambia |
|
12 |
Mozambique |
|
11 |
Malawi |
|
10 |
Nepal |
|
9 |
Democratic Republic of the Congo |
|
8 |
Pakistan |
|
7 |
Rwanda |
|
6 |
Bangladesh |
|
5 |
Eritrea |
|
4 |
Haiti |
|
3 |
Afghanistan |
|
2 |
Timor-Leste |
|
1 |
Occupied Palestinian Territory* |
*Editor's Note: The Occupied Palestinian Territory is a term used by the United Nations and international legal groups to describe portions of the West Bank governed by Israeli military authorities. [Updated 5/15]
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