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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