Which country has the highest EPI Air Pollution?

Japan has the highest EPI Air Pollution in 2026, at 100, followed by United Kingdom (100) and South Korea (100).

Which country has the lowest EPI Air Pollution?

Brunei has the lowest EPI Air Pollution in 2026, at 1.47.

What is the median EPI Air Pollution across countries?

The median is 52.03 across the 173 countries with data in 2026.

Where does this dirtiest countries in the world data come from?

Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: World most polluted countries (PM2.5) - IQ Air; Exposure Data - PM2.5 - State of Global Air.

Country rankings

Dirtiest Countries in the World

Name: Dirtiest Countries in the World
Creator: Rankodex

Japan has the highest EPI Air Pollution in 2026 (100), followed by United Kingdom (100) and South Korea (100). Brunei has the lowest (1.47).

Environment225 countries · 12 metricsUpdated Jun 9, 2025Original page

2 sources

Showing

Year

173 of 235 countries

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EPI Air Pollution, 2026

Green is better, red is worse (lower is better). Click a place to highlight it.

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Ranking

Best first: the first 15 and last 5 of 173 countries.

Distribution Median and middle halfThe median is the middle value: half of places are above it, half below. The middle half is the range holding the central 50% of places.More in the glossary →

Each dot is one country; the lines mark the median and the middle half.

Median

52.03

Middle half 35.48 – 75.13

Average

55.05

173 countries

Lowest (best)

1.47

Brunei

Highest (worst)

100

Taiwan

Biggest changes · 2024 → 2026

171 countries have a value in both years.

Improved most

Declined most

Data

Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.

176 countries · # = rank by EPI Air Pollution

#
1	Brunei	1.47	100
2	Nepal	5.7	23.05
3	Tajikistan	7.26	—
4	Rwanda	7.93	32.83
5	Indonesia	8.34	50.45
6	Laos	9.03	—
7	Seychelles	10.15	84.4
8	Cape Verde	12.33	5.1
9	Djibouti	12.64	62
10	Iraq	13.86	58.72
11	Sao Tome and Principe	14.05	35.25
12	Ivory Coast	15.07	29.39
13	Madagascar	16.39	21.01
14	Mauritania	16.59	45.3
15	Gambia	17.41	—
16	Mongolia	17.83	79.04
17	Mali	18.16	13.96
18	Senegal	18.81	5.1
19	Guinea	19.08	5
20	Uzbekistan	19.55	86.06
21	Burkina Faso	21.45	17
22	Liberia	21.93	—
23	Comoros	22.55	34.97
24	Ethiopia	22.98	40
25	Sierra Leone	23.4	15.07
26	Chad	23.41	19.83
27	Philippines	24.08	—
28	Malawi	25.32	4
29	Myanmar	25.65	44
30	Bahrain	25.76	98.51
31	Niger	27.37	4.1
32	DR Congo	27.74	24.6
33	Dominican Republic	28.76	34.34
34	Guatemala	28.91	41.9
35	Guyana	30.54	55
36	Uganda	30.77	40
37	Central African Republic	31.91	5.52
38	Republic of the Congo	32.42	26.2
39	Morocco	33.52	63.1
40	Pakistan	34.13	27.19
41	Moldova	34.49	41.2
42	Mozambique	35.01	1.5
43	Burundi	35.36	12.53
44	Kazakhstan	35.48	79.74
45	Zambia	37.25	6
46	Paraguay	38.12	57.95
47	Uruguay	38.74	94.76
48	Nigeria	39.07	32.85
49	Bolivia	39.67	78.99
50	Lesotho	40	35.44
51	Peru	40.42	62.94
52	Iran	41.84	34
53	Afghanistan	41.96	56.2
54	Azerbaijan	42.02	67.66
55	Belize	43.46	—
56	Togo	43.94	13.84
57	Thailand	45.84	34.55
58	Bhutan	46.24	66.05
59	Equatorial Guinea	46.68	54.74
60	Russia	46.98	89.3
61	Turkey	47.31	93.48
62	Tanzania	47.73	7.5
63	Dominica	48.03	100
64	Saint Lucia	48.14	100
65	Saint Kitts and Nevis	48.17	100
66	Grenada	48.36	98.5
67	Cameroon	48.51	32.85
68	Antigua and Barbuda	48.59	49.5
69	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	48.61	100
70	Bahamas	48.68	—
71	Barbados	48.77	84.54
72	Eswatini	48.95	55.35
73	Haiti	49.05	—
74	Kenya	49.37	68.24
75	Georgia	49.62	87.88
76	Algeria	49.8	40
77	Armenia	50	0.2
78	Suriname	50.23	5
79	Sudan	50.35	27.06
80	Papua New Guinea	50.5	12.33
81	Saudi Arabia	51.13	92.27
82	Colombia	51.18	84.85
83	Benin	51.6	25
84	Kuwait	51.61	100
85	Palau	51.84	90.8
86	India	51.99	18.4
87	North Macedonia	52.03	67
88	Timor-Leste	52.69	—
89	Sri Lanka	53.34	22.54
90	Honduras	53.75	22.31
91	Panama	53.89	—
92	Ecuador	54.41	7.8
93	Fiji	54.69	90.23
94	Turkmenistan	54.89	1
95	Chile	55.46	92.68
96	Mauritius	55.57	100
97	Malaysia	55.75	16.94
98	Maldives	55.97	—
99	Argentina	56.33	89.3
100	Tunisia	57.3	79
101	United Arab Emirates	57.32	100
102	Trinidad and Tobago	59.69	100
103	Qatar	60.36	100
104	Ghana	60.48	81.82
105	Angola	60.69	43.89
106	Lebanon	61.37	57
107	Latvia	61.61	99.89
108	Nicaragua	61.93	—
109	Tonga	62.91	41.3
110	South Africa	63.46	68.59
111	Kiribati	63.47	53.07
112	Vanuatu	63.85	1.68
113	New Zealand	64.19	100
114	Samoa	64.77	26.6
115	Belarus	65.59	99.99
116	Australia	65.6	99.78
117	Costa Rica	65.84	88.85
118	Lithuania	66.11	99.99
119	Solomon Islands	66.14	9.54
120	Zimbabwe	66.53	42.81
121	Iceland	68.11	71.81
122	Norway	68.39	99.26
123	El Salvador	69.02	72.03
124	Namibia	69.06	60.95
125	Egypt	70.15	26.5
126	Bosnia and Herzegovina	70.77	78.37
127	Brazil	70.93	79.9
128	Kyrgyzstan	71.42	47
129	Oman	74.55	100
130	Albania	75.13	91.69
131	Portugal	75.43	96
132	Gabon	75.61	56
133	Serbia	77.97	99.34
134	Singapore	79.49	100
135	Israel	80.2	100
136	Jamaica	80.4	—
137	Denmark	80.94	100
138	Romania	81.63	99.61
139	Malta	82.27	96.62
140	Mexico	82.6	76.85
141	Cyprus	84.45	76.26
142	Sweden	85.28	96.6
143	Botswana	86.32	76.32
144	Greece	86.86	98.7
145	Canada	86.98	100
146	Germany	87.57	100
147	Slovakia	88.07	96.7
148	Ireland	89.22	98.73
149	Croatia	89.84	89.07
150	Ukraine	90.27	90.84
151	France	90.5	98.21
152	Hungary	90.79	97.18
153	Poland	91.34	99.8
154	Netherlands	91.59	100
155	Austria	91.63	99.54
156	China	92.35	93.26
157	Spain	94.77	100
158	Bulgaria	94.85	94.04
159	Italy	96.1	91.44
160	Slovenia	96.47	82.37
161	United States	96.94	100
162	Montenegro	97.04	89.35
163	Switzerland	97.08	100
164	Belgium	97.16	98.14
165	Czechia	97.68	100
166	Luxembourg	98.26	100
167	Estonia	98.41	100
168	Finland	99.25	100
169	Jordan	99.34	55
170	Japan	100	95.71
170	United Kingdom	100	97.03
170	South Korea	100	94.07
170	Taiwan	100	97.88
—	Bangladesh	—	58.45
—	Vietnam	—	68.25
—	Cambodia	—	54

What correlates with EPI Air Pollution (2026)?

Pearson r against 1,430 other country metrics sharing at least 104 countries. Ranks are read by standing: a better rank counts as higher, whether rank 1 is the best place on a list or the worst. Correlation is not causation.

Higher together

Places that have a higher EPI Air Pollution tend to score higher on these (or rank better)

EPI ScoreEnvironmental Performance Index by Country
r = +0.78 · very strong · n = 173
Plot
ICI ScoreAverage IQ by Country
r = +0.74 · very strong · n = 122
Plot
Average Age Upon Birth of First Child (CIA)Average Age of Having First Child by Country
r = +0.74 · very strong · n = 113
Plot
LP Living ConditionsLegatum Prosperity IndexA rank: rank 1 is the best
r = +0.73 · very strong · n = 154
Plot
Advanced EducationSocial Progress Index by Country
r = +0.73 · very strong · n = 155
Plot
% w/ Safe WaterAccess to Clean Water by Country
r = +0.72 · very strong · n = 109
Plot

Opposite directions

Places that have a higher EPI Air Pollution tend to score lower on these (or rank worse)

Individuals Making Under $10kWealth Inequality by Country
r = −0.75 · very strong · n = 160
Plot
Vulnerability Score (lower is better)Countries that Still Have Slavery
r = −0.69 · strong · n = 145
Plot
Vulnerability ScoreGlobal Slavery Index by Country
r = −0.69 · strong · n = 144
Plot
Gender Inequality Index ScoreGender Inequality Index by Country
r = −0.67 · strong · n = 155
Plot
RichAds 2024Tier 1 Countries
r = −0.67 · strong · n = 130
Plot
% of Pop. Living on Less Than $10 USD/DayPoverty Rate by Country
r = −0.66 · strong · n = 148
Plot

Quick answers

Which country has the highest EPI Air Pollution?: Japan has the highest EPI Air Pollution in 2026, at 100, followed by United Kingdom (100) and South Korea (100).
Which country has the lowest EPI Air Pollution?: Brunei has the lowest EPI Air Pollution in 2026, at 1.47.
What is the median EPI Air Pollution across countries?: The median is 52.03 across the 173 countries with data in 2026.
Where does this dirtiest countries in the world data come from?: Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: World most polluted countries (PM2.5) - IQ Air; Exposure Data - PM2.5 - State of Global Air.

Improved most

Declined most

Higher together

Opposite directions

Quick answers

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