The greenest country in the world is Denmark according to the latest data analysis from the 2020 Environmental Performance Index (EPI)
The Environmental Performance Index evaluates and ranks 180 countries on 32 performance indicators across 11 categories covering environmental health and ecosystem vitality.
The aim is to gauge, at a national scale, how close countries are to meeting the environmental policy goals outlined in the United Nations 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement.
Now in its 22nd year, the EPI report has become the world’s premier framework for global environmental policy analysis. The report is compiled every two years using the following categories to create an EPI score out of 100 for every nation.
- Climate Change
- Air Quality
- Sanitation & Drinking Water
- Biodiversity & Habitat
- Ecosystem Services
- Fisheries
- Water Resources
- Pollution Emissions
- Agriculture
- Heavy Metals
- Waste Management
Top ten greenest countries
- Denmark
- Luxembourg
- Switzerland
- UK
- France
- Austria
- Finland
- Sweden
- Norway
- Germany
Key headlines
- Denmark is the greenest country in the world with an EPI score of 82.5.
- Denmark excelled in almost every indicator of environmental health due to its long history of making significant commitments to improving air quality, advanced sanitation and safe drinking water.
- Denmark also leads the world in its breadth and depth of programs combating climate change, including a recently announced target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 70% before 2030.
- In 24th position, the USA is one of the lowest-ranked industrialised nations, behind the UK (4th), France (5th), Germany (10th), Japan (12th), Canada (20th) and Italy (22nd).
- India, with distinctly poor health results from air quality and additional environmental risks, performs poorly in 169th place.
- China continues to be plagued by poor air quality, although recent pollution control measures and environmental policy investment have helped it rise to 120th place.
- The report demonstrates that hundreds of millions of people continue to suffer from dangerous levels of air pollution, most notably in Pakistan, India and Nepal.
- The effects of the COVID-19 global pandemic were too recent to be captured in the 2020 EPI report.
The greenest country in the world
The state of the world is captured in the Global Scorecard, a score and ranking of 180 countries based on their environmental performance.
There is a clear correlation between unstable governance and poor EPI performance. The index’s bottom third comprises predominantly African and south- and east-Asian states whose problems extend beyond their inability to sustain environmental and human health.
It is also clear that only functioning governments are able to manage their environments for the benefit of their populations.
Finally, it is evident that strong results are connected to wealth (GDP per capita). Economic prosperity enables governments to invest in programs and policies that lead to better environmental outcomes.
Rank | Country | EPI Score |
---|---|---|
1 | Denmark | 82.5 |
2 | Luxembourg | 82.3 |
3 | Switzerland | 81.5 |
4 | UK | 81.3 |
5 | France | 80.0 |
6 | Austria | 79.6 |
7 | Finland | 78.9 |
8 | Sweden | 78.7 |
9 | Norway | 77.7 |
10 | Germany | 77.2 |
11 | Netherlands | 75.3 |
12 | Japan | 75.1 |
13 | Australia | 74.9 |
14 | Spain | 74.3 |
15 | Belgium | 73.3 |
16 | Ireland | 72.8 |
17 | Iceland | 72.3 |
18 | Slovenia | 72.0 |
19 | New Zealand | 71.3 |
20 | Canada | 71.0 |
21 | Czech Rep. | 71.0 |
22 | Italy | 71.0 |
23 | Malta | 70.7 |
24 | USA | 69.3 |
25 | Greece | 69.1 |
26 | Slovakia | 68.3 |
27 | Portugal | 67 |
28 | South Korea | 66.5 |
29 | Israel | 65.8 |
30 | Estonia | 65.3 |
31 | Cyprus | 64.8 |
32 | Romania | 64.7 |
33 | Hungary | 63.7 |
34 | Croatia | 63.1 |
35 | Lithuania | 62.9 |
36 | Latvia | 61.6 |
37 | Poland | 60.9 |
38 | Seychelles | 58.2 |
39 | Singapore | 58.1 |
40 | Taiwan | 57.2 |
41 | Bulgaria | 57.0 |
42 | UAE | 55.6 |
43 | North Macedonia | 55.4 |
44 | Chile | 55.3 |
45 | Serbia | 55.2 |
46 | Brunei Darussalam | 54.8 |
47 | Kuwait | 53.6 |
48 | Jordan | 53.4 |
49 | Belarus | 53.0 |
50 | Colombia | 52.9 |
51 | Mexico | 52.6 |
52 | Costa Rica | 52.5 |
53 | Armenia | 52.3 |
54 | Argentina | 52.2 |
55 | Brazil | 51.2 |
56 | Bahrain | 51.0 |
57 | Ecuador | 51.0 |
58 | Russia | 50.5 |
59 | Venezuela | 50.3 |
60 | Ukraine | 49.5 |
61 | Uruguay | 49.1 |
62 | Albania | 49.0 |
63 | Antigua & Barbuda | 48.5 |
64 | Cuba | 48.4 |
65 | St. Vincent & the Gren. | 48.4 |
66 | Jamaica | 48.2 |
67 | Iran | 48.0 |
68 | Malaysia | 47.9 |
69 | Trinidad & Tobago | 47.5 |
70 | Panama | 47.3 |
71 | Tunisia | 46.7 |
72 | Azerbaijan | 46.5 |
73 | Paraguay | 46.4 |
74 | Dominican Rep. | 46.3 |
75 | Montenegro | 46.3 |
76 | Gabon | 45.8 |
77 | Barbados | 45.6 |
78 | Bosnia & Herzegovina | 45.4 |
79 | Lebanon | 45.4 |
80 | Thailand | 45.4 |
81 | Suriname | 45.2 |
82 | Mauritius | 45.1 |
83 | Tonga | 45.1 |
84 | Algeria | 44.8 |
85 | Kazakhstan | 44.7 |
86 | Dominica | 44.6 |
87 | Moldova | 44.4 |
88 | Bolivia | 44.3 |
89 | Uzbekistan | 44.3 |
90 | Peru | 44.0 |
91 | Saudi Arabia | 44.0 |
92 | Turkmenistan | 43.9 |
93 | Bahamas | 43.5 |
94 | Egypt | 43.3 |
95 | Grenada | 43.1 |
96 | St. Lucia | 43.1 |
97 | El Salvador | 43.1 |
98 | South Africa | 43.1 |
99 | Turkey | 42.6 |
100 | Morocco | 42.3 |
101 | Belize | 41.9 |
102 | Georgia | 41.3 |
103 | Botswana | 40.4 |
104 | Namibia | 40.2 |
105 | Kyrgyzstan | 39.8 |
106 | Iraq | 39.5 |
107 | Bhutan | 39.3 |
108 | Nicaragua | 39.2 |
109 | Sri Lanka | 39.0 |
110 | Oman | 38.5 |
111 | Philippines | 38.4 |
112 | Burkina Faso | 38.3 |
113 | Malawi | 38.3 |
114 | Tajikistan | 38.2 |
115 | Equatorial Guinea | 38.1 |
116 | Honduras | 37.8 |
117 | Indonesia | 37.8 |
118 | Kiribati | 37.7 |
119 | Sao Tome & Principe | 37.6 |
120 | China | 37.3 |
121 | Samoa | 37.3 |
122 | Qatar | 37.1 |
123 | Zimbabwe | 37.0 |
124 | Central African Rep. | 36.9 |
125 | Dem. Rep. Congo | 36.4 |
126 | Guyana | 35.9 |
127 | Maldives | 35.6 |
128 | Uganda | 35.6 |
129 | Timor-Leste | 35.3 |
130 | Laos | 34.8 |
131 | Sudan | 34.8 |
132 | Kenya | 34.7 |
133 | Zambia | 34.7 |
134 | Ethiopia | 34.4 |
135 | Fiji | 34.4 |
136 | Mozambique | 33.9 |
137 | Rwanda | 33.8 |
138 | Eswatini | 33.8 |
139 | Cameroon | 33.6 |
140 | Cambodia | 33.6 |
141 | Viet Nam | 33.4 |
142 | Pakistan | 33.1 |
143 | Micronesia | 33.0 |
144 | Cabo Verde | 32.8 |
145 | Nepal | 32.7 |
146 | Papua New Guinea | 32.4 |
147 | Mongolia | 32.2 |
148 | Comoros | 32.1 |
149 | Guatemala | 31.8 |
150 | Tanzania | 31.1 |
151 | Nigeria | 31.0 |
152 | Rep. of Congo | 30.8 |
153 | Marshall Islands | 30.8 |
154 | Niger | 30.8 |
155 | Senegal | 30.7 |
156 | Eritrea | 30.4 |
157 | Benin | 30.0 |
158 | Angola | 29.7 |
159 | Togo | 29.5 |
160 | Mali | 29.4 |
161 | Guinea-Bissau | 29.1 |
162 | Bangladesh | 29.0 |
163 | Vanuatu | 28.9 |
164 | Djibouti | 28.1 |
165 | Lesotho | 28 |
166 | Gambia | 27.9 |
167 | Mauritania | 27.7 |
168 | Ghana | 27.6 |
169 | India | 27.6 |
170 | Burundi | 27.0 |
171 | Haiti | 27.0 |
172 | Solomon Islands | 26.7 |
173 | Chad | 26.7 |
174 | Madagascar | 26.5 |
175 | Guinea | 26.4 |
176 | Cote d’Ivoire | 25.8 |
177 | Sierra Leone | 25.7 |
178 | Afghanistan | 25.5 |
179 | Myanmar | 25.1 |
180 | Liberia | 22.6 |