PM2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding WHO in Spain
Spain: PM2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding WHO was 41.1% in 2017. ▼ Falling
PM2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding WHO in Spain, 1990–2017
Source: Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 (GBD 2017), Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). Measured in % of total.
Analysis
In 2017, pm2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who in Spain stood at 41.1%.
That represents a change of up 1.0% on the previous year and down 44.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, pm2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who in Spain peaked at 78.7% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 40.7%, in 2016.
Spain ranks 176th of 194 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 12 years of available data.
PM2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding WHO in Spain, year by year
| Year | % of total | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 77.6% | — |
| 1995 | 76.4% | -1.6% |
| 2000 | 75.0% | -1.7% |
| 2005 | 74.2% | -1.2% |
| 2010 | 72.2% | -2.7% |
| 2011 | 78.7% | +9.1% |
| 2012 | 68.5% | -13.0% |
| 2013 | 60.7% | -11.4% |
| 2014 | 47.7% | -21.4% |
| 2015 | 55.2% | +15.6% |
| 2016 | 40.7% | -26.2% |
| 2017 | 41.1% | +1.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 77.0% | 76.4% | 77.6% | 2 |
| 2000s | 74.6% | 74.2% | 75.0% | 2 |
| 2010s | 58.1% | 40.7% | 78.7% | 8 |
Countries ranked near Spain
- 173 Denmark 56.9% compare
- 174 Switzerland 49.3% compare
- 175 Sri Lanka 45.5% compare
- 177 United States Virgin Islands 40.0% compare
- 178 Northern Mariana Islands 26.9% compare
- 179 Australia 24.9% compare
More urban development data for Spain
- Population in the largest city 17.1% (2025)
- Population density 96.76 people per sq. km of land area (2023)
- PM2.5 air pollution, mean annual exposure 10.08 micrograms per cubic meter (2023)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million, per capita 0.2542 units per person (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 12.54 million (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million, annual 0.3889 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million, per unit 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million, per square 24.89 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Population in largest city 6.81 million (2025)
- Crude steelmaking capacity 18.8 Tonnes (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is pm2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who in Spain?
- Pm2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who in Spain was 41.1% in 2017, according to Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 (GBD 2017), Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).
- What is the highest pm2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who recorded in Spain?
- The highest recorded value was 78.7% in 2011.
- What is the lowest pm2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who recorded in Spain?
- The lowest recorded value was 40.7% in 2016.
- How does Spain rank for pm2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who?
- Spain ranks 176th out of 194 countries with data for 2017.
- Is pm2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who rising or falling in Spain?
- Over the last ten years it is down 44.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Spain data come from?
- The figures come from Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 (GBD 2017), Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), published as part of PM2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding WHO guideline value (% of total). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 12 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Percent of population exposed to ambient concentrations of PM2.5 that exceed the WHO guideline value is defined as the portion of a country’s population living in places where mean annual concentrations of PM2.5 are greater than 10 micrograms per cubic meter, the guideline value recommended by the World Health Organization as the lower end of the range of concentrations over which adverse health effects due to PM2.5 exposure have been observed.