PM2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding WHO in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: PM2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding WHO was 66.5% in 2017. ▼ Falling
PM2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding WHO in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, 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 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland stood at 66.5%. That is the lowest value across all 12 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.8% on the previous year and down 25.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, pm2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland peaked at 91.1% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 66.5%, in 2017.
That places United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 172nd out of 194 countries with data for 2017, putting it 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 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, year by year
| Year | % of total | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 91.1% | — |
| 1995 | 89.6% | -1.7% |
| 2000 | 88.2% | -1.5% |
| 2005 | 88.7% | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 87.5% | -1.3% |
| 2011 | 90.4% | +3.3% |
| 2012 | 84.8% | -6.2% |
| 2013 | 82.4% | -2.8% |
| 2014 | 72.1% | -12.6% |
| 2015 | 72.0% | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 67.1% | -6.8% |
| 2017 | 66.5% | -0.8% |
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland compared with similar countries
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland's 66.5% is below the median for high income countries, which is 94.8%, 70% of the median. (65 countries reporting)
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland's 66.5% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 98.8%, 67% of the median. (50 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 90.4% | 89.6% | 91.1% | 2 |
| 2000s | 88.5% | 88.2% | 88.7% | 2 |
| 2010s | 77.8% | 66.5% | 90.4% | 8 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
More urban development data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- Population in the largest city 17.0% (2025)
- Population density 283.25 people per sq. km of land area (2023)
- PM2.5 air pollution, mean annual exposure 9.46 micrograms per cubic meter (2023)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million, per capita 0.2742 units per person (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 19.05 million (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million, annual 0.8373 % 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 77.42 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Population in largest city 9.84 million (2025)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 23 - Ecological 995.65 Hectares (2020)
All data for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland →
Frequently asked questions
- What is pm2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- Pm2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was 66.5% 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 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- The highest recorded value was 91.1% in 1990.
- What is the lowest pm2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who recorded in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- The lowest recorded value was 66.5% in 2017.
- How does United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland rank for pm2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who?
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ranks 172nd out of 194 countries with data for 2017.
- Is pm2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding who rising or falling in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 25.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 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.