This graphic shows motor vehicle ownership, with the U.S. and Europe having one vehicle for every one or two persons. A second tier includes South Korea, Russia, and Mexico. India and China, by contrast, have approximately 12 and 28 vehicles for every 1,000 people, respectively, although vehicle use in these countries is growing rapidly. Differing levels of motorization help explain large per capita emissions disparities, as well as disparities at the sector level.

Here, motor vehicles include cars, buses, and freight vehicles, but not two-wheelers.

This graphic is based on an original chart published in WRI's Navigating the Numbers (Baumert et al., 2005).