The bar chart illustrates the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by different income groups – high, middle, and low – in 1990 and 2000, measured in metric tons, while the accompanying pie chart provides data on the proportion of the world’s population represented by each income group in 2000. Overall, it is evident that most income groups experienced an upward trajectory, albeit to varying extents, except for high income group, which showed an opposite trend. As for world’s population, the largest figure was seen in high income group, while low income group lagged well behind the others.
Looking first at income groups that released carbon dioxide to atmosphere, middle income group stood at 15 metric tons in 1990, and it later rose significantly to 22 metric tons in 2000. A similar pattern was observed in low income group, which increased slightly from 1 to 2 metric tons throughout the period, remaining the smallest category. High income group, in stark contrast, had a slightly different scenario, recording a drop from 13 to 12 metric tons between 1990 and 2000.
Turning to the world’s population, high income group accounted for 84%, making it the dominant sector. This was followed distantly by middle and low income groups with only 34% and 18% respectively.