Which country in North America has the most polluted air?

Honduras has the most polluted air in North America: 30.7 µg/m³ (2023). Next come Guatemala (29.7 µg/m³) and El Salvador (29.6 µg/m³).

Which country in North America has the cleanest air?

The Bahamas, with 5.3 µg/m³ (2023).

What is the typical air pollution (pm2.5) of a country in North America?

The median of the 23 countries in North America is 13.5 µg/m³: half are above it, half below. The median, not the average, because a few countries at the top would drag an average far above almost everyone.

Where do the figures come from?

The average concentration of fine particles (PM2.5) in the air people breathe over a year, in micrograms per cubic metre. The WHO’s guideline is 5. Source: World Bank, 2023. Only independent states are ranked; territories are listed separately. A country’s continent follows Natural Earth; the handful of island states it files under the open ocean are placed by their UN subregion.

Countries in North America by air pollution (pm2.5)

The average concentration of fine particles (PM2.5) in the air people breathe over a year, in micrograms per cubic metre. The WHO’s guideline is 5. 23 countries in North America, highest first. World Bank, 2023

See it on the map

Map: Air pollution (PM2.5) — North America — **7.6**1216202737No data

Highest

30.7

Honduras

Median country

13.5

half above, half below

Lowest

5.3

Bahamas

Countries in North America by air pollution (pm2.5), World Bank, 2023
#	Country	µg/m³	Region
1	Honduras	30.7	Central America
2	Guatemala	29.7	Central America
3	El Salvador	29.6	Central America
4	Jamaica	21.7	Caribbean
5	Nicaragua	20.4	Central America
6	Costa Rica	17.7	Central America
7	Belize	16.8	Central America
8	Mexico	16.6	Central America
9	Haiti	15.8	Caribbean
10	Panama	15.1	Central America
11	Trinidad and Tobago	13.8	Caribbean
12	Dominican Republic	13.5	Caribbean
13	Dominica	11.5	Caribbean
14	Grenada	11.0	Caribbean
15	Barbados	10.9	Caribbean
16	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	10.6	Caribbean
17	Saint Lucia	10.4	Caribbean
18	Cuba	9.4	Caribbean
19	Saint Kitts and Nevis	8.9	Caribbean
20	Antigua and Barbuda	8.4	Caribbean
21	United States	7.0	Northern America
22	Canada	6.6	Northern America
23	Bahamas	5.3	Caribbean

Territories and other places

Not ranked: dependencies of the states above, places whose status is disputed. Highest first.

Place	µg/m³	Status
Puerto Rico	7.8	Territory of United States of America
US Virgin Islands	6.8	Territory of United States of America
Bermuda	4.6	Territory of United Kingdom
Greenland	1.6	Territory of Denmark

Questions

Which country in North America has the most polluted air?: Honduras has the most polluted air in North America: 30.7 µg/m³ (2023). Next come Guatemala (29.7 µg/m³) and El Salvador (29.6 µg/m³).
Which country in North America has the cleanest air?: The Bahamas, with 5.3 µg/m³ (2023).
What is the typical air pollution (pm2.5) of a country in North America?: The median of the 23 countries in North America is 13.5 µg/m³: half are above it, half below. The median, not the average, because a few countries at the top would drag an average far above almost everyone.
Where do the figures come from?: The average concentration of fine particles (PM2.5) in the air people breathe over a year, in micrograms per cubic metre. The WHO’s guideline is 5. Source: World Bank, 2023. Only independent states are ranked; territories are listed separately. A country’s continent follows Natural Earth; the handful of island states it files under the open ocean are placed by their UN subregion.

Source: World Bank (CC BY 4.0). Figures more than 5 years older than the newest are left out rather than shown beside current ones. Countries sharing a value share a rank. All sources.