There are huge inequalities in access to air conditioning across the world

In some countries such as Japan, the United States, or South Korea, almost all households have air conditioning in their homes. In others, almost none do. This includes countries like India or South Africa where extreme heat is frequent.

In this chart, you can see the share of households that had air conditioning (AC) in 2018. This data comes from the International Energy Agency.

Paying for the upfront cost of an AC unit is a key barrier to adoption, so as incomes rise, more people get access to them.

Access to air conditioning is becoming increasingly important as the world warms and extreme heat becomes more common.

Read more about how populations can protect themselves against extreme heat →

Where this page came from

This page was imported from Our World in Data. “There are huge inequalities in access to air conditioning across the world” by Hannah Ritchie, published by Our World in Data under CC BY 4.0. Changed here: set as a page, its interactive charts shown as pictures. Data from third parties keeps its own licence.

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