Key Highlights:
- A new study reveals the countries that send out the most spam emails, resulting in the most CO2 emissions to the environment.
- The Netherlands sends out the largest amount of spam emails daily, amounting to 7.1 billion.
- Irish email users have the highest carbon footprint from spam emails, totaling 367.6 grams per user.
- Only 73% of the Australian population uses email, resulting in the lowest carbon emission per user in the top ten at 93.9 grams.
A new study by ZeroBounce analyzed 27 highly internet-consuming countries to identify those that send out and receive the most spam emails and thus emit the most CO2 to the environment. The study used the most recent reports of population numbers from the World Population Review. The information about the percentage of email users was retrieved from Statista’s reports. The reports about the number of spam emails sent out per country were taken from the Talos Intelligence website. It is globally recognized that one email transaction emits 0.3 grams of CO2 on average. The carbon footprint was calculated according to the number of emails sent out per country. For clearer results, the grams were translated into tons. Per capita carbon footprint is indicated in grams.
Findings summed up
| Country | Population | % of email users | Number of email users | Spam Emails sent daily in billions | Carbon footprint of spam emails in tons | Carbon footprint of spam emails per user in grams |
| Ireland | 5,089,478 | 93% | 4,733,214.54 | 5.8 | 1918.0 | 367.6 |
| New Zealand | 5,269,939 | 78.70% | 4,147,441.99 | 4.7 | 1554.2 | 340.0 |
| Denmark | 5,939,695 | 98.00% | 5,820,901.10 | 6 | 1984.1 | 309.2 |
| Austria | 8,977,139 | 80% | 7,181,711.20 | 5.2 | 1719.6 | 217.2 |
| Switzerland | 8,851,431 | 96.00% | 8,497,373.76 | 5.9 | 1951.1 | 208.3 |
| Belgium | 11,715,774 | 86.21% | 10,100,168.77 | 6.3 | 2083.3 | 187.1 |
| Sweden | 10,673,669 | 93.00% | 9,926,512.17 | 5.8 | 1918.0 | 175.3 |
| Netherlands | 17,671,125 | 90.00% | 15,904,012.50 | 7.1 | 2347.9 | 133.9 |
| Chile | 19,658,839 | 67.30% | 13,230,398.65 | 5.5 | 1818.8 | 124.7 |
| Australia | 26,699,482 | 73% | 19,490,621.86 | 6.1 | 2017.2 | 93.9 |
Ireland leads the ranking with the highest daily carbon emissions resulting from spam emails. With 93% of its population, or approximately 4.7 million people, using email, Ireland generates around 5.8 billion spam emails each day. This equates to an average of 1,918 tons of CO2 emitted daily. Each email user in Ireland contributes an average of 367.6 grams to the daily carbon footprint, the highest per capita emission among the countries studied.
New Zealand ranks second in per capita carbon footprint from spam emails, with each email user emitting an average of 340 grams of CO2. Despite having the lowest total carbon emissions on the list at 1,554 tons per day, New Zealand’s email usage remains significant, with 78.7% of its population, or approximately 4.1 million people, sending or receiving around 4.7 billion spam emails daily.
Denmark secures third place with daily per capita carbon emissions of 309.2 grams. An impressive 98% of Denmark’s population, or about 5.8 million people, use email, sending or receiving approximately 6 billion spam emails each day. This results in a total of 1,984 tons of CO2 emissions daily, the fourth highest on the list.
Austria ranks fourth with an average of 217 grams of carbon emissions per capita. Each day, around 5.2 billion spam emails are sent or received by Austrian email users, who make up 80% of the country’s population, leading to a total daily carbon footprint of 1,719.6 tons.
Switzerland follows closely in fifth place with per capita CO2 emissions of 208.3 grams. Despite having the second-highest percentage of email users at 96%, Switzerland produces the fifth-highest total carbon footprint on the list, with an estimated 1,951 tons of CO2 emitted daily from 5.9 billion spam emails.
Belgium ranks sixth with the second-highest amount of daily total carbon emissions at 2,083 tons. However, the country’s per capita CO2 emissions stand at 187.1 grams, which keeps it outside the top five in this category. Belgium has 86.2% of its population, or roughly 10.1 million people, using email, sending out 6.3 billion spam emails each day.
Sweden ranks seventh with a per capita carbon footprint of 175.3 grams. With 93% of its population or nearly 10 million people, using email, Swedish email users send or receive about 5.8 billion spam emails daily, contributing to a total of 1,918 tons of CO2 emissions each day.
The Netherlands ranks eighth, with the highest total daily carbon footprint of 2,347.9 tons from spam emails. Despite this large contribution, the per capita emission is relatively lower at 133.9 grams due to the high percentage of email users—90% of the population, or around 15.9 million people—sending a staggering 7.1 billion spam emails daily.
Chile comes in ninth, with a per capita carbon footprint of 124.7 grams. Although only 67.3% of the population, or about 13.2 million people, uses email, this results in 5.5 billion spam emails being sent daily, leading to 1,818.8 tons of CO2 emissions each day.
Australia rounds out the top ten with the lowest per capita carbon footprint among the listed countries, at 93.9 grams. Even though 73% of Australians, or approximately 19.5 million people, use email, the country still contributes 6.1 billion spam emails daily, resulting in a total carbon footprint of 2,017.2 tons per day.
ZeroBounce founder and CEO Liviu Tanase commented on the study: “Spam emails are not just an annoyance; they have a significant environmental impact as well. Each spam email contributes to CO2 emissions, and the cumulative effect is substantial when billions are sent daily. This study highlights the hidden cost of digital communication on our planet, urging us to consider the environmental footprint of our online activities and take steps to reduce unnecessary email traffic.”