Higher-income ‘Shift’ countries need to shift away from over-consuming the planet’s resources in servicing their relatively affluent and comfortable lifestyles.

They are home to a minority of the world’s population but consume 31% of resources and generate 43% of emissions. Per capita, shift countries are the largest consumers across all resource groups; their extraction of fossil fuels is relatively high, as is their participation in global trade. So, despite high HDI (Human Development Index) scores and comfortable lifestyles, these countries have a way to go to limit their consumption in line with our planet’s resources.

The Shift profile fits best with the higher-income countries in the global North, in the Middle East and on the Australian continent. The larger ones are the United States of America, Japan, Argentina and member countries of the European Union.

To find out what country profile your country belongs to, explore this interactive story and search for your country on the final map.