USGBC recently announced the Top 10 Countries and Regions for LEED in 2022. The top 10 list highlights countries and regions outside the United States that are making significant strides in sustainable building design, construction, and operations.
For the second year, China topped the list in 2022, with 1,121 LEED projects certified, encompassing more than 180 million square feet (16 million gross square meters). India moved up in the rankings, coming in second with 323 projects totaling more than 112 million square feet (10.4 square meters).
Making its debut on the list is the Philippines, taking the number 10 spot and representing the growth of green buildings in Southeast Asia. The country made the ranking with 24 projects, totaling 11 million certified square feet (1.06 million square meters).
These certifications are an indication of the ever-growing international demand for LEED as a framework to help buildings and spaces meet high sustainability standards. In 2022, LEED surpassed 100,000 projects around the world.
The analysis used to develop the list ranks countries based on total LEED-certified space between January 1 and December 31, 2022. The U.S. is not included in the ranking but remains the world’s largest market for LEED with more than 511 million square feet certified to LEED in 2022.
Top 10 Countries and Regions for LEED in 2022
| Rank | Country | Project Count | Certified Square Feet | Certified Square Meters |
| 1 | Mainland China | 1,121 | 180,347,421.08 | 16,754,839.89 |
| 2 | India | 323 | 112,717,100.08 | 10,471,771.39 |
| 3 | Canada | 248 | 57,499,943.21 | 5,341,924.69 |
| 4 | Brazil | 108 | 25,863,895.93 | 2,402,836.88 |
| 5 | Sweden | 52 | 24,419,164.67 | 2,268,616.83 |
| 6 | Republic of Korea | 83 | 23,563,512.84 | 2,189,124.09 |
| 7 | Mexico | 92 | 18,427,638.40 | 1,711,985.28 |
| 8 | Spain | 99 | 16,851,697.75 | 1,565,575.47 |
| 9 | Italy | 96 | 14,469,150.48 | 1,344,229.37 |
| 10 | Philippines | 24 | 11,456,313.70 | 1,064,327.40 |
Source: U.S. Green Building Council
