Countries by Food Waste Per Person

Complete ranking of 221 countries • kg/person/year • Updated 2026

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Cyprus leads all 221 countries in Food Waste Per Person with a value of 294, while Palestine ranks last at 53.564. This represents a 5-fold difference between the highest and lowest values.

What Food Waste Per Person Measures

Estimated annual food waste per person from the UN Global SDG Indicators Database.

Why This Ranking Matters

Examining Food Waste Per Person across all countries reveals patterns that might not be obvious at the national level. Regional clusters, outlier nations, and historical trajectories all become clearer when the full global picture is assembled in a single ranking.

Global Range

Values range from 53.564 (Palestine) to 294 (Cyprus) — a 5-fold difference across 221 countries.

Regional Patterns

The top 20 is globally diverse, with countries from 5 continents represented. No single region dominates, suggesting this metric is driven more by national conditions than by broad continental patterns.

Values are tightly clustered around the median of 135.828, with most countries falling within a narrow range. A few outliers at the extremes account for most of the overall spread.

Notable Outliers

The top of the ranking is competitive: Cyprus and Maldives are separated by only 13%, indicating that the leading positions could shift with updated data.

Continental Leaders

Europe

Cyprus

294

Asia

Maldives

260.435

Africa

Saint Helena

241.442

North America

Dominican Republic

226.82

Oceania

Vanuatu

184.11

South America

Ecuador

162.517

Highest Ranked

The top five countries for Food Waste Per Person are Cyprus (294), Maldives (260.435), Denmark (254), Saint Helena (241.442), and Syria (227.074). Together, these nations represent the global leaders in this metric.

Lowest Ranked

At the other end of the spectrum, Palestine (53.564), Russia (55.524), Mongolia (59.771), Bhutan (61.294), and Spain (65) have the lowest values globally.

Data Source & Methodology

Rankings are based on the latest available data from UN Global SDG Indicators Database, covering 221 of 249 countries and territories. Countries without data for this metric are excluded from the ranking. All values represent the most recently reported figures.

Top 10 Countries

1stCyprus294.0 years

2ndMaldives260.4 years

3rdDenmark254.0 years

4thSaint Helena241.4 years

5thSyria227.1 years

6thDominican Republic226.8 years

7thSeychelles225.8 years

8thMexico214.7 years

9thTunisia212.5 years

10thMalaysia209.5 years

Full Rankings

Food Waste Per Person ranking for 221 countries
				Percentile
1st	Cyprus	294.0 years	Europe	100%
2nd	Maldives	260.4 years	Asia	100%
3rd	Denmark	254.0 years	Europe	99%
4th	Saint Helena	241.4 years	Africa	99%
5th	Syria	227.1 years	Asia	98%
6th	Dominican Republic	226.8 years	North America	98%
7th	Seychelles	225.8 years	Africa	97%
8th	Mexico	214.7 years	North America	97%
9th	Tunisia	212.5 years	Africa	96%
10th	Malaysia	209.5 years	Asia	96%
11th	Iraq	205.0 years	Asia	95%
12th	Egypt	203.8 years	Africa	95%
13th	Tanzania	192.9 years	Africa	95%
14th	Saint Pierre and Miquelon	192.8 years	North America	94%
15th	Canada	188.1 years	North America	94%
16th	Vanuatu	184.1 years	Oceania	93%
17th	Portugal	184.0 years	Europe	93%
18th	Bahrain	183.3 years	Asia	92%
19th	Lebanon	183.2 years	Asia	92%
20th	Rwanda	181.5 years	Africa	91%
21st	Romania	181.0 years	Europe	91%
22nd	Western Sahara	178.0 years	Africa	90%
23rd	Australia	176.9 years	Oceania	90%
24th	Thailand	176.3 years	Asia	90%
25th	Laos	174.1 years	Asia	89%
26th	Pakistan	172.6 years	Asia	89%
27th	Israel	170.9 years	Asia	88%
28th	Afghanistan	169.3 years	Asia	88%
29th	Cambodia	169.3 years	Asia	87%
30th	Switzerland	167.4 years	Europe	87%
31st	Anguilla	166.2 years	North America	86%
32nd	Norway	165.0 years	Europe	86%
33rd	Grenada	163.6 years	North America	86%
34th	Azerbaijan	162.8 years	Europe	85%
35th	Turkey	162.7 years	Europe	85%
36th	Armenia	162.7 years	Europe	84%
37th	Ecuador	162.5 years	South America	84%
38th	Myanmar	162.5 years	Asia	83%
39th	Timor-Leste	162.3 years	Asia	83%
40th	Malta	162.0 years	Europe	82%
41st	Georgia	161.7 years	Europe	82%
42nd	Turks and Caicos Islands	159.3 years	North America	81%
43rd	Iceland	159.0 years	Europe	81%
44th	Yemen	159.0 years	Asia	81%
45th	United States	158.6 years	North America	80%
46th	Panama	158.6 years	North America	80%
47th	Suriname	158.4 years	North America	79%
48th	Saint Lucia	158.0 years	North America	79%
49th	El Salvador	158.0 years	North America	78%
50th	Paraguay	157.9 years	South America	78%
51st	Costa Rica	157.9 years	North America	77%
52nd	Cuba	157.9 years	North America	77%
53rd	Guatemala	157.9 years	North America	76%
54th	Brunei	157.2 years	Asia	76%
55th	Vietnam	156.7 years	Asia	76%
56th	Sudan	156.3 years	Africa	75%
57th	Jordan	156.1 years	Asia	75%
58th	Nigeria	154.3 years	Africa	74%
59th	Peru	154.2 years	South America	74%
60th	Morocco	153.5 years	Africa	73%
61st	Algeria	153.5 years	Africa	73%
62nd	Greenland	153.3 years	North America	72%
63rd	Saint Kitts and Nevis	152.7 years	North America	72%
64th	Jamaica	152.7 years	North America	71%
65th	Dominica	151.9 years	North America	71%
66th	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	151.9 years	North America	71%
67th	Haiti	151.3 years	North America	70%
68th	Nicaragua	151.3 years	North America	70%
69th	Honduras	151.2 years	North America	69%
70th	Bolivia	151.2 years	South America	69%
71st	Uganda	151.1 years	Africa	68%
72nd	Belgium	151.0 years	Europe	68%
73rd	Oman	150.5 years	Asia	67%
74th	Kuwait	150.5 years	Asia	67%
75th	Aruba	150.4 years	North America	67%
76th	United Arab Emirates	150.4 years	Asia	66%
77th	Singapore	149.6 years	Asia	66%
78th	Saudi Arabia	148.9 years	Asia	65%
79th	Cayman Islands	148.3 years	North America	65%
80th	U.S. Virgin Islands	146.4 years	North America	64%
81st	Guyana	145.8 years	North America	64%
82nd	Bahamas	145.6 years	North America	63%
83rd	Chile	145.5 years	South America	63%
84th	Trinidad and Tobago	145.5 years	North America	62%
85th	Puerto Rico	145.5 years	North America	62%
86th	Uruguay	145.5 years	South America	62%
87th	Cook Islands	145.1 years	Oceania	61%
88th	Qatar	145.0 years	Asia	61%
89th	Barbados	144.7 years	North America	60%
90th	Curaçao	144.7 years	North America	60%
91st	Brazil	144.4 years	South America	59%
92nd	Ireland	144.0 years	Europe	59%
93rd	Tonga	143.9 years	Oceania	58%
94th	Indonesia	143.5 years	Asia	58%
95th	Fiji	142.0 years	Oceania	57%
96th	China	141.6 years	Asia	57%
97th	Argentina	141.6 years	South America	57%
98th	Hong Kong	139.9 years	Asia	56%
99th	Kazakhstan	139.8 years	Asia	56%
100th	Turkmenistan	139.8 years	Asia	55%
101st	Antigua and Barbuda	139.7 years	North America	55%
102nd	British Virgin Islands	139.5 years	North America	54%
103rd	France	139.0 years	Europe	54%
104th	Italy	139.0 years	Europe	53%
105th	Saint Martin	137.4 years	North America	53%
106th	Colombia	137.0 years	North America	52%
107th	Namibia	136.8 years	Africa	52%
108th	Gabon	136.7 years	Africa	52%
109th	Mauritius	136.6 years	Africa	51%
110th	Equatorial Guinea	136.2 years	Africa	51%
111st	Libya	135.8 years	Africa	50%
112nd	Bermuda	134.9 years	North America	50%
113rd	Nepal	134.9 years	Asia	49%
114th	Iran	134.9 years	Asia	49%
115th	Estonia	134.0 years	Europe	48%
116th	South Korea	133.4 years	Asia	48%
117th	Guinea-Bissau	133.1 years	Africa	48%
118th	Gambia	133.0 years	Africa	47%
119th	Sierra Leone	132.9 years	Africa	47%
120th	Malawi	132.8 years	Africa	46%
121st	Central African Republic	132.8 years	Africa	46%
122nd	Togo	132.8 years	Africa	45%
123rd	Somalia	132.8 years	Africa	45%
124th	Niger	132.8 years	Africa	44%
125th	Burundi	132.8 years	Africa	44%
126th	Mozambique	132.8 years	Africa	43%
127th	Madagascar	132.8 years	Africa	43%
128th	Mali	132.8 years	Africa	43%
129th	Burkina Faso	132.8 years	Africa	42%
130th	Chad	132.8 years	Africa	42%
131st	South Sudan	132.8 years	Africa	41%
132nd	Liberia	132.7 years	Africa	41%
133rd	Eritrea	132.7 years	Africa	40%
134th	Sint Maarten	131.8 years	North America	40%
135th	Sao Tome and Principe	131.4 years	Africa	39%
136th	Austria	131.0 years	Europe	39%
137th	Comoros	130.4 years	Africa	38%
138th	Lesotho	130.2 years	Africa	38%
139th	Mauritania	130.0 years	Africa	38%
140th	Venezuela	130.0 years	North America	37%
141st	Guinea	129.9 years	Africa	37%
142nd	Angola	129.9 years	Africa	36%
143rd	Côte d'Ivoire	129.9 years	Africa	36%
144th	Congo	129.9 years	Africa	35%
145th	Cameroon	129.9 years	Africa	35%
146th	Benin	129.9 years	Africa	34%
147th	Papua New Guinea	129.9 years	Oceania	34%
148th	Djibouti	129.8 years	Africa	33%
149th	Eswatini	129.8 years	Africa	33%
150th	Cabo Verde	129.3 years	Africa	33%
151st	Germany	129.0 years	Europe	32%
152nd	Netherlands	129.0 years	Europe	32%
153rd	Palau	127.3 years	Oceania	31%
154th	Uzbekistan	126.5 years	Asia	31%
155th	Kyrgyzstan	126.5 years	Asia	30%
156th	Tajikistan	126.5 years	Asia	30%
157th	Montenegro	125.6 years	Europe	29%
158th	Samoa	125.2 years	Oceania	29%
159th	Albania	124.9 years	Europe	29%
160th	Bosnia and Herzegovina	124.9 years	Europe	28%
161st	Ghana	124.8 years	Africa	28%
162nd	North Macedonia	124.8 years	Europe	27%
163rd	Bangladesh	124.5 years	Asia	27%
164th	Latvia	124.0 years	Europe	26%
165th	Tuvalu	123.6 years	Oceania	26%
166th	Poland	123.0 years	Europe	25%
167th	Serbia	122.8 years	Europe	25%
168th	Monaco	122.8 years	Europe	24%
169th	North Korea	122.7 years	Asia	24%
170th	Kenya	122.6 years	Africa	24%
171st	Greece	122.1 years	Europe	23%
172nd	Luxembourg	122.0 years	Europe	23%
173rd	New Caledonia	120.7 years	Oceania	22%
174th	Belize	120.6 years	North America	22%
175th	Saint Barthélemy	120.2 years	North America	21%
176th	Zambia	118.7 years	Africa	21%
177th	Sri Lanka	118.0 years	Asia	20%
178th	Senegal	117.5 years	Africa	20%
179th	Sweden	117.0 years	Europe	19%
180th	French Polynesia	116.6 years	Oceania	19%
181st	Macao	115.0 years	Asia	19%
182nd	Liechtenstein	113.8 years	Europe	18%
183rd	Andorra	113.0 years	Europe	18%
184th	Marshall Islands	110.6 years	Oceania	17%
185th	Philippines	110.1 years	Asia	17%
186th	Ethiopia	110.1 years	Africa	16%
187th	Finland	109.0 years	Europe	16%
188th	Wallis and Futuna	106.6 years	Oceania	15%
189th	Slovakia	106.0 years	Europe	15%
190th	American Samoa	104.1 years	Oceania	14%
191st	New Zealand	103.6 years	Oceania	14%
192nd	Congo, Democratic Republic	102.9 years	Africa	14%
193rd	Kiribati	101.8 years	Oceania	13%
194th	Belarus	101.5 years	Europe	13%
195th	Moldova	101.4 years	Europe	12%
196th	Czechia	101.0 years	Europe	12%
197th	San Marino	100.5 years	Europe	11%
198th	Isle of Man	99.3 years	Europe	11%
199th	Faroe Islands	98.8 years	Europe	10%
200th	Lithuania	98.0 years	Europe	10%
201st	India	97.3 years	Asia	10%
202nd	Botswana	96.7 years	Africa	9%
203rd	United Kingdom	95.2 years	Europe	9%
204th	Bulgaria	95.0 years	Europe	8%
205th	Ukraine	94.8 years	Europe	8%
206th	Northern Mariana Islands	94.4 years	Oceania	7%
207th	South Africa	93.4 years	Africa	7%
208th	Guam	92.6 years	Oceania	6%
209th	Zimbabwe	88.0 years	Africa	6%
210th	Hungary	84.0 years	Europe	5%
211st	Solomon Islands	83.7 years	Oceania	5%
212nd	Japan	80.6 years	Asia	5%
213rd	Micronesia	76.2 years	Oceania	4%
214th	Nauru	73.9 years	Oceania	4%
215th	Croatia	72.0 years	Europe	3%
216th	Slovenia	71.0 years	Europe	3%
217th	Spain	65.0 years	Europe	2%
218th	Bhutan	61.3 years	Asia	2%
219th	Mongolia	59.8 years	Asia	1%
220th	Russia	55.5 years	Europe	1%
221st	Palestine	53.6 years	Asia	0%