Top 10 Food Wasting Countries

According to the United Nations Environment Program’s (UNEP) 2021 Food Waste Index Report, a total of around 931 million tons of food is annually wasted globally, of which 61Pct is at the household, 26Pct at the food service, and 13Pct at the retail level. In fact, the report stated the veracity of global household estimates is medium to low. Food waste is food (including drink) and associated inedible parts removed from the human food supply chain in the following sectors: manufacturing of food products (under certain circumstances); food retail; food service; and households. “Removed from the human food supply chain” means one of the following end destinations: landfill, controlled combustion, sewer, litter/ discards/ refuse, co/ anaerobic digestion, compost / aerobic digestion or land application.Average per capita waste is higher in Asia, at 110 kilograms per household per year, followed by 108 in Africa, and 90 in southern Europe. In terms of African countries’ annual food waste, Nigeria leads with 38 million tons, followed by Ethiopia’s 10.3 million, Egypt’s 9.1 million, DRC’s 9 million, Tanzania’s 7 million, and Kenya’s 5.2 million tons.

Globally, the lowest per capita food waste per household is the 33 kilograms in Russia, while the highest is 189 in Nigeria. Per capita food waste is higher in developing countries, though population size matters.

FAO estimates that 690 million people were hungry in 2019, a number that is expected to rise sharply during and post-COVID-19. With a staggering 3 billion people unable to afford a healthy diet, the adoption of technologies to reduce food waste is not optional. The UN is working towards halving food waste by 2030, as part of the SDGs. EBR

RankCountryHousehold Food Waste (Million Tons per Year)Household Food Waste (Kg per Capital per Year)
1China91.664
2India66.750
3Nigeria38199
4Indonesia2177
5USA19.359
6Pakistan1674
7Brazil12.660
8Mexico1294
9Bangladesh10.665
10Ethiopia10.392

9th Year • Mar 16 – Apr 15 2021 • No. 96

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