Municipal waste recycled in Spain
Spain: Municipal waste recycled was 9.32 million tonnes in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
9.32 million tonnes
Change on year
down 5.7%
World rank
7th
of 90 countries
All-time high
10.06 million tonnes
in 2008
All-time low
4.88 million tonnes
in 2000
Years of data
24
2000–2023
Municipal waste recycled in Spain, 2000–2023
Source: United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
Spain recorded 9.32 million tonnes for municipal waste recycled in 2023.
The figure is down 5.7% on the previous year and up 35.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, municipal waste recycled in Spain peaked at 10.06 million tonnes in 2008 and was at its lowest, 4.88 million tonnes, in 2000.
Spain ranks 7th of 90 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Municipal waste recycled in Spain, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 4.88 million tonnes | — |
| 2001 | 5.70 million tonnes | +16.7% |
| 2002 | 7.72 million tonnes | +35.5% |
| 2003 | 7.83 million tonnes | +1.4% |
| 2004 | 7.95 million tonnes | +1.5% |
| 2005 | 8.05 million tonnes | +1.3% |
| 2006 | 8.17 million tonnes | +1.4% |
| 2007 | 7.99 million tonnes | -2.1% |
| 2008 | 10.06 million tonnes | +25.8% |
| 2009 | 8.33 million tonnes | -17.2% |
| 2010 | 6.94 million tonnes | -16.6% |
| 2011 | 6.05 million tonnes | -12.8% |
| 2012 | 6.52 million tonnes | +7.7% |
| 2013 | 6.89 million tonnes | +5.7% |
| 2014 | 6.42 million tonnes | -6.8% |
| 2015 | 6.34 million tonnes | -1.2% |
| 2016 | 7.29 million tonnes | +15.0% |
| 2017 | 7.95 million tonnes | +9.0% |
| 2018 | 7.73 million tonnes | -2.8% |
| 2019 | 8.45 million tonnes | +9.3% |
| 2020 | 8.86 million tonnes | +4.8% |
| 2021 | 9.99 million tonnes | +12.8% |
| 2022 | 9.88 million tonnes | -1.1% |
| 2023 | 9.32 million tonnes | -5.7% |
Spain compared with similar countries
- Spain's 9.32 million tonnes is above the median for high income countries, which is 948,000 tonnes, 9.8× the median. (57 countries reporting)
- Spain's 9.32 million tonnes is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.06 million tonnes, 8.8× the median. (42 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 7.67 million tonnes | 4.88 million tonnes | 10.06 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.06 million tonnes | 6.05 million tonnes | 8.45 million tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 9.51 million tonnes | 8.86 million tonnes | 9.99 million tonnes | 4 |
Countries ranked near Spain
More environment data for Spain
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -1.67 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -1.4 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.402 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.3 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -0.4277 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate -0.5136 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is municipal waste recycled in Spain?
- Municipal waste recycled in Spain was 9.32 million tonnes in 2023, according to United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest municipal waste recycled recorded in Spain?
- The highest recorded value was 10.06 million tonnes in 2008.
- What is the lowest municipal waste recycled recorded in Spain?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.88 million tonnes in 2000.
- How does Spain rank for municipal waste recycled?
- Spain ranks 7th out of 90 countries with data for 2023.
- Is municipal waste recycled rising or falling in Spain?
- Over the last ten years it is up 35.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Spain data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Municipal waste recycled. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Municipal waste recycled (Tonnes).