Municipal waste recycling rate by country
Municipal (including household) waste recycling rates, measured as the percentage of total waste generated that is recycled.
Countries reporting
29
Highest
47.83 Percentage
Germany
Lowest
0 Percentage
Turkey
Median
25.68 Percentage
Years covered
26
1990–2015
Data points
646
What the numbers show
Municipal waste recycling rate is currently reported for 29 countries. The highest value is 47.83 Percentage in Germany; the lowest is 0 Percentage in Turkey.
The median across all reporting countries is 25.68 Percentage, and the mean is 24.35 Percentage.
Over the past decade 24 countries rose and 4 fell. The largest increase was in Lithuania (up 1,892.8%), and the largest decrease in Switzerland (down 8.9%).
Municipal waste recycling rate: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 47.83 Percentage | 2015 | up 7.4% | rising |
| 2 | Slovenia | 47.8 Percentage | 2015 | up 139.1% | volatile |
| 3 | Belgium | 35.09 Percentage | 2015 | up 17.7% | rising |
| 5 | Sweden | 32.37 Percentage | 2015 | down 5.4% | rising |
| 6 | Switzerland | 31.91 Percentage | 2015 | down 8.9% | rising |
| 7 | Italy | 29.14 Percentage | 2015 | up 112.1% | rising |
| 9 | Finland | 28.13 Percentage | 2015 | up 9.9% | falling |
| 10 | United Kingdom | 27.37 Percentage | 2015 | up 51.0% | rising |
| 11 | Denmark | 27.27 Percentage | 2015 | up 11.4% | rising |
| 12 | Estonia | 27.03 Percentage | 2015 | up 11.8% | volatile |
| 13 | Poland | 26.39 Percentage | 2015 | up 572.5% | volatile |
| 14 | Austria | 26.24 Percentage | 2015 | up 2.3% | rising |
| 15 | Norway | 26.13 Percentage | 2015 | down 0.9% | rising |
| 16 | Hungary | 25.96 Percentage | 2015 | up 196.7% | volatile |
| 17 | United States | 25.68 Percentage | 2014 | up 12.3% | rising |
| 18 | Czechia | 25.5 Percentage | 2015 | up 283.2% | volatile |
| 19 | Latvia | 25.17 Percentage | 2015 | up 470.3% | volatile |
| 20 | Netherlands | 24.61 Percentage | 2015 | down 7.7% | rising |
| 21 | Lithuania | 23.26 Percentage | 2015 | up 1,892.8% | volatile |
| 22 | France | 22.25 Percentage | 2015 | up 38.4% | rising |
| 23 | Iceland | 21.31 Percentage | 2014 | up 48.1% | rising |
| 24 | Japan | 20.54 Percentage | 2014 | up 16.8% | rising |
| 25 | Canada | 17.91 Percentage | 2012 | up 3.3% | falling |
| 26 | Spain | 16.84 Percentage | 2015 | up 9.3% | rising |
| 27 | Portugal | 16.23 Percentage | 2014 | up 137.0% | volatile |
| 28 | Greece | 15.56 Percentage | 2012 | up 92.5% | rising |
| 29 | Slovakia | 7.67 Percentage | 2015 | up 667.8% | volatile |
| 30 | Mexico | 4.99 Percentage | 2012 | up 105.6% | rising |
| 31 | Turkey | 0 Percentage | 2014 | — | flat |
About this data
Municipal (including household) waste recycling rates, measured as the percentage of total waste generated that is recycled.