Statizoid

Total waste generation by country

Total waste generation, by activity (Tonnes).

Countries reporting
59
Highest
81.27 million tonnes
Japan
Lowest
0 tonnes
Finland
Median
292,641 tonnes
Years covered
24
2000–2023
Data points
757

What the numbers show

Total waste generation is currently reported for 59 countries. The highest value is 81.27 million tonnes in Japan; the lowest is 0 tonnes in Finland.

The median across all reporting countries is 292,641 tonnes, and the mean is 5.00 million tonnes.

Over the past decade 33 countries rose and 23 fell. The largest increase was in Greece (up 10,386.4%), and the largest decrease in Finland (down 100.0%).

Total waste generation: full country ranking

#Country LatestYear 10-year changeTrend
1 Japan 81.27 million tonnes 2019 down 8.1% falling
2 Guatemala 75.60 million tonnes 2010 up 314.3% volatile
3 Iran 45.00 million tonnes 2023 down 0.4% flat
4 Egypt 22.72 million tonnes 2015 down 14.5% falling
5 Russia 16.41 million tonnes 2023 down 59.4% rising
6 Ghana 15.83 million tonnes 2015 up 96.4% rising
7 Spain 6.04 million tonnes 2022 up 9.9% falling
8 Netherlands 5.71 million tonnes 2022 up 23.5% rising
9 Ukraine 5.18 million tonnes 2023 down 49.8% volatile
10 Kazakhstan 3.30 million tonnes 2023 up 188.0% volatile
11 France 2.48 million tonnes 2022 up 92.2% rising
12 Tanzania 1.87 million tonnes 2023 up 5,322.7% volatile
13 Sweden 1.54 million tonnes 2022 up 464.3% volatile
14 Greece 1.05 million tonnes 2022 up 10,386.4% volatile
15 Germany 966,384 tonnes 2022 up 48.9% falling
16 Chile 892,986 tonnes 2021 down 42.8% falling
17 Bulgaria 859,984 tonnes 2022 down 4.8% rising
18 Kuwait 706,000 tonnes 2023 up 289.1% rising
19 Belarus 681,150 tonnes 2023 up 221.3% rising
20 Croatia 646,525 tonnes 2022 up 760.9% volatile
21 Romania 637,561 tonnes 2022 up 35.4% volatile
22 United Kingdom 616,865 tonnes 2018 down 9.5% falling
23 Cyprus 608,239 tonnes 2022 up 3,241.4% volatile
24 Slovakia 460,583 tonnes 2022 down 16.2% falling
25 Denmark 419,747 tonnes 2022 up 458.0% volatile
26 Czechia 352,752 tonnes 2022 up 79.9% volatile
27 Italy 328,210 tonnes 2022 down 19.6% falling
28 Comoros 300,000 tonnes 2023 up 84.0% rising
29 Poland 293,977 tonnes 2022 down 66.8% volatile
30 Hungary 292,641 tonnes 2022 down 36.4% volatile
31 Ireland 292,031 tonnes 2022 up 203.4% volatile
32 Lithuania 289,947 tonnes 2022 down 39.8% falling
33 Belgium 272,374 tonnes 2022 up 64.6% volatile
34 Austria 189,253 tonnes 2022 up 5.7% volatile
35 Estonia 188,724 tonnes 2022 up 143.8% flat
36 Oman 184,424 tonnes 2022 — rising
37 Norway 170,588 tonnes 2022 up 13.7% flat
38 Portugal 151,010 tonnes 2022 up 138.9% volatile
39 Serbia 88,264 tonnes 2022 — volatile
40 Slovenia 64,265 tonnes 2022 down 61.0% falling
41 Jordan 48,900 tonnes 2023 up 32.2% rising
42 Azerbaijan 40,800 tonnes 2023 up 118.2% volatile
43 Latvia 27,604 tonnes 2022 up 897.6% volatile
44 Moldova 23,600 tonnes 2021 down 87.3% volatile
45 Montenegro 12,959 tonnes 2022 down 8.4% falling
46 Iceland 9,253 tonnes 2022 down 88.7% falling
47 Luxembourg 6,882 tonnes 2022 up 398.3% volatile
48 Mauritius 6,057 tonnes 2023 up 13.9% rising
49 Saint Kitts and Nevis 4,300 tonnes 2015 up 49.8% flat
50 Anguilla 4,001 tonnes 2008 up 515.6% volatile
51 Malta 3,733 tonnes 2022 up 37.8% volatile
52 Armenia 2,600 tonnes 2023 down 3.7% volatile
53 Suriname 2,400 tonnes 2023 down 71.5% volatile
54 Andorra 1,100 tonnes 2023 down 30.1% volatile
55 Grenada 1,000 tonnes 2021 down 16.7% falling
56 North Macedonia 462 tonnes 2022 up 1,908.7% volatile
57 Kyrgyzstan 2.15 tonnes 2017 down 100.0% volatile
58 Liechtenstein 1 tonnes 2022 — volatile
59 Finland 0 tonnes 2022 down 100.0% volatile

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Total waste generation by country. Statizoid, drawing on United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/total-waste-generation/

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About this data

Indicator
Total waste generation
Unit
tonnes
Source
United Nations Statistics Division and United Nations Environment Programme – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
62 places, 757 data points, 2000–2023
Last refreshed

Total waste generation, by activity (Tonnes).