Waste treatment - Regions — Municipal waste generation by country
This dataset provides statistics on municipal waste and wastewater treatment in large (TL2) and small (TL3) regions. Data definition and source Municipal waste data covers total amount municipal waste collected, recovered municipal waste and municipal waste used in controlled landfilling. Recovered municipal waste...
What the numbers show
Waste treatment - Regions — Municipal waste generation is currently reported for 34 countries. The highest value is 2,065 Kilogrammes per person in Russian Federation; the lowest is 218 Kilogrammes per person in Belgium.
The median across all reporting countries is 475 Kilogrammes per person, and the mean is 518.29 Kilogrammes per person.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 9.
Over the past decade 19 countries rose and 14 fell. The largest increase was in Croatia (up 107.7%), and the largest decrease in Belgium (down 51.0%).
Waste treatment - Regions — Municipal waste generation: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russian Federation | 2,065 Kilogrammes per person | 2019 | up 28.3% | rising |
| 2 | Austria | 782 Kilogrammes per person | 2023 | up 35.3% | rising |
| 3 | Switzerland | 692 Kilogrammes per person | 2011 | up 4.4% | rising |
| 4 | Canada | 684 Kilogrammes per person | 2022 | down 3.8% | rising |
| 5 | Luxembourg | 653 Kilogrammes per person | 2013 | down 3.7% | rising |
| 6 | Israel | 647 Kilogrammes per person | 2023 | up 8.4% | rising |
| 7 | Ireland | 626 Kilogrammes per person | 2010 | up 3.8% | rising |
| 8 | Malta | 567 Kilogrammes per person | 2013 | down 2.2% | rising |
| 9 | Australia | 543 Kilogrammes per person | 2021 | down 10.0% | falling |
| 9 | Denmark | 543 Kilogrammes per person | 2023 | down 5.2% | flat |
| 11 | Czechia | 538 Kilogrammes per person | 2023 | up 75.2% | rising |
| 12 | France | 529 Kilogrammes per person | 2021 | down 0.6% | rising |
| 13 | Slovenia | 517 Kilogrammes per person | 2023 | up 24.9% | rising |
| 14 | Portugal | 505 Kilogrammes per person | 2023 | up 15.0% | rising |
| 15 | Italy | 496 Kilogrammes per person | 2023 | up 1.2% | flat |
| 16 | Bulgaria | 491 Kilogrammes per person | 2023 | up 12.1% | falling |
| 17 | Spain | 482 Kilogrammes per person | 2022 | up 2.8% | falling |
| 18 | Netherlands | 468 Kilogrammes per person | 2023 | down 11.0% | falling |
| 19 | Lithuania | 446 Kilogrammes per person | 2023 | up 3.5% | rising |
| 20 | Chile | 441 Kilogrammes per person | 2017 | up 32.8% | rising |
| 20 | Germany | 441 Kilogrammes per person | 2023 | down 2.9% | flat |
| 22 | Latvia | 438 Kilogrammes per person | 2023 | up 25.1% | rising |
| 23 | United Kingdom | 435 Kilogrammes per person | 2022 | down 7.6% | rising |
| 24 | Hungary | 429 Kilogrammes per person | 2023 | up 64.4% | rising |
| 25 | Croatia | 407 Kilogrammes per person | 2013 | up 107.7% | rising |
| 26 | Estonia | 373 Kilogrammes per person | 2022 | up 33.2% | falling |
| 27 | Poland | 367 Kilogrammes per person | 2023 | up 23.6% | rising |
| 28 | Norway | 359 Kilogrammes per person | 2023 | down 18.4% | falling |
| 29 | Japan | 326 Kilogrammes per person | 2021 | down 8.2% | falling |
| 30 | Costa Rica | 325 Kilogrammes per person | 2023 | — | rising |
| 31 | Mexico | 305 Kilogrammes per person | 2022 | down 1.6% | rising |
| 32 | Romania | 252 Kilogrammes per person | 2012 | down 34.5% | falling |
| 33 | Colombia | 232 Kilogrammes per person | 2022 | up 6.9% | rising |
| 34 | Belgium | 218 Kilogrammes per person | 2022 | down 51.0% | falling |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- Slovak Republic 472 Kilogrammes per person
- Türkiye 356 Kilogrammes per person
- Korea 448 Kilogrammes per person
- China (People's Republic of) 126 Kilogrammes per person
About this data
This dataset provides statistics on municipal waste and wastewater treatment in large (TL2) and small (TL3) regions. Data definition and source Municipal waste data covers total amount municipal waste collected, recovered municipal waste and municipal waste used in controlled landfilling. Recovered municipal waste is defined as waste that undergoes material recycling or other forms of recovery (including energy recovery, composting), excluding landfilling. Wasterwater treated is measured by the share of population connected to at least secondary wastewater treatment. Data is collected via delegates of the OECD Working Party on Territorial Indicators (WPTI), as well as from national statistical offices' websites. Definition of regions Regions are subnational units below national boundaries. OECD countries have two regional levels: large regions (territorial level 2 or TL2) and small regions (territorial level 3 or TL3). The OECD regions are presented in the OECD Territorial grid (pdf) and in the OECD Territorial correspondence table (xlsx). Cite this dataset OECD Regions and Cities databases http://oe.cd/geostats Further information The interactive web-tool OECD Regions and Cities Statistical Atlas The report OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance Contact: RegionStat@oecd.org