List of countries by cigarette consumption per capita

This is a list of countries by annual per capita consumption of tobacco cigarettes.

Number of cigarettes smoked per person per year.

Cigarettes are smoked by over 1 billion people, which is nearly 20% of the world's population in 2014. About 800 million of these smokers are men. While smoking rates have leveled off or declined in developed nations, especially among men, in developing nations tobacco consumption continues to rise.

More than 80% of all smokers now live in countries with low or middle incomes, and 60% in just 10 countries, a list headed by China.[1] China is the world's most populated country, and is also the leading country in the cigarette industry. In 2014, China produced and consumed more than 30% of the cigarettes in the world. There is a strong relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and smoking behaviors. According to research, developing countries have the highest rate of tobacco use. “China was found to be one of the countries with the highest male-to-female ratio of smoking prevalence”: 74% of males and 8% of females were smokers.[2] Over half of adult males in Indonesia are smokers (57%, but mostly kretek, a local form of cigarette) and China (53% estimated), and nearly half in Bangladesh, though for women the figure is much lower.[3]

Smoking rates in the United States dropped by half from 1965 to 2006, from 42% to 20.8% of adults,[4] with further significant decline to 14% by 2018.[5] There are large regional differences in smoking rates.[6]

In Australia the incidence of smoking is in decline, with figures from 2014–15 showing 14.7% of the population (over 18) to be daily smokers, a decline from 22.3% in 2001.[7] Young adults are the most likely age group to smoke, with a marked decline in smoking rates with increasing age. The prevalence of smoking is strongly associated with socioeconomic disadvantage (low earners), with over double the rate in the most disadvantaged quintile of the population as compared to the least.[8] Smoking rates in rural areas tend to be higher than in city areas.

The list is biased for some of the countries with the highest consumption, such as Andorra, Luxembourg and Belgium. These countries are known to sell cigarettes at lower prices than their neighbours, and as such attract foreign buyers. Andorra, for instance, is known for its duty-free shops where Europeans can find alcohol, cigarettes, electronics and clothes which can be up to 20 percent cheaper than in the neighbouring countries.[9]