Food, Water and Clean Air

This study shows which countries eat the most meat

Butcher shop

The top 10 countries that ate the most meat in 2018. Image: Unsplash/Sebastian Holgado

Niall McCarthy
Data Journalist, Statista
  • A recent report by Statista shows which countries eat the most meat in 2018, in pounds.
  • America ranked as the number one meat eating country, with Australia taking second.
  • Argentina, a country famous for steak ranked in third.

Which countries have the biggest appetite for meat across the world? Among OECD countries, at least, the U.S. was in first place, followed by meat lovers in Australia in 2018, the latest year on record. Annually, the average American consumes 219 lbs (99 kg) of meat. Chicken makes up the largest share with almost 110 lbs, followed by of beef and veal (58 lbs) and pork (51 lbs). Argentina rank third and the country famous for steak across the globe easily beats the United States in beef consumption by eating 88 lbs per capita and year.

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The countries that eat the most meat
The top 10 countries that ate the most meat, in pounds, in 2018. Image: Statista
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