Food waste produced annually in selected countries worldwide 2020

China and India produce more household food waste than any other country worldwide at an estimated 92 million and 69 million metric tons every year, respectively. This is unsurprising, considering both countries have by far the largest populations globally. Food waste has often been thought to be concentrated in wealthier countries, however, in terms of food waste per capita, there are similarities between developed and developing countries. It is estimated that per capita food waste production is highest in Western Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Sources of food waste

The global population produced approximately 931 million metric tons of food waste in 2019. This represented roughly 17 percent of total food made available. Household food waste was the main source of food waste that year, accounting for 61 percent of the total. The second main source of food waste was the foodservice sector.

Why is food waste such a problem?

Food waste has many societal impacts that affect all of us. It not only costs the global economy hundreds of billions of dollars every year and depletes resources, but it also harms the environment and contributes to the climate crisis. When food waste is dumped at landfill sites it rots and produces large volumes of methane – a potent greenhouse gas. Food waste accounts for an estimated nine percent of global food system greenhouse gas emissions, which in 2015 totaled 17.9 billion metric tons of CO2 equivalent.