Countries with the Highest Smoking Rates

The countries with the highest prevalence of tobacco use among adults aged 15 and over, according to WHO age-standardised estimates for 2020. The figures cover all tobacco products, not just cigarettes.

About This Dataset

Countries with the Highest Smoking Rates
The countries with the highest prevalence of tobacco use among adults aged 15 and over, according to WHO age-standardised estimates for 2020. The figures cover all tobacco products, not just cigarettes.
✨ AI Insight

Small Pacific island nations and Southeast Asia dominate the top of the smoking rankings. Nauru has the world's highest adult tobacco-use rate at 48.5%, followed by Myanmar (44.1%) and Kiribati (40.6%) - in each of these, roughly two in five adults use tobacco. Southeast Asian countries feature heavily, with Papua New Guinea (39.3%), Timor-Leste (39.2%) and Indonesia (37.6%) all near 40%. The other cluster is the Balkans and Baltic region of Europe: Serbia (39.8%), Bulgaria (39.0%), Latvia (37.0%) and Croatia (36.9%) all rank among the world's heaviest-smoking populations, reflecting weaker tobacco-control policies than in Western Europe. Lebanon (38.2%) is the only Middle Eastern entry. The list highlights how tobacco use has shifted toward lower- and middle-income countries even as it falls across the wealthy West.

Source:  World Health Organization (WHO)

Key Findings

Auto-computed highlights from this dataset

🏆
Nauru leads with 49 in All Time.
📊
Average value in All Time: 40  ·  median: 39.
↔️
Gap in All Time: Nauru is 1.3× larger than Solomon Islands.

Countries with the Highest Smoking Rates

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Data Insights

Numbers, trends & sources behind this chart

Admin
⬡
Data Points
12
12 categories  ·  1 year
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Top Value
48.50
Nauru
Adult Tobacco Use Prevalence (% of Adults 15+) · All Time
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Metrics
1
Adult Tobacco Use Prevalence (% of Adults 15+)
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Period
All Time
Single year snapshot

Category Rankings

Adult Tobacco Use Prevalence (% of Adults 15+) · All Time

# Category All Time
🥇 Nauru 48.50
🥈 Myanmar 44.10
🥉 Kiribati 40.60
4 Serbia 39.80
5 Papua New Guinea 39.30
6 Timor-Leste 39.20
7 Bulgaria 39
8 Lebanon 38.20
9 Indonesia 37.60
10 Latvia 37
11 Croatia 36.90
12 Solomon Islands 36.50
Statistical Summary — Adult Tobacco Use Prevalence (% of Adults 15+) · All Time
48.50
Maximum
36.50
Minimum
40
Average
39
Median

What This Data Shows

Auto-generated trend summaries per category

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Nauru
Recorded 48.50 Adult Tobacco Use Prevalence (% of Adults 15+) in All Time.
Source
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Myanmar
Recorded 44.10 Adult Tobacco Use Prevalence (% of Adults 15+) in All Time.
Source
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Kiribati
Recorded 40.60 Adult Tobacco Use Prevalence (% of Adults 15+) in All Time.
Source
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Serbia
Recorded 39.80 Adult Tobacco Use Prevalence (% of Adults 15+) in All Time.
Source
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Papua New Guinea
Recorded 39.30 Adult Tobacco Use Prevalence (% of Adults 15+) in All Time.
Source
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Timor-Leste
Recorded 39.20 Adult Tobacco Use Prevalence (% of Adults 15+) in All Time.
Source
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Bulgaria
Recorded 39 Adult Tobacco Use Prevalence (% of Adults 15+) in All Time.
Source
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Lebanon
Recorded 38.20 Adult Tobacco Use Prevalence (% of Adults 15+) in All Time.
Source
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Indonesia
Recorded 37.60 Adult Tobacco Use Prevalence (% of Adults 15+) in All Time.
Source
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Latvia
Recorded 37 Adult Tobacco Use Prevalence (% of Adults 15+) in All Time.
Source
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Croatia
Recorded 36.90 Adult Tobacco Use Prevalence (% of Adults 15+) in All Time.
Source
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Solomon Islands
Recorded 36.50 Adult Tobacco Use Prevalence (% of Adults 15+) in All Time.
Source

Full Data Table

12 records across 1 year

✓ 12 sourced
Category Metric All Time Source
Nauru Adult Tobacco Use Prevalence (% of Adults 15+) 48.50
Myanmar Adult Tobacco Use Prevalence (% of Adults 15+) 44.10
Kiribati Adult Tobacco Use Prevalence (% of Adults 15+) 40.60
Serbia Adult Tobacco Use Prevalence (% of Adults 15+) 39.80
Papua New Guinea Adult Tobacco Use Prevalence (% of Adults 15+) 39.30
Timor-Leste Adult Tobacco Use Prevalence (% of Adults 15+) 39.20
Bulgaria Adult Tobacco Use Prevalence (% of Adults 15+) 39
Lebanon Adult Tobacco Use Prevalence (% of Adults 15+) 38.20
Indonesia Adult Tobacco Use Prevalence (% of Adults 15+) 37.60
Latvia Adult Tobacco Use Prevalence (% of Adults 15+) 37
Croatia Adult Tobacco Use Prevalence (% of Adults 15+) 36.90
Solomon Islands Adult Tobacco Use Prevalence (% of Adults 15+) 36.50

Data Sources & References

All external sources cited in this dataset

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