A global ranking of the highest rates of smoking in the world, measured by the smoking prevalence in each country.
Tobacco remains the world’s leading preventable cause of death, linked to cancer, heart disease, stroke, and chronic lung disease, among other non-communicable diseases.
The World Health Organization (WHO) tracks global tobacco use through national surveys and long-term modelling. While many countries have not conducted new surveys since 2015–2019, WHO produces updated projections to estimate smoking trends.
The 2026 figures below represent the latest available estimates of daily smoking prevalence worldwide.
10 countries with the lowest and highest rates of smoking
These countries have the lowest and highest percentage of daily smokers aged 15 and above, based on WHO’s 2026 projections.
What the research says…
- The global number of cigarettes smoked each year continues to decline.
- There are about 1.3 billion tobacco users aged 15 and older.
- Around 80% of the world’s tobacco users live in low- and middle-income nations.
- Tobacco use causes more than 7 million deaths annually, including around 1.6 million among non-smokers exposed to second-hand smoke.
- China’s male population alone accounts for about 40 percent of global cigarette consumption.
While smoking reduces lifespan at the individual level, its effect on national life expectancy varies. High smoking rates can worsen health outcomes, especially among men, but strong healthcare systems can offset some of the impact.
Regional highlights
- Serbia, North Macedonia and Bulgaria have the highest smoking prevalence in Europe.
- Chile, Argentina and Uruguay have the highest smoking rates among countries in the Americas.
- East Timor, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands record the highest smoking rates in the Asia-Pacific region.
- Egypt, Tunisia and South Africa have the highest smoking prevalence in Africa.
- Jordan and Lebanon top the list in the Middle East.
Smoking rates by country – complete ranking
The table below ranks all available countries by their projected smoking prevalence for 2026, based on WHO modeled estimates of daily smokers aged 15 and above.
Some countries have been omitted due to insufficient data:
| Country | Both Sexes(Projected, %) | Male (Projected, %) | Female (Projected, %) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | 8.2 | 14.9 | 1.6 |
| Albania | 21.1 | 36.3 | 5.9 |
| Algeria | 17.4 | 34.2 | 0.6 |
| Andorra | 35.6 | 34.3 | 36.8 |
| Argentina | 23.2 | 26.8 | 19.6 |
| Armenia | 25.8 | 49.9 | 1.7 |
| Australia | 11.2 | 12.9 | 9.6 |
| Austria | 23.1 | 23.2 | 23.0 |
| Azerbaijan | 18.2 | 36.3 | 0.1 |
| Bahamas | 13.8 | 25.3 | 2.2 |
| Bahrain | 15.2 | 24.5 | 5.9 |
| Bangladesh | 16.2 | 32.2 | 0.3 |
| Barbados | 6.7 | 11.9 | 1.6 |
| Belarus | 24.4 | 37.3 | 11.4 |
| Belgium | 23.4 | 26.2 | 20.6 |
| Belize | 8.4 | 14.8 | 2.0 |
| Benin | 4.9 | 9.1 | 0.7 |
| Bhutan | 7.2 | 11.5 | 2.8 |
| Bolivia (Plurinational State of) | 12.0 | 20.3 | 3.8 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 36.8 | 42.6 | 31.1 |
| Botswana | 14.4 | 25.6 | 3.2 |
| Brazil | 11.5 | 15.0 | 8.1 |
| Brunei Darussalam | 14.3 | 26.6 | 2.0 |
| Bulgaria | 38.8 | 40.4 | 37.2 |
| Burkina Faso | 7.6 | 12.9 | 2.4 |
| Burundi | 8.0 | 14.1 | 1.9 |
| Cote d'Ivoire | 6.9 | 12.8 | 1.0 |
| Cabo Verde | 7.2 | 11.9 | 2.5 |
| Cambodia | 14.8 | 27.9 | 1.8 |
| Cameroon | 5.0 | 9.6 | 0.4 |
| Canada | 10.7 | 13.2 | 8.2 |
| Chad | 7.3 | 12.9 | 1.8 |
| Chile | 26.0 | 28.4 | 23.7 |
| China | 22.7 | 44.0 | 1.4 |
| Colombia | 7.8 | 11.6 | 4.0 |
| Comoros | 6.5 | 12.3 | 0.7 |
| Congo | 15.9 | 30.6 | 1.2 |
| Cook Islands | 28.0 | 31.8 | 24.2 |
| Costa Rica | 7.6 | 11.3 | 3.9 |
| Croatia | 34.5 | 35.0 | 33.9 |
| Cuba | 15.6 | 22.8 | 8.3 |
| Cyprus | 32.3 | 45.8 | 18.9 |
| Czechia | 28.1 | 31.9 | 24.4 |
| Democratic People's Republic of Korea | 15.2 | 30.4 | 0 |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | 9.7 | 17.5 | 1.8 |
| Denmark | 15.2 | 16.0 | 14.5 |
| Dominican Republic | 8.6 | 12.1 | 5.0 |
| Ecuador | 10.0 | 17.7 | 2.4 |
| Egypt | 25.4 | 50.4 | 0.4 |
| El Salvador | 7.9 | 13.7 | 2.1 |
| Estonia | 23.5 | 27.1 | 19.9 |
| Eswatini | 9.4 | 17.0 | 1.8 |
| Ethiopia | 3.5 | 6.1 | 1.0 |
| Fiji | 25.4 | 38.5 | 12.2 |
| Finland | 16.2 | 17.8 | 14.5 |
| France | 33.6 | 35.9 | 31.3 |
| Gabon | 10.9 | 19.4 | 2.4 |
| Gambia | 10.4 | 20.3 | 0.4 |
| Georgia | 30.9 | 53.3 | 8.5 |
| Germany | 21.5 | 23.8 | 19.3 |
| Ghana | 2.4 | 4.2 | 0.5 |
| Greece | 29.7 | 33.5 | 25.9 |
| Guatemala | 11.2 | 20.7 | 1.7 |
| Guinea-Bissau | 7.8 | 15.3 | 0.3 |
| Guyana | 11.2 | 20.4 | 2.1 |
| Haiti | 7.9 | 13.4 | 2.4 |
| Honduras | 12.1 | 22.5 | 1.6 |
| Hungary | 30.6 | 32.4 | 28.8 |
| Iceland | 8.7 | 8.9 | 8.6 |
| India | 8.9 | 16.5 | 1.3 |
| Indonesia | 30.2 | 59.3 | 1.1 |
| Iran (Islamic Republic of) | 7.8 | 15.1 | 0.4 |
| Iraq | 19.9 | 38.1 | 1.8 |
| Ireland | 17.7 | 20.7 | 14.7 |
| Israel | 20.9 | 28.2 | 13.6 |
| Italy | 22.3 | 25.4 | 19.2 |
| Jamaica | 11.2 | 18.2 | 4.3 |
| Japan | 17.1 | 25.4 | 8.7 |
| Jordan | 34.0 | 54.8 | 13.1 |
| Kazakhstan | 19.9 | 33.0 | 6.8 |
| Kenya | 7.1 | 13.1 | 1.0 |
| Kiribati | 36.8 | 49.2 | 24.5 |
| Kuwait | 19.2 | 36.1 | 2.3 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 17.7 | 32.5 | 2.9 |
| Lao People's Democratic Republic | 23.1 | 41.8 | 4.4 |
| Latvia | 30.4 | 41.3 | 19.6 |
| Lebanon | 47.4 | 54.6 | 40.2 |
| Lesotho | 23.2 | 44.8 | 1.6 |
| Liberia | 4.8 | 8.4 | 1.2 |
| Lithuania | 28.1 | 36.9 | 19.4 |
| Luxembourg | 24.3 | 25.1 | 23.5 |
| Madagascar | 16.0 | 30.9 | 1.1 |
| Malawi | 7.7 | 13.8 | 1.5 |
| Malaysia | 16.6 | 32.7 | 0.4 |
| Maldives | 22.2 | 41.3 | 3.0 |
| Mali | 6.0 | 11.5 | 0.5 |
| Malta | 24.3 | 25.6 | 23.1 |
| Marshall Islands | 23.3 | 42.7 | 4.0 |
| Mauritania | 8.8 | 15.7 | 1.9 |
| Mauritius | 17.3 | 32.3 | 2.4 |
| Mexico | 15.6 | 23.7 | 7.5 |
| Mongolia | 28.0 | 49.4 | 6.5 |
| Montenegro | 37.3 | 40.0 | 34.5 |
| Morocco | 12.3 | 23.5 | 1.2 |
| Myanmar | 24.3 | 43.6 | 4.9 |
| Namibia | 12.0 | 20.1 | 3.9 |
| Nauru | 32.8 | 26.2 | 39.5 |
| Nepal | 15.9 | 26.6 | 5.3 |
| Netherlands (Kingdom of the) | 20.0 | 22.5 | 17.5 |
| New Zealand | 8.9 | 9.9 | 8.0 |
| Niger | 6.0 | 11.4 | 0.6 |
| Nigeria | 2.9 | 5.6 | 0.3 |
| North Macedonia | 39.5 | 43.0 | 36.0 |
| Norway | 12.3 | 13.6 | 11.0 |
| Oman | 7.9 | 15.4 | 0.3 |
| Pakistan | 12.5 | 22.3 | 2.7 |
| Palau | 17.6 | 27.3 | 7.9 |
| Palestine | 33.7 | 57.7 | 9.7 |
| Panama | 4.3 | 6.9 | 1.8 |
| Papua New Guinea | 39.0 | 53.1 | 24.9 |
| Paraguay | 6.0 | 9.5 | 2.5 |
| Peru | 11.9 | 21.1 | 2.7 |
| Philippines | 19.5 | 34.9 | 4.2 |
| Poland | 21.2 | 24.3 | 18.0 |
| Portugal | 28.9 | 34.9 | 22.9 |
| Qatar | 11.9 | 20.2 | 3.7 |
| Republic of Korea | 18.1 | 30.6 | 5.6 |
| Republic of Moldova | 29.1 | 51.2 | 7.0 |
| Romania | 28.3 | 37.3 | 19.4 |
| Russian Federation | 24.5 | 34.7 | 14.3 |
| Rwanda | 7.8 | 12.0 | 3.7 |
| Saint Lucia | 13.7 | 24.7 | 2.8 |
| Samoa | 22.6 | 31.6 | 13.6 |
| Sao Tome and Principe | 5.7 | 10.3 | 1.0 |
| Saudi Arabia | 13.4 | 23.5 | 3.3 |
| Senegal | 5.2 | 9.8 | 0.6 |
| Serbia | 39.6 | 38.8 | 40.4 |
| Seychelles | 16.9 | 29.8 | 4.1 |
| Sierra Leone | 10.7 | 16.4 | 5.0 |
| Singapore | 13.7 | 21.8 | 5.6 |
| Slovakia | 29.3 | 32.6 | 26.1 |
| Slovenia | 20.8 | 21.1 | 20.4 |
| Solomon Islands | 38.3 | 56.1 | 20.5 |
| South Africa | 23.6 | 38.9 | 8.4 |
| Spain | 27.3 | 28.6 | 26.1 |
| Sri Lanka | 13.2 | 25.9 | 0.4 |
| Sweden | 9.8 | 11.5 | 8.0 |
| Switzerland | 22.9 | 23.5 | 22.2 |
| Türkiye | 31.1 | 41.6 | 20.5 |
| Thailand | 17.4 | 33.7 | 1.2 |
| Timor-Leste | 43.4 | 76.2 | 10.6 |
| Togo | 4.9 | 9.4 | 0.4 |
| Tonga | 32.1 | 47.8 | 16.5 |
| Tunisia | 23.7 | 45.1 | 2.2 |
| Turkmenistan | 4.8 | 9.2 | 0.4 |
| Tuvalu | 32.9 | 46.8 | 18.9 |
| Uganda | 5.8 | 9.9 | 1.8 |
| Ukraine | 22.5 | 35.1 | 9.8 |
| United Arab Emirates | 8.8 | 14.9 | 2.6 |
| United Kingdom | 12.3 | 14.1 | 10.5 |
| United Republic of Tanzania | 5.8 | 10.4 | 1.2 |
| United States of America | 14.1 | 17.0 | 11.1 |
| Uruguay | 18.8 | 21.5 | 16.1 |
| Uzbekistan | 9.9 | 19.0 | 0.9 |
| Viet Nam | 20.3 | 39.9 | 0.7 |
| Zambia | 12.4 | 22.3 | 2.5 |
| Zimbabwe | 9.6 | 18.5 | 0.7 |
Source: World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory (updated 2026). Figures represent WHO modeled projections for 2026 based on the most recent available national tobacco-use surveys, some of which date back more than a decade.
Caitriona Maria is an education writer and owner of The Facts Institute. With seven years of teaching experience and a background in educational content, she specialises in creating clear reference resources about countries, geography and global topics.