Sugar Consumption by Country

Data

Note: The World's Biggest Sugar and Sweetener Consumers

Luxembourg's Surprising Top Spot

Luxembourg leads the world in sugars and sweeteners at 166.15 kg per person per year, a figure that is many times the recommended intake for an adult. But its pure sugar consumption is only 11.50 kg, which shows that most of the total comes from other sweeteners such as high-fructose corn syrup and glucose syrups used in processed food and beverages produced in the country.

Fiji and Suriname Follow

Fiji takes second place with 135.70 kg per person (30.14 kg of pure sugar), and Suriname is third at 125.35 kg (38.60 kg of sugar). Both are small nations with deep histories in cane sugar production, and both show how a small population combined with high-sugar diets can push per-capita statistics to extraordinary heights. Montenegro (112.32 kg) completes a top four dominated by small states.

Small Nations Dominate the Top 20

• Nauru (95.86 kg) is one of the smallest countries on Earth yet sits ninth.
• Macau (94.67 kg) and Saint Lucia (87.23 kg) show the same small-country pattern.
• Saint Kitts and Nevis (85.97 kg) is a former cane sugar colony still shaped by that history.
• Malta (77.16 kg) and Gambia (76.14 kg) close out a top 20 full of island and micro states.
• Australia is the largest country to crack the top ten, at 102.58 kg per person.

Sugars and Sweeteners Versus Sugar Only

The two columns tell different stories. The total includes all caloric sweeteners, so countries with heavy soft drink and processed food industries score very high even when their raw sugar use is modest, as in Luxembourg (166.15 kg total but 11.50 kg sugar) and Mongolia (82.11 kg total but only 8.34 kg sugar). Gambia, by contrast, gets most of its 76.14 kg straight from sugar itself at 48.17 kg.

What the Numbers Mean for Health

Health agencies recommend keeping free sugars under roughly 10% of daily calories, which works out to about 50 grams a day for an average adult. Luxembourg's 166.15 kg a year averages more than 450 grams per person per day, several times that limit. High intake is linked to obesity, diabetes, and dental problems, which is why many governments now tax sugary drinks and reformulate processed foods.

Fun Facts

• Luxembourg's figure averages more than 450 grams of sweeteners per person per day.
• Nauru, with a population of around 10,000 people, still ranks ninth in the world.
• Fiji and Suriname both have deep roots in cane sugar production.
• Gambia's intake is dominated by sugar itself, not processed sweeteners.
• Mongolia scores high on sweeteners but very low on pure sugar, only 8.34 kg.
• Australia cracks the top ten partly due to sweetened drinks and processed foods.
• Nearly all of the top 20 countries are small states, islands, or micro-economies.