Smoking Rates by Country 2026: Which Country Smokes Most

Looking at smoking rates by country, Lebanon smokes the most: WHO estimates that 46.9% of people aged 15 and over there smoked tobacco in 2024. Timor-Leste, Serbia, North Macedonia and Papua New Guinea complete the top five, while Ghana, Nigeria and Ethiopia have the lowest rates. These are the latest country estimates WHO has published. The 2025 and 2030 figures in the same dataset are projections, so this ranking uses 2024.

Which Country Smokes the Most? The Short Answer

According to the WHO global report on trends in prevalence of tobacco use 2000–2024, published in 2025, Lebanon had the highest age-standardized smoking rate of any country in 2024. More than half of Lebanese men (54.1%) and 39.7% of women smoked.

Worldwide, WHO estimates that 16.1% of people aged 15 and over smoked some form of tobacco in 2024. That works out to about 992 million people who smoke, out of 1.202 billion tobacco users in total once smokeless products are counted. Around 847 million of those smokers used cigarettes.

By region, smoking was most common in WHO’s European Region (23.5%) and Western Pacific Region (22.7%). It was least common in the African Region (8.0%). For the policy side of these numbers, see our overview of global tobacco control.

Top 20 Countries by Smoking Rate

The table ranks the 20 highest rates among the 167 countries and territories in WHO’s 2024 dataset. Each figure is age-standardized, which adjusts for the fact that some countries have much older populations than others.

Three patterns stand out. First, the Balkans dominate: Serbia, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia all make the top 12. Second, several small Pacific island nations, including Kiribati, Nauru, Tuvalu and Tonga, have very high rates. Third, France is the only large Western European country in the top 20.

High smoking rates usually mean a heavy toll later. Our data on deaths from smoking shows how prevalence feeds into mortality, and our comparison of pack prices covers one reason rates differ so much between countries.

Countries With the Lowest Smoking Rates

The lowest smoking rates in WHO’s 2024 estimates are mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, plus Panama and Turkmenistan.

A low rate here does not always mean low tobacco use. WHO’s figures count smoked tobacco only. In some countries, smokeless tobacco such as chewing tobacco is common, and those users do not appear in these numbers. Low-income countries also tend to have fewer recent surveys, which makes their estimates less certain.

Where the US, UK, Canada, Australia and Ireland Rank

Four of the five sit in the lower half of the global table. Ireland is the exception: at 75th of 167 it is just inside the top half. Canada ranks lowest of the five, at 118th.

National surveys in these countries report lower figures than WHO. That is expected rather than a contradiction. WHO counts people aged 15 and over who smoke any tobacco, including cigars and pipes, and adjusts for age. National surveys often count only cigarettes, only adults aged 18 and over, or only daily smokers, and each has its own data year.

The US national figure comes from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics, which reports that 9.1% of American adults smoked cigarettes in its 2025 early release. For a closer look at the US, our breakdown of US smoking rates by state goes state by state, and our UK smoking statistics page covers England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Australia’s figure uses a narrower measure. The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that 10.6% of adults were daily smokers in 2022, down from 22.4% in 2001. People who smoke less than daily are not in that number.

Wherever you live, the cost adds up in local currency. Our analysis of the cost of smoking by country puts a figure on it, and iQuit’s money-saved counter works in multiple currencies if you want to track your own savings after quitting.

The Gender Gap by Country

Globally, men smoke far more than women: WHO puts male smoking at 27.7% and female smoking at 4.6% in 2024. The size of that gap varies enormously between countries.

In parts of Asia and the Middle East, smoking is almost entirely male. In Indonesia, 59.3% of men smoked in 2024 but only 1.2% of women. In Egypt the figures were 49.6% and 0.4%.

Europe is different. WHO’s European Region had the highest female smoking rate of any region, at 17.2%. In three places, Serbia, Nauru and Andorra, women’s estimated smoking rate was higher than men’s in 2024.

The US, UK, Canada, Australia and Ireland all have modest gaps. In the US, WHO estimates 17.6% of men and 11.6% of women smoked. In the UK, the figures were 14.6% and 11.0%.

This CDC video explains why global tobacco control is considered one of the most cost-effective ways to prevent disease.

Which Countries Cut Smoking Fastest

Most countries smoke less than they did in 2010. WHO’s global tobacco use rate, which includes smokeless products, fell from 26.2% in 2010 to 19.5% in 2024. The table shows the countries with the biggest drops in smoking over that period.

The UK is one of the few large, high-income countries on the list. Its estimated rate roughly halved, from 24.2% to 12.8%. Norway’s fall was even steeper, and Sweden and New Zealand also saw big drops: Sweden went from 20.0% to 10.2%, and New Zealand from 18.3% to 9.3%.

A few countries went the other way. Lebanon’s estimated rate rose from 38.9% in 2010 to 46.9% in 2024. The occupied Palestinian territory rose from 25.0% to 33.0%, and Egypt from 21.5% to 25.0%.

National declines are the sum of millions of individual quits. Our global cessation statistics look at how people actually manage it and which methods work best.

How These Rates Are Measured

WHO’s country figures are not taken from a single survey. WHO gathers national survey results, then uses a statistical model to produce comparable estimates for each year. Here is what that means for the numbers above.

• Age 15 and over: the estimates cover everyone aged 15+, not just adults aged 18+.
• Any smoked tobacco: cigarettes, cigars, pipes, waterpipes and other smoked products all count. Smokeless tobacco and e-cigarettes do not.
• Current smoking: daily and occasional smokers are both included.
• Age-standardized: rates are adjusted to a standard age structure, so countries with older or younger populations can be compared fairly.
• Modeled estimates: each figure has a wide uncertainty range. Lebanon’s 46.9%, for example, has a range of 35.2% to 58.7%. Countries a few points apart in the table may not truly differ.
• Data year: 2024 is the latest estimate. WHO’s 2025 and 2030 figures are projections. WHO says some countries had too little survey data to produce trend estimates at all.

Every figure in this article comes from the WHO report and its Global Health Observatory data, or from the national survey pages linked above, all opened on 15 September 2026. Ranks were calculated from the 167 countries and territories with a 2024 estimate. The WHO tobacco fact sheet summarizes the global picture.

Smoking Rates by Country FAQ