Rate of smoking by country and sex in 2025
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Main to remember
- Indonesia has the highest rate of smoking at 72.8%, but smoking is only 1.8%.
- France shows a parity close to sex in smoking, with male and female rates at 35.2% and 34.0% respectively.
In 2025, smoking remains a persistent public health problem, with strong disparities visible not only in countries but also between the sexes.
THE World Health Organization believes that tobacco use causes more than 8 million premature deaths each year. Among these, more than 7 million are due to direct tobacco consumption, while about 1.3 million non-smokers die from an exhibition to used smoke.
The above graph highlights the rates of male and female smoking in ten large countries. The data is based on projections compiled by Statist.
Gender disparities in global smoking rates
The most striking contrast is observed in Indonesia, where almost three -quarters (72.8%) of men are smokers, while only 1.8% of women participate.
This gender difference is also present in China (44.4% against 1.4%) and India (10.9% against 0.9%), reflecting cultural standards and targeted marketing practices.
| Country | Male (%) | Female (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 🇮🇩 Indonesia | 72.8 | 1.8 |
| 🇨🇳 China | 44.4 | 1.4 |
| 🇰🇷 South Korea | 39.6 | 18.2 |
| 🇫🇷 France | 35.2 | 34 |
| 🇷🇺 Russia | 31.4 | 5.7 |
| 🇯🇵 Japan | 26.5 | 9.1 |
| 🇺🇸 USA | 22.8 | 16 |
| 🇩🇪 Germany | 21.4 | 18 |
| 🇧🇷 Brazil | 14.1 | 8.1 |
| 🇮🇳 India | 10.9 | 0.9 |
On the other hand, countries like France and Germany have much narrower disparities. France stands out with almost equal smoking rates in men (35.2%) and women (34.0%), suggesting a more neutral culture between sex around tobacco.
Meanwhile, the United States and Japan fall into the mid-range, with moderate gender differences and a global prevalence of relatively lower smoking compared to Asia and European counterparts.
In Russia, 31.4% of men and 5.7% of women smoke, while in Brazil, smoking rates are lower, with 14.1% of men and 8.1% of women who smoke.
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Gruat production of tobacco is a huge industry. In 2022 alone, around 5.8 million tonnes of tobacco were produced worldwide, including about a third in China. Learn more about tobacco production in this chart On Voronoi, the new application of Visual Capitalist.
