Bathing Habits by Country 2024

There are considerable variations in the bathing habits of those who live in different countries. What we perceive and deem as typical or even sanitary may have a great deal to do with where we live.

Here is a look a few bathing habits by country, including baths versus showers and considerations like frequency. From the most showered country in the world (Brazil) to the most commonly bathed country (the UK), we all have our preferences. Most importantly, however, is that we all stay clean - whatever that looks like in your country.

Brazil

When it comes to showers, Brazil is the leader of the pack, and the cleanest. While only 7% of Brazilians take a bath, 99% report taking weekly showers. How many showers? On average, Brazilians take two showers a day or 14 showers a week.

Although there is undoubtedly a cleanliness aspect of these frequent showers, the humid Brazilian climate also plays a role in the shower frequency for Brazilians. Studies have also suggested that more frequent showers or a preference for showering is also more common in such warm-climate regions.

United Kingdom

Those in the UK don't shower nearly as often as Brazilians, with only 83% reporting taking weekly showers. Few, if any, as previously mentioned, however, bathe as often as those in the UK, with 32% preferring to take baths over showers. That is more than four times as many people in Brazil.

Like most bathing habits by country, there are more than a few variables that come into play and that have an impact on why, what, when, and how people bathe. For people of a notably refined society, it also seems somehow appropriate that UK residents would choose to enjoy a hot tea with their baths.

Germany

Residents of Germany find themselves somewhere in the middle of the pack when it comes to bathing habits. 92% of people who live in Germany take showers, while 20% opt for bathing options. That also puts Germany in the top tier for both baths and showers, and one of the cleaner countries in the world too.

China

The bathing habits of China unsurprisingly favor showers (85%) versus the 11% of Chinese residents who bathe. With the known population concerns in China, showering is easily the most cost effective and easiest method of bathing.

USA

In the land of freedom, the choice is clearly a preference for showering in the United States, with a reported 90% choosing showers over baths. The 13% of Americans who do prefer bathing, however, still makes the US one of the most bathed countries in the world.