Salt Consumption by Country 2024

When it comes to cooking, there's no more fundamental item than salt. That's true all around the world, with the substance serving a critical role not only in flavoring foods but preserving them as well. However, excess salt can lead to a host of health problems, from high blood pressure to heart disease. And there can be some major differences in just how much salt people consume depending on where they live.

China tops the list for per-capita salt consumption, with the average person putting 17.7 grams of salt in their body per day. That's substantially higher than second place, Hungary, whose residents consume 14.3 grams daily. Central and Eastern Europe is well represented on this list, with the Czech Republic and Slovenia tied for third at 13 grams daily, followed by a tie between Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Croatia, all averaging 12.9 grams per capita per day. Many Asian cuisines are also salt-heavy, leading to high rankings for North and South Korea (12.7 and 12.3, respectively), Singapore (11.5), Thailand (10.8), and Indonesia (12.5).

On the flip side, Samoa has the lowest daily salt consumption, just 5.1 grams. Turkey is not far behind, with 5.3, followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo and Estonia tied at 5.7. There's less regional consistency in the bottom ten salt-consuming nations, though Middle Eastern and North African countries like Syria, Tunisia, Morocco, Lebanon, and Iran are well represented.

The United States sits roughly in the middle of the pack with 8.9 grams per capita per day, similar to Canada (9.1), the United Kingdom (7.1), France (7.6), and Germany (8.7). Overall, there seems to be relatively little relationship between factors like income and salt intake, while regional differences can be seen more starkly. However, there are still notable variations between neighboring countries, like Hungary and Ukraine (14.3 vs. 7) and Indonesia and Papua New Guinea (10.5 vs. 7.)