Top 100 Countries by Adult Smoking Prevalence (%), 2025
This ranking compares countries by the WHO modelled, age-standardized prevalence of current tobacco use among adults (15+, total population). While “smoking prevalence” is often used as shorthand, the WHO series here tracks current tobacco use (covering smoked and smokeless forms, depending on country survey inputs and harmonization). Values are expressed as a percentage of the adult population.
Methodology (how the ranking is built)
Data source: WHO Global Health Observatory / WHO Data Portal (indicator: age-standardized prevalence of current tobacco use, 15+). Ranking rule: countries are sorted from highest to lowest prevalence for the year 2025, using the “TOTAL” series.
What is measured: the share of adults who currently use tobacco (age-standardized), expressed as a percentage. Why age-standardized: it improves cross-country comparability by adjusting for differences in population age structures.
Limits: estimates are modelled from national surveys and may carry uncertainty; tobacco-use definitions and survey frequency vary by country; “smoking” and “tobacco use” can differ where smokeless tobacco is common.
In Block 3, the “smoking vs life expectancy” relationship is computed on the latest year where both WHO series overlap (2021).
Top 20 countries (bar chart)
The chart highlights the concentration at the very top: several small island states and a number of European and MENA countries appear among the highest prevalence levels in the 2025 WHO estimates.
- 1. Nauru46.7%
- 2. Myanmar42.3%
- 3. Serbia39.0%
- 4. Bulgaria38.8%
- 5. Indonesia38.7%
- 6. Papua New Guinea38.1%
- 7. Croatia37.6%
- 8. Timor-Leste37.2%
- 9. Kiribati36.8%
- 10. Andorra36.4%
- 11. Jordan36.3%
- 12. Solomon Islands36.1%
- 13. Bosnia and Herzegovina35.2%
- 14. Cyprus35.0%
- 15. France34.6%
- 16. Lebanon34.1%
- 17. Slovakia32.8%
- 18. Latvia32.6%
- 19. Tuvalu32.2%
- 20. Georgia31.6%
Values shown are WHO modelled estimates for 2025, age-standardized, total population 15+.
Video: Top 100 Countries by Tobacco Use (2025)
Full ranking: Top 100 countries (2025)
Sorted from highest to lowest prevalence. Values are WHO modelled estimates for 2025 (age-standardized, total adults 15+).
| Rank | Country | % |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nauru | 46.7% |
| 2 | Myanmar | 42.3% |
| 3 | Serbia | 39.0% |
| 4 | Bulgaria | 38.8% |
| 5 | Indonesia | 38.7% |
| 6 | Papua New Guinea | 38.1% |
| 7 | Croatia | 37.6% |
| 8 | Timor-Leste | 37.2% |
| 9 | Kiribati | 36.8% |
| 10 | Andorra | 36.4% |
| 11 | Jordan | 36.3% |
| 12 | Solomon Islands | 36.1% |
| 13 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 35.2% |
| 14 | Cyprus | 35.0% |
| 15 | France | 34.6% |
| 16 | Lebanon | 34.1% |
| 17 | Slovakia | 32.8% |
| 18 | Latvia | 32.6% |
| 19 | Tuvalu | 32.2% |
| 20 | Georgia | 31.6% |
| 21 | Belarus | 31.4% |
| 22 | Montenegro | 31.2% |
| 23 | Tonga | 31.0% |
| 24 | Romania | 30.8% |
| 25 | Türkiye | 30.8% |
| 26 | Czechia | 30.6% |
| 27 | Russian Federation | 30.5% |
| 28 | Estonia | 30.2% |
| 29 | Lithuania | 29.9% |
| 30 | Mongolia | 29.8% |
| 31 | Republic of Moldova | 29.6% |
| 32 | Chile | 29.6% |
| 33 | Nepal | 29.3% |
| 34 | Spain | 29.0% |
| 35 | Greece | 28.7% |
| 36 | Finland | 28.0% |
| 37 | Lao People's Democratic Republic | 27.9% |
| 38 | Kyrgyzstan | 27.6% |
| 39 | Belgium | 27.2% |
| 40 | Madagascar | 27.0% |
| 41 | Maldives | 26.9% |
| 42 | Portugal | 26.0% |
| 43 | Austria | 26.0% |
| 44 | Switzerland | 25.8% |
| 45 | Armenia | 25.7% |
| 46 | Ukraine | 25.6% |
| 47 | India | 25.4% |
| 48 | Malta | 25.3% |
| 49 | Sweden | 25.1% |
| 50 | Poland | 24.9% |
| 51 | Egypt | 24.8% |
| 52 | Hungary | 24.7% |
| 53 | Lesotho | 24.5% |
| 54 | Argentina | 24.5% |
| 55 | Cabo Verde | 24.2% |
| 56 | China | 24.1% |
| 57 | Samoa | 23.8% |
| 58 | Luxembourg | 23.5% |
| 59 | Cambodia | 23.4% |
| 60 | Afghanistan | 23.3% |
| 61 | France (metropolitan series already listed above) | — |
| 61 | Qatar | 23.1% |
| 62 | Italy | 23.1% |
| 63 | Viet Nam | 23.0% |
| 64 | Kazakhstan | 22.9% |
| 65 | Albania | 22.7% |
| 66 | Finland (total series already listed above) | — |
| 66 | Malaysia | 22.7% |
| 67 | Netherlands (Kingdom of the) | 22.6% |
| 68 | Japan | 22.6% |
| 69 | Germany | 22.5% |
| 70 | Algeria | 22.3% |
| 71 | Congo | 22.3% |
| 72 | South Africa | 22.1% |
| 73 | Uruguay | 22.0% |
| 74 | Slovenia | 21.9% |
| 75 | Ireland | 21.8% |
| 76 | Israel | 21.7% |
| 77 | Yemen | 21.7% |
| 78 | United States of America | 21.6% |
| 79 | Tunisia | 21.5% |
| 80 | Norway | 21.4% |
| 81 | Republic of Korea | 21.4% |
| 82 | Philippines | 21.1% |
| 83 | Denmark | 21.1% |
| 84 | Australia | 21.0% |
| 85 | Thailand | 20.9% |
| 86 | Azerbaijan | 20.7% |
| 87 | Iraq | 20.6% |
| 88 | Kuwait | 20.4% |
| 89 | Costa Rica | 20.3% |
| 90 | Côte d'Ivoire | 20.0% |
| 91 | Pakistan | 17.2% |
| 92 | Palau | 16.6% |
| 93 | Brunei Darussalam | 16.4% |
| 94 | Congo | 16.3% |
| 95 | Singapore | 16.2% |
| 96 | Uzbekistan | 15.8% |
| 97 | Cuba | 15.7% |
| 98 | Comoros | 15.5% |
| 99 | Democratic People's Republic of Korea | 15.4% |
| 100 | Cambodia | 15.3% |
Smoking (tobacco use) vs life expectancy
This scatter plot relates WHO tobacco-use prevalence (%) to WHO life expectancy at birth (years). To avoid mismatched time coverage, it uses the latest common year available in both WHO series: 2021.
- Myanmar45.1% • 67.85 yrs
- Kiribati40.7% • 60.87 yrs
- Papua New Guinea40.2% • 65.49 yrs
- Serbia39.9% • 72.81 yrs
- Bulgaria39.8% • 71.31 yrs
- Timor-Leste39.3% • 68.00 yrs
- Indonesia37.9% • 68.26 yrs
- Solomon Islands37.1% • 64.79 yrs
- Croatia36.8% • 76.86 yrs
- Bosnia and Herzegovina36.4% • 74.85 yrs
- Cyprus35.8% • 81.91 yrs
- Jordan35.3% • 75.65 yrs
In the 2021 WHO cross-country sample used here (n = 158), the simple linear association is positive but weak: r ≈ 0.25, with an estimated slope of about +0.18 years of life expectancy per +1 percentage point in tobacco-use prevalence.
This is not a causal estimate. Cross-country life expectancy is strongly shaped by income, health systems, injury burden, and infectious disease profiles; tobacco prevalence can be high in some contexts where life expectancy remains high due to other protective factors.
Insights (patterns behind the ranking)
The top of the 2025 prevalence ranking mixes two realities. In some small island states, prevalence can remain elevated due to long-lived consumption patterns and limited cessation infrastructure. In parts of Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean, high prevalence can persist even with stronger health systems, reflecting slower declines in adult cohorts and entrenched norms.
Another important point is the difference between “smoking” and “tobacco use.” Countries with meaningful smokeless tobacco consumption can show high total tobacco prevalence even if cigarette smoking is comparatively lower. Product mix matters.
Because the WHO series is age-standardized, higher values are not simply a reflection of older populations. Age-standardization improves comparability by adjusting for differences in age structure.
What this means for readers
- Health impact: higher prevalence implies larger long-term burden from cardiovascular disease, COPD, and several cancers.
- Policy levers: sustained declines are usually linked to taxation, smoke-free laws, ad bans, and accessible cessation support.
- How to compare: prevalence is a population share, not intensity (cigarettes per user) or second-hand exposure.
Related StatRanker pages (context)
FAQ
Is this strictly “smoking prevalence”?
The WHO series used here is “current tobacco use” (age-standardized, 15+, total). In many countries it is close to smoking prevalence,
but it can differ where smokeless tobacco is common.
Why use age-standardized prevalence?
It improves comparability by adjusting for different age structures.
Why does the scatter use 2021, not 2025?
This block uses the latest year where both WHO tobacco-use prevalence and WHO life expectancy series overlap in the downloaded datasets.
Does high prevalence always mean low life expectancy?
Not necessarily in cross-country comparisons. Many factors drive life expectancy; tobacco is important, but not the only driver.
Primary sources
Official WHO resources used to compile the ranking and support interpretation (data portals + reference materials).
WHO Data / Global Health Observatory (GHO): Tobacco use
Indicator pages and datasets for age-standardized prevalence of current tobacco use (15+).
WHO GHO indicator: Life expectancy at birth
Official WHO indicator definition and time series used for the “smoking vs life expectancy” comparison.
WHO fact sheet: Tobacco
Core health implications and burden context from WHO (overview-level reference).
WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC)
Global treaty framework that underpins many national tobacco-control policies.
Download dataset & charts (ZIP)
Included files:
- Top 100 tableCSV + HTML
- Top 20 tableCSV + HTML
- Top 20 bar chartPNG
- Smoking vs life expectancyCSV dataset + PNG
