Misc
Visualizing The Smoking Population of Countries
Visualizing The Smoking Population of Countries
According to Our World in Data, about one-in-four adults around the world smoke tobacco—at least on an occasional basis. And in many countries, a majority of these smokers are men.
But just how big is the smoking gender gap, and which places have the biggest divide between men and women when it comes to smoking? This graphic by Pablo Alvarez visualizes the smoking population breakdown across the globe.
About the Dataset
The dataset is compiled by Our World in Data and uses the latest available figures (2020) that’ve been pulled from the World Bank. The data includes men and women aged 15 and over, and focuses on the world’s top 50 most populous countries.
It’s also worth highlighting that, for the purposes of this study, a smoker is defined as someone who smokes any form of tobacco (cigarettes, cigars, pipes, etc.) and includes people who smoke on a daily, non-daily, and occasional basis.
The Breakdown of Men versus Women Smokers
According to the figures in the dataset, countries in Asia and Africa seem to have the biggest gender gap when it comes to smoking.
For instance, 71% of Indonesian men smoke, while only 4% of Indonesian women use tobacco. And in China, nearly half of men are smokers, while only 2% of women smoke.
Country | % of women who smoke | % of men who smoke |
---|---|---|
🇮🇩 Indonesia | 4% | 71% |
🇲🇲 Myanmar | 20% | 68% |
🇧🇩 Bangladesh | 17% | 52% |
🇨🇳 China | 2% | 49% |
🇳🇷 Nauru | 49% | 47% |
🇳🇵Nepal | 13% | 48% |
🇪🇬 Egypt | 0% | 48% |
🇻🇳 Vietnam | 2% | 47% |
🇲🇾 Malaysia | 1% | 44% |
🇲🇬 Madagascar | 13% | 43% |
🇹🇷 Turkey | 19% | 42% |
🇹🇭 Thailand | 3% | 41% |
🇷🇺 Russia | 13% | 41% |
🇮🇳 India | 13% | 41% |
🇩🇿 Algeria | 1% | 41% |
🇺🇦 Ukraine | 12% | 40% |
🇵🇭 Philippines | 6% | 39% |
🇦🇫 Afghanistan | 7% | 39% |
🇰🇷 South Korea | 6% | 36% |
🇮🇶 Iraq | 2% | 35% |
🇫🇷 France | 32% | 35% |
🇿🇦 South Africa | 6% | 34% |
🇵🇰 Pakistan | 7% | 33% |
🇾🇪 Yemen | 8% | 32% |
🇯🇵 Japan | 10% | 30% |
🇪🇸 Spain | 27% | 29% |
🇦🇷Argentina | 20% | 29% |
🇺🇸 U.S. | 18% | 28% |
🇵🇱 Poland | 20% | 28% |
🇲🇦 Morocco | 1% | 28% |
🇮🇹 Italy | 20% | 27% |
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | 2% | 26% |
🇮🇷 Iran | 3% | 24% |
🇩🇪 Germany | 20% | 24% |
🇲🇿 Mozambique | 6% | 23% |
🇨🇩 DR Congo | 3% | 23% |
🇲🇽 Mexico | 6% | 20% |
🇰🇪 Kenya | 3% | 20% |
🇨🇮 Cote d'Ivoire | 1% | 18% |
🇬🇧 UK | 14% | 17% |
🇧🇷 Brazil | 9% | 16% |
🇨🇦 Canada | 11% | 15% |
🇹🇿 Tanzania | 3% | 14% |
🇺🇬 Uganda | 4% | 13% |
🇵🇪 Peru | 3% | 13% |
🇨🇲 Cameroon | 1% | 13% |
🇮🇸 Iceland | 12% | 11% |
🇨🇴 Colombia | 5% | 12% |
🇪🇹 Ethiopia | 1% | 9% |
🇳🇬 Nigeria | 0% | 7% |
🇬🇭 Ghana | 0% | 7% |
In fact, nearly all the countries included in the study have more male smokers than women—However, there are a few outliers.
For example, in the small Micronesian island of Nauru, a slightly higher percentage of women smoke than men. And in Iceland, there’s a similar trend—12% of women smoke compared to 11% of men.
Despite these few anomalies, the general consensus is that men tend to smoke more than women. And according to Our World in Data, this male-bias can be seen in health statistics. For instance, research by the World Health Organization has found that men are more likely to die from lung cancer.
The Knock-on Effects of Smoking
As many people are now aware of, smoking can lead to major health problems. In fact, it’s estimated that about 15% of deaths around the world are linked to smoking—Either directly, or from second-hand smoke.
Over the last two decades, knowledge around the dangers of smoking has become more widespread, and changes to legislation has forced cigarette companies to put health warnings on their packaging.
And as discourse around smoking and its health-risks has started to circulate more rapidly, the number of smokers worldwide has started to decrease. Here’s a chart showing the drop in smokers in select countries, from 2000 to 2020:
Will the smoking population continue to drop in the next few decades, or have we reached a plateau?

This article was published as a part of Visual Capitalist's Creator Program, which features data-driven visuals from some of our favorite Creators around the world.
Money
Mapped: Minimum Wage Around the World
This infographic shows the net minimum wage across 67 countries, as of January 2023. A breakdown by U.S. state is also included.

Mapped: Minimum Wage Around the World
The purpose of a minimum wage is to establish a baseline income level for workers in a given jurisdiction. Ideally it’s enough to cover basic needs like food and housing, but this isn’t always a guarantee.
To see how the minimum wage differs around the world, we’ve visualized data from Picodi, which includes values for 67 countries as of January 2023.
Monthly Minimum Wage, by Country
The following table includes all of the data used in this infographic.
Each value represents the monthly minimum wage a full-time worker would receive in each country. Picodi states that these figures are net of taxes and have been converted to USD.
Country | Increase compared to Jan 2022 | Minimum wage as of Jan 2023 (full-time, USD) |
---|---|---|
Cyprus | 104.5% | $854 |
Argentina | 100.0% | $336 |
Turkey | 32.5% | $457 |
Moldova | 27.1% | $180 |
Latvia | 25.8% | $555 |
Malaysia | 24.6% | $289 |
Pakistan | 24.5% | $111 |
Romania | 21.9% | $393 |
Germany | 21.2% | $1,594 |
Belarus | 18.8% | $189 |
Lithuania | 18.5% | $646 |
North Macedonia | 17.4% | $298 |
Mexico | 17.1% | $315 |
Chile | 16.9% | $369 |
Russia | 16.6% | $224 |
Kazakhstan | 16.4% | $131 |
Colombia | 16.0% | $249 |
Hungary | 15.3% | $383 |
Netherlands | 14.6% | $1,895 |
Poland | 14.3% | $584 |
Belgium | 14.3% | $1,509 |
Serbia | 14.2% | $347 |
Estonia | 14.2% | $704 |
Azerbaijan | 13.3% | $186 |
Albania | 12.9% | $265 |
Slovenia | 12.6% | $896 |
US | 12.0% | $1,550 |
Croatia | 11.9% | $571 |
Uzbekistan | 11.4% | $72 |
Paraguay | 11.4% | $323 |
Armenia | 10.3% | $138 |
Peru | 10.0% | $233 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 9.9% | $324 |
Bulgaria | 9.3% | $315 |
Luxembourg | 9.2% | $2,140 |
Philippines | 9.0% | $141 |
Uruguay | 8.9% | $424 |
Brazil | 8.5% | $232 |
India | 8.1% | $95 |
Indonesia | 7.9% | $173 |
Greece | 7.8% | $626 |
Portugal | 7.3% | $690 |
UK | 7.2% | $1,705 |
Slovakia | 6.9% | $572 |
South Africa | 6.6% | $226 |
France | 6.6% | $1,380 |
Czechia | 6.0% | $643 |
Vietnam | 5.7% | $162 |
Ecuador | 5.6% | $407 |
New Zealand | 5.4% | $1,866 |
Ireland | 5.1% | $1,753 |
Canada | 5.0% | $1,545 |
Thailand | 4.8% | $195 |
Australia | 4.7% | $2,022 |
South Korea | 4.6% | $1,333 |
Taiwan | 4.0% | $800 |
Bolivia | 3.9% | $284 |
Guatemala | 3.6% | $383 |
Malta | 3.1% | $788 |
Ukraine | 0.0% | $146 |
Israel | 0.0% | $1,389 |
Puerto Rico | 0.0% | $1,328 |
Hong Kong | 0.0% | $959 |
Saudi Arabia | 0.0% | $958 |
Spain | 0.0% | $925 |
Montenegro | 0.0% | $459 |
Nigeria | 0.0% | $68 |
Generally speaking, developed countries have a higher cost of living, and thus require a higher minimum wage.
Two outliers in this dataset are Argentina and Turkey, which have increased their minimum wages by 100% or more from January 2022 levels.
Turkey is suffering from an ongoing currency crisis, with the lira losing over 40% of its value in 2021. Prices of basic goods have increased considerably as the Turkish lira continues to plummet. In fact, a 2022 survey found that 70% of people in Turkey were struggling to pay for food.
Argentina, South America’s second-biggest economy, is also suffering from very high inflation. In response, the country announced three minimum wage increases throughout 2022.
Minimum Wage in the U.S.
Within the U.S., minimum wage varies significantly by state. We’ve visualized each state’s basic minimum rate (hourly) using January 2023 data from the U.S. Department of Labor.
2023-03-17 Update: This map was updated to fix several incorrect values. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.
America’s federal minimum wage has remained unchanged since 2009 at $7.25 per hour.
Each state is allowed to set their own minimum wage, as long as it’s higher than the federal minimum. In states that do not set their own minimum, the federal minimum applies.
If we assume someone works 40 hours a week, the federal minimum wage of $7.25 translates to an annual figure of just $15,080 before taxes. California’s minimum wage of $15.50 translates to $32,240 before taxes.
For further perspective, check out our 2022 infographic on the salary needed to buy a home across 50 U.S. cities.
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