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.
Science
Mapped: Life Expectancy by Country in 2025
Using 2025 projections from UN data published last year, we map out life expectancy by country. Regional patterns are apparent.

Mapped: Life Expectancy by Country in 2025
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
Key Takeaways
- Western European countries have an 80+ life expectancy at birth, the highest regionally.
- However, several African countries have a below-60 life expectancy, a projected lifespan that is a full 20 years shorter.
How long you live depends a lot on where you’re born.
We illustrate this phenomenon in the above map, which uses 2025 life expectancy at birth projections from the UN World Population Prospects published last year.
Life expectancy at birth measures the average number of years that a newborn could expect to live, if they were subject to the age-specific mortality rates of a given period.
Ranked: Countries Where People Live the Longest
The micronation of Monaco has the highest average life expectancy in the world. A baby born in the country in 2025 can expect to live to 87 years old.
Rank | Country | ISO Code | Average life expectancy at birth, 2025 (in years) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | 🇲🇨 Monaco | MCO | 87 |
2 | 🇸🇲 San Marino | SMR | 86 |
3 | 🇭🇰 Hong Kong | HKG | 86 |
4 | 🇯🇵 Japan | JPN | 85 |
5 | 🇰🇷 South Korea | KOR | 85 |
6 | 🇧🇱 Saint Barthélemy | BLM | 85 |
7 | 🇦🇩 Andorra | AND | 84 |
8 | 🇵🇫 French Polynesia | PYF | 84 |
9 | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | CHE | 84 |
10 | 🇦🇺 Australia | AUS | 84 |
11 | 🇮🇹 Italy | ITA | 84 |
12 | 🇸🇬 Singapore | SGP | 84 |
13 | 🇪🇸 Spain | ESP | 84 |
14 | 🇱🇮 Liechtenstein | LIE | 84 |
15 | 🇷🇪 Réunion | REU | 84 |
16 | 🇬🇮 Gibraltar | GIB | 84 |
17 | 🇲🇹 Malta | MLT | 84 |
18 | 🇳🇴 Norway | NOR | 84 |
19 | 🇫🇷 France | FRA | 84 |
20 | 🇸🇪 Sweden | SWE | 84 |
21 | 🇬🇬 Guernsey | GGY | 84 |
22 | 🇲🇴 Macao | MAC | 83 |
23 | 🇻🇦 Holy See | VAT | 83 |
24 | 🇦🇪 UAE | ARE | 83 |
25 | 🇮🇸 Iceland | ISL | 83 |
26 | 🇲🇶 Martinique | MTQ | 83 |
27 | 🇨🇦 Canada | CAN | 83 |
28 | 🇮🇱 Israel | ISR | 83 |
29 | 🇮🇪 Ireland | IRL | 83 |
30 | 🇵🇹 Portugal | PRT | 83 |
31 | 🇶🇦 Qatar | QAT | 83 |
32 | 🇧🇲 Bermuda | BMU | 83 |
33 | 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | LUX | 82 |
34 | 🇳🇱 Netherlands | NLD | 82 |
35 | 🇧🇪 Belgium | BEL | 82 |
36 | 🇬🇵 Guadeloupe | GLP | 82 |
37 | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | NZL | 82 |
38 | 🇦🇹 Austria | AUT | 82 |
39 | 🇩🇰 Denmark | DNK | 82 |
40 | 🇫🇮 Finland | FIN | 82 |
41 | 🇬🇷 Greece | GRC | 82 |
42 | 🇵🇷 Puerto Rico | PRI | 82 |
43 | 🇨🇾 Cyprus | CYP | 82 |
44 | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | SVN | 82 |
45 | 🇩🇪 Germany | DEU | 82 |
46 | 🇬🇧 UK | GBR | 82 |
47 | 🇧🇭 Bahrain | BHR | 82 |
48 | 🇨🇱 Chile | CHL | 82 |
49 | 🇲🇻 Maldives | MDV | 82 |
50 | 🇮🇲 Isle of Man | IMN | 81 |
51 | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | CRI | 81 |
52 | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | TWN | 81 |
53 | 🇰🇼 Kuwait | KWT | 81 |
54 | 🇰🇾 Cayman Islands | CYM | 81 |
55 | 🇲🇫 Saint Martin | MAF | 81 |
56 | 🇫🇴 Faroe Islands | FRO | 81 |
57 | 🇴🇲 Oman | OMN | 80 |
58 | 🇨🇿 Czechia | CZE | 80 |
59 | 🇯🇪 Jersey | JEY | 80 |
60 | 🇵🇦 Panama | PAN | 80 |
61 | 🇦🇱 Albania | ALB | 80 |
62 | 🇦🇮 Anguilla | AIA | 80 |
63 | 🇺🇸 U.S. | USA | 80 |
64 | 🇫🇰 Falkland Islands | FLK | 80 |
65 | 🇪🇪 Estonia | EST | 79 |
66 | 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia | SAU | 79 |
67 | 🇲🇵 Northern Mariana Islands | MNP | 79 |
68 | 🇳🇨 New Caledonia | NCL | 79 |
69 | 🇵🇱 Poland | POL | 79 |
70 | 🇭🇷 Croatia | HRV | 79 |
71 | 🇼🇫 Wallis & Futuna Islands | WLF | 79 |
72 | 🇸🇰 Slovakia | SVK | 79 |
73 | 🇺🇾 Uruguay | URY | 78 |
74 | 🇨🇺 Cuba | CUB | 78 |
75 | 🇽🇰 Kosovo | XKX | 78 |
76 | 🇨🇳 China | CHN | 78 |
77 | 🇹🇨 Turks & Caicos Islands | TCA | 78 |
78 | 🇧🇦 Bosnia & Herzegovina | BIH | 78 |
79 | 🇯🇴 Jordan | JOR | 78 |
80 | 🇵🇪 Peru | PER | 78 |
81 | 🇨🇴 Colombia | COL | 78 |
82 | 🇱🇧 Lebanon | LBN | 78 |
83 | 🇮🇷 Iran | IRN | 78 |
84 | 🇦🇬 Antigua and Barbuda | ATG | 78 |
85 | 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | LKA | 78 |
86 | 🇹🇷 Türkiye | TUR | 78 |
87 | 🇧🇶 Bonaire | BES | 78 |
88 | 🇪🇨 Ecuador | ECU | 78 |
89 | 🇦🇷 Argentina | ARG | 78 |
90 | 🇲🇰 North Macedonia | MKD | 78 |
91 | 🇬🇺 Guam | GUM | 78 |
92 | 🇻🇬 British Virgin Islands | VGB | 78 |
93 | 🌴 Polynesia (no emoji available) | POL | 78 |
94 | 🇲🇪 Montenegro | MNE | 77 |
95 | 🇬🇫 French Guiana | GUF | 77 |
96 | 🇭🇺 Hungary | HUN | 77 |
97 | 🇹🇰 Tokelau | TKL | 77 |
98 | 🇨🇼 Curaçao | CUW | 77 |
99 | 🇷🇸 Serbia | SRB | 77 |
100 | 🇸🇭 Saint Helena | SHN | 77 |
101 | 🇵🇲 Saint Pierre & Miquelon | SPM | 77 |
102 | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | MYS | 77 |
103 | 🇹🇳 Tunisia | TUN | 77 |
104 | 🇹🇭 Thailand | THA | 77 |
105 | 🇸🇽 Sint Maarten | SXM | 77 |
106 | 🇩🇿 Algeria | DZA | 77 |
107 | 🇦🇼 Aruba | ABW | 77 |
108 | 🇧🇧 Barbados | BRB | 76 |
109 | 🇲🇸 Montserrat | MSR | 76 |
110 | 🇱🇻 Latvia | LVA | 76 |
111 | 🇾🇹 Mayotte | MYT | 76 |
112 | 🇨🇻 Cabo Verde | CPV | 76 |
113 | 🇱🇹 Lithuania | LTU | 76 |
114 | 🇷🇴 Romania | ROU | 76 |
115 | 🇧🇷 Brazil | BRA | 76 |
116 | 🇦🇲 Armenia | ARM | 76 |
117 | 🇧🇬 Bulgaria | BGR | 76 |
118 | 🇻🇮 U.S. Virgin Islands | VIR | 76 |
119 | 🇲🇦 Morocco | MAR | 76 |
120 | 🇧🇳 Brunei Darussalam | BRN | 76 |
121 | 🇨🇰 Cook Islands | COK | 76 |
122 | 🇬🇩 Grenada | GRD | 76 |
123 | 🇲🇽 Mexico | MEX | 75 |
124 | 🇲🇺 Mauritius | MUS | 75 |
125 | 🇳🇮 Nicaragua | NIC | 75 |
126 | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | BGD | 75 |
127 | 🇻🇳 Viet Nam | VNM | 75 |
128 | 🇺🇦 Ukraine | UKR | 75 |
129 | 🇧🇸 Bahamas | BHS | 75 |
130 | 🇬🇪 Georgia | GEO | 75 |
131 | 🇧🇾 Belarus | BLR | 75 |
132 | 🇦🇿 Azerbaijan | AZE | 75 |
133 | 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | KAZ | 75 |
134 | 🇵🇾 Paraguay | PRY | 74 |
135 | 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic | DOM | 74 |
136 | 🇧🇿 Belize | BLZ | 74 |
137 | 🇸🇷 Suriname | SUR | 74 |
138 | 🇰🇵 North Korea | PRK | 74 |
139 | 🇹🇹 Trinidad & Tobago | TTO | 74 |
140 | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | BTN | 74 |
141 | 🇷🇺 Russia | RUS | 74 |
142 | 🇹🇴 Tonga | TON | 73 |
143 | 🇭🇳 Honduras | HND | 73 |
144 | 🇱🇾 Libya | LBY | 73 |
145 | 🇸🇨 Seychelles | SYC | 73 |
146 | 🇺🇸 American Samoa | ASM | 73 |
147 | 🇵🇸 Palestine | PSE | 73 |
148 | 🇱🇨 Saint Lucia | LCA | 73 |
149 | 🇸🇾 Syria | SYR | 73 |
150 | 🇬🇹 Guatemala | GTM | 73 |
151 | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | VEN | 73 |
152 | 🇺🇿 Uzbekistan | UZB | 73 |
153 | 🇮🇶 Iraq | IRQ | 73 |
154 | 🇸🇻 El Salvador | SLV | 73 |
155 | 🇮🇳 India | IND | 72 |
156 | 🇰🇳 Saint Kitts and Nevis | KNA | 72 |
157 | 🇲🇳 Mongolia | MNG | 72 |
158 | 🇹🇯 Tajikistan | TJK | 72 |
159 | 🇪🇬 Egypt | EGY | 72 |
160 | 🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan | KGZ | 72 |
161 | 🇼🇸 Samoa | WSM | 72 |
162 | 🇻🇺 Vanuatu | VUT | 72 |
163 | 🇪🇭 Western Sahara | ESH | 72 |
164 | 🇯🇲 Jamaica | JAM | 72 |
165 | 🇻🇨 Saint Vincent & the Grenadines | VCT | 72 |
166 | 🇲🇩 Moldova | MDA | 71 |
167 | 🇩🇲 Dominica | DMA | 71 |
168 | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | IDN | 71 |
169 | 🇰🇭 Cambodia | KHM | 71 |
170 | 🇳🇵 Nepal | NPL | 71 |
171 | 🇸🇧 Solomon Islands | SLB | 71 |
172 | 🇬🇾 Guyana | GUY | 70 |
173 | 🇹🇲 Turkmenistan | TKM | 70 |
174 | 🇬🇱 Greenland | GRL | 70 |
175 | 🇳🇺 Niue | NIU | 70 |
176 | 🇸🇹 Sao Tome and Principe | STP | 70 |
177 | 🇵🇭 Philippines | PHL | 70 |
178 | 🇾🇪 Yemen | YEM | 70 |
179 | 🇵🇼 Palau | PLW | 69 |
180 | 🇱🇦 Laos | LAO | 69 |
181 | 🇧🇼 Botswana | BWA | 69 |
182 | 🇸🇳 Senegal | SEN | 69 |
183 | 🇪🇷 Eritrea | ERI | 69 |
184 | 🇲🇷 Mauritania | MRT | 69 |
185 | 🇧🇴 Bolivia | BOL | 69 |
186 | 🇺🇬 Uganda | UGA | 69 |
187 | 🇬🇦 Gabon | GAB | 69 |
188 | 🇷🇼 Rwanda | RWA | 68 |
189 | 🇹🇱 Timor-Leste | TLS | 68 |
190 | 🇵🇰 Pakistan | PAK | 68 |
191 | 🇪🇹 Ethiopia | ETH | 68 |
192 | 🇲🇼 Malawi | MWI | 68 |
193 | 🇳🇦 Namibia | NAM | 68 |
194 | 🇫🇯 Fiji | FJI | 68 |
195 | 🇫🇲 Micronesia | FSM | 68 |
196 | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | TZA | 67 |
197 | 🇹🇻 Tuvalu | TUV | 67 |
198 | 🇲🇲 Myanmar | MMR | 67 |
199 | 🇰🇲 Comoros | COM | 67 |
200 | 🇲🇭 Marshall Islands | MHL | 67 |
201 | 🇰🇮 Kiribati | KIR | 67 |
202 | 🇸🇩 Sudan | SDN | 67 |
203 | 🇿🇲 Zambia | ZMB | 67 |
204 | 🇦🇫 Afghanistan | AFG | 67 |
205 | 🇿🇦 South Africa | ZAF | 66 |
206 | 🇩🇯 Djibouti | DJI | 66 |
207 | 🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea | PNG | 66 |
208 | 🇬🇲 Gambia | GMB | 66 |
209 | 🇨🇬 Congo | COG | 66 |
210 | 🇬🇭 Ghana | GHA | 66 |
211 | 🇭🇹 Haiti | HTI | 65 |
212 | 🇦🇴 Angola | AGO | 65 |
213 | 🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau | GNB | 64 |
214 | 🇸🇿 Eswatini | SWZ | 64 |
215 | 🇨🇲 Cameroon | CMR | 64 |
216 | 🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea | GNQ | 64 |
217 | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | MDG | 64 |
218 | 🇰🇪 Kenya | KEN | 64 |
219 | 🇧🇮 Burundi | BDI | 64 |
220 | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | MOZ | 64 |
221 | 🇿🇼 Zimbabwe | ZWE | 63 |
222 | 🇹🇬 Togo | TGO | 63 |
223 | 🇱🇷 Liberia | LBR | 62 |
224 | 🇳🇷 Nauru | NRU | 62 |
225 | 🇨🇮 Côte d'Ivoire | CIV | 62 |
226 | 🇨🇩 DRC | COD | 62 |
227 | 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone | SLE | 62 |
228 | 🇳🇪 Niger | NER | 62 |
229 | 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso | BFA | 61 |
230 | 🇧🇯 Benin | BEN | 61 |
231 | 🇬🇳 Guinea | GIN | 61 |
232 | 🇲🇱 Mali | MLI | 61 |
233 | 🇸🇴 Somalia | SOM | 59 |
234 | 🇱🇸 Lesotho | LSO | 58 |
235 | 🇨🇫 Central African Republic | CAF | 58 |
236 | 🇸🇸 South Sudan | SSD | 58 |
237 | 🇹🇩 Chad | TCD | 55 |
238 | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | NGA | 55 |
Note: Figures rounded.
Most of the top 10 countries are similarly small-sized territories or countries.
However, Japan (#4), South Korea (#5), and Australia (#10) are the three top-10 countries with the highest life expectancies (84+) when accounting for a population of more than 20 million people.
Regionally, Western European countries have the highest life expectancies at birth. Their counterparts in Eastern Europe are a shade lower.
And despite Japan and South Korea’s performance, most Asians have life expectancies between 70–80 years. Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Papua New Guinea are below the 70-year threshold.
However, several African countries have a below-60 life expectancy, a projected lifespan that is a full 20 years shorter than Western European residents.
Nigeria has the lowest average life expectancy at birth, at 55 years.
What Life Expectancy Numbers Mean for Individuals
Life expectancies are tricky things to fully comprehend: in that they change throughout a person’s lifespan and are measured for entire cohorts born in a year.
For example, in countries with lower projected expectancies, it doesn’t necessarily mean adults don’t live as long.
A high infant mortality rate for a particular cohort of babies born in a year could reduce the projected lifespan of the entire cohort. However once a baby from that year survives to adulthood, they may very well reach their 70s.
In fact, data shows that the biggest difference between life expectancies of Africa and high-income regions are for those before the age of 5 and after 60.
This is because both babies and older adults have a need for specific medical infrastructure which many Africans don’t have access to.
Learn More on the Voronoi App 
There is a strong correlation between wealth and longer lifespans. Check out Countries with the Highest GDP per Capita in 2024 to see similarities.
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