Countries by Prevalence of current tobacco use, females (% of female adults)

Nauru ranks first globally for prevalence of current tobacco use among females, with 48.1% of female adults using tobacco products as of 2022. At the other end, Korea, Dem. People's Rep. records 0%, and Azerbaijan records 0.1%, placing 163rd among 164 countries. The 48.1 percentage point gap between top and bottom reflects the wide variation in tobacco use patterns across regions and income levels.

Population & Health category

Ranking 2022

Values shown in %.

Countries by Prevalence of current tobacco use, females (% of female adults)
Rank	Country	%
1	Nauru	48.10
2	Serbia	39.10
3	Bulgaria	38.70
4	Andorra	37.90
5	Croatia	37.30
6	France	33.70
7	Montenegro	33.20
8	Bosnia and Herzegovina	30.90
9	Greece	30.60
10	Slovakia	28.50
11	Hungary	28.10
12	Spain	27.50
13	Kiribati	26.80
14	Chile	26.70
15	Czechia	26.50
16	Lebanon	25.70
17	Papua New Guinea	24.90
18	Belgium	24.50
19	Austria	24.00
20	Cyprus	23.90
21	Malta	23.20
22	Switzerland	22.90
23	Estonia	22.80
24	Lithuania	21.60
24	Luxembourg	21.60
26	Romania	21.50
27	Latvia	21.10
28	Portugal	20.70
29	Poland	20.10
30	Türkiye	19.80
31	Solomon Islands	19.40
32	Germany	19.30
32	Myanmar	19.30
34	Argentina	19.10
34	Italy	19.10
34	Tuvalu	19.10
37	Netherlands	19.00
38	United States	18.70
39	Finland	18.50
39	Slovenia	18.50
41	Uruguay	17.50
42	Russia	17.40
43	Ireland	17.00
44	Sweden	16.40
45	Denmark	16.10
46	Tonga	15.50
47	Bangladesh	15.40
48	Belarus	13.90
49	Israel	13.80
50	Jordan	13.60
51	Norway	13.50
52	Samoa	13.40
53	Fiji	13.20
54	United Kingdom	12.40
55	Ukraine	11.50
56	Bhutan	11.10
56	New Zealand	11.10
58	Australia	10.90
58	Nepal	10.90
60	India	10.80
61	Madagascar	10.70
62	Timor-Leste	10.50
63	Maldives	10.40
64	Canada	9.70
65	Japan	9.60
66	Cuba	9.50
67	Iceland	9.40
68	Laos	9.00
69	Brazil	8.90
70	Marshall Islands	8.50
71	Yemen	8.20
72	Georgia	7.60
72	Palau	7.60
72	Rwanda	7.60
75	Botswana	7.20
75	Mongolia	7.20
77	Kazakhstan	7.00
77	Moldova	7.00
77	Pakistan	7.00
80	Mexico	6.90
81	Afghanistan	6.80
82	Comoros	6.70
83	Dominican Republic	6.60
84	South Africa	6.50
85	Albania	6.00
85	Burkina Faso	6.00
87	Sierra Leone	5.90
88	South Korea	5.80
88	Seychelles	5.80
90	Cambodia	5.70
91	Burundi	5.30
92	Cabo Verde	5.20
92	Namibia	5.20
94	Bahrain	5.10
94	Lesotho	5.10
96	Singapore	4.90
97	Costa Rica	4.50
97	Philippines	4.50
99	Colombia	4.40
100	Bolivia	4.20
101	Paraguay	3.90
102	Jamaica	3.50
102	Zambia	3.50
104	Indonesia	3.30
104	Kyrgyzstan	3.30
104	Tanzania	3.30
107	Uganda	3.10
108	Iran	3.00
108	Malawi	3.00
108	Mauritius	3.00
108	Saint Lucia	3.00
112	DR Congo	2.80
113	Kenya	2.70
114	Ecuador	2.60
114	Peru	2.60
114	United Arab Emirates	2.60
117	Haiti	2.50
118	Qatar	2.30
119	Brunei	2.20
119	Guyana	2.20
119	Sri Lanka	2.20
122	Bahamas	2.10
122	Republic of Congo	2.10
122	Kuwait	2.10
122	Saudi Arabia	2.10
126	Mauritania	2.00
126	Sao Tome and Principe	2.00
126	Vietnam	2.00
129	Belize	1.90
129	Benin	1.90
129	El Salvador	1.90
129	Liberia	1.90
129	Panama	1.90
134	Barbados	1.70
134	Guatemala	1.70
134	Honduras	1.70
134	Iraq	1.70
138	Chad	1.60
138	China	1.60
138	Tunisia	1.60
141	Armenia	1.50
141	Eswatini	1.50
141	Ethiopia	1.50
141	Thailand	1.50
145	Niger	1.40
146	Cameroon	1.30
147	Zimbabwe	1.20
148	Morocco	1.00
148	Togo	1.00
148	Uzbekistan	1.00
151	Mali	0.90
152	Côte d'Ivoire	0.80
153	Algeria	0.70
153	Gambia	0.70
153	Malaysia	0.70
153	Senegal	0.70
157	Guinea-Bissau	0.60
158	Nigeria	0.50
158	Turkmenistan	0.50
160	Egypt	0.40
160	Oman	0.40
162	Ghana	0.30
163	Azerbaijan	0.10
164	North Korea	0.00

Analysis

This metric measures the share of female adults who currently use tobacco products in a given country. The data source is the World Bank World Development Indicators, indicator code SH.PRV.SMOK.FE, with values reported for the year 2022. Coverage spans 164 countries, all of which have data from within the last seven years, and 100% of datapoints are classified as official quality. The ranking data contains 14 extreme outliers identified at a three-standard-deviation threshold, and values range from 0% to 48.1%, a spread of 999%. Per the source definition: 'The percentage of the female population ages 15 years and over who currently use any tobacco product (smoked and/or smokeless tobacco) on a daily or non-daily basis. Tobacco products include cigarettes, pipes, cigars, cigarillos, waterpipes (hookah, shisha), bidis, kretek, heated tobacco products, and all forms of smokeless (oral and nasal) tobacco. Tobacco products exclude e-cigarettes (which do not meet the definition used here).' The unit is percentage of female adults.

The top of the ranking is dominated by small Pacific island states and European countries. Nauru leads at 48.1% (rank 1), well ahead of Serbia at 39.1% (rank 2) and Bulgaria at 38.7% (rank 3). Andorra ranks 4th at 37.9% and Croatia 5th at 37.3%. France places 6th at 33.7%, with Montenegro (33.2%), Bosnia and Herzegovina (30.9%), and Greece (30.6%) rounding out the top nine. The Slovak Republic (28.5%) and Hungary (28.1%) complete the top 11. European nations account for a large share of the top 20, reflecting regional patterns in tobacco consumption among women.

In the middle of the ranking, countries show considerable variation. Bangladesh ranks 47th at 15.4%, reflecting the inclusion of smokeless tobacco products in the measure. India ranks 60th at 10.8%, while China ranks 138th at just 1.6%, a striking contrast given both are large Asian nations. The United States ranks 38th at 18.7%, and Japan 65th at 9.6%. At the lower end of the ranking, several countries in West Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia cluster below 1%. Azerbaijan ranks 163rd at 0.1%, and Egypt ranks 160th at 0.4%. Vietnam ranks 126th at 2.0%, and the Philippines ranks 97th at 4.5%.

Several limitations affect comparability across this ranking. The metric includes smokeless tobacco, which means countries with high rates of oral or nasal tobacco use among women, such as Bangladesh and India, may rank higher than countries where cigarette smoking is the primary form of tobacco use but smokeless use is low. E-cigarettes are explicitly excluded, which may understate tobacco-equivalent behavior in countries where vaping is prevalent among women. Self-reported prevalence data may be subject to underreporting in contexts where female tobacco use carries social stigma. All 164 countries report data from 2022, but the underlying surveys used to generate these estimates may vary in methodology and reference period. Rankings should be interpreted with these measurement differences in mind.

Methodology

Data source: World Bank World Development Indicators, indicator code SH.PRV.SMOK.FE, data year 2022. The metric covers 164 countries, all with data from within the last seven years and 100% classified as official quality. Per the source note, the indicator captures 'the percentage of the female population ages 15 years and over who currently use any tobacco product (smoked and/or smokeless tobacco) on a daily or non-daily basis. Tobacco products include cigarettes, pipes, cigars, cigarillos, waterpipes (hookah, shisha), bidis, kretek, heated tobacco products, and all forms of smokeless (oral and nasal) tobacco. Tobacco products exclude e-cigarettes.' Values range from 0% to 48.1%, a spread of 999%. The viability check identified 14 extreme outliers at the three-standard-deviation threshold. Average year-over-year change is 9.7%, well within the 50% volatility threshold. All 164 countries report data in the latest year (2022), giving 100% consistency. Higher values indicate greater prevalence and rank higher in this ranking.

Sources

World Bank