How often is this ranking updated?

It refreshes on a fixed schedule from Our World in Data. The latest snapshot was captured on 2026-11-02.

Where does the data come from?

Our World in Data. Data from Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0) and the sources it cites. The raw payload for every refresh is stored unchanged so any number can be traced back.

Environment and energy · ranked by Plastic waste per person

Countries generating the most plastic waste per person

Name: Countries generating the most plastic waste per person — snapshot history
Creator: Top10Earth
License: https://ourworldindata.org/about#legal

50 ranked · updated 2026-11-02

Number oneKuwait0.69 kg per person per day

Ranking by Plastic waste per person
#	Name	Plastic waste per person	Change
1	Kuwait	0.69 kg per person per day	new
2	Antigua and Barbuda	0.66 kg per person per day	new
3	Saint Kitts and Nevis	0.65 kg per person per day	new
4	Guyana	0.59 kg per person per day	new
5	Barbados	0.57 kg per person per day	new
6	Saint Lucia	0.52 kg per person per day	new
7	Germany	0.49 kg per person per day	new
8	Ireland	0.43 kg per person per day	new
9	Netherlands	0.42 kg per person per day	new
10	Hong Kong	0.4 kg per person per day	new

Show positions 11–50

11	Bahamas	0.39 kg per person per day	new
12	Macao	0.37 kg per person per day	new
13	Seychelles	0.36 kg per person per day	new
14	Sri Lanka	0.36 kg per person per day	new
15	United States	0.34 kg per person per day	new
16	New Zealand	0.33 kg per person per day	new
17	Grenada	0.33 kg per person per day	new
18	Maldives	0.32 kg per person per day	new
19	Israel	0.3 kg per person per day	new
20	Vanuatu	0.3 kg per person per day	new
21	Trinidad and Tobago	0.29 kg per person per day	new
22	Iceland	0.28 kg per person per day	new
23	Guatemala	0.28 kg per person per day	new
24	Norway	0.28 kg per person per day	new
25	Spain	0.28 kg per person per day	new
26	Portugal	0.27 kg per person per day	new
27	Costa Rica	0.26 kg per person per day	new
28	Anguilla	0.25 kg per person per day	new
29	Aruba	0.25 kg per person per day	new
30	Bermuda	0.25 kg per person per day	new
31	British Virgin Islands	0.25 kg per person per day	new
32	Cayman Islands	0.25 kg per person per day	new
33	Christmas Island	0.25 kg per person per day	new
34	Cocos Islands	0.25 kg per person per day	new
35	Croatia	0.25 kg per person per day	new
36	Curacao	0.25 kg per person per day	new
37	Falkland Islands	0.25 kg per person per day	new
38	Faroe Islands	0.25 kg per person per day	new
39	French Polynesia	0.25 kg per person per day	new
40	Gibraltar	0.25 kg per person per day	new
41	Greenland	0.25 kg per person per day	new
42	Guam	0.25 kg per person per day	new
43	Guernsey	0.25 kg per person per day	new
44	Martinique	0.25 kg per person per day	new
45	Monaco	0.25 kg per person per day	new
46	Netherlands Antilles	0.25 kg per person per day	new
47	New Caledonia	0.25 kg per person per day	new
48	Niue	0.25 kg per person per day	new
49	Northern Mariana Islands	0.25 kg per person per day	new
50	Puerto Rico	0.25 kg per person per day	new

Can you name the top 10?

History

How the top 10 has moved

Positions of today's top 10 across every published snapshot.

History appears once this ranking has at least two published snapshots.

About this ranking

Countries generating the most plastic waste per person, explained

Countries generating the most plastic waste per person is a live ranking of the top 50 entries in environment and energy by Plastic waste per person, built from public data published by Our World in Data. It was last refreshed on 2026-11-02. This is the first published snapshot; from the next refresh onwards the page will also show movers, new entries and a rank history chart.

Kuwait currently holds #1 with 0.69 kg per person per day. Antigua and Barbuda is second with 0.66 kg per person per day. Saint Kitts and Nevis completes the top three with 0.65 kg per person per day. Together the top three account for about 37% of the combined top-10 total, which gives a quick sense of how concentrated this ranking is.

How it is measured: Plastic waste generated per person per day. Our World in Data chart "plastic-waste-per-capita" (column per_capita_plastic_waste__kg_person_day); most recent year per country within the last five years of data, regional aggregates excluded. Caveat: Years differ by country; the chart page documents the original source and its limitations. Data from Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0) and the sources it cites. The full top 50 is on this page, with positions 11 to 50 one click away, and each entry links to its own profile showing every ranking it appears in.

Use this page to check who is number one right now, compare any two entries head to head, or test yourself with the quiz, which asks you to name all ten in three minutes. Year-end archives are available for 2026, freezing the ranking as it stood at the close of each year. Top10Earth never estimates or edits a value: each number is fetched from its source, hashed, stored and ranked by software, then checked by a quality gate before it is published. If a refresh fails the gate, the previous snapshot stays live and the problem is reviewed by a person.

Frequently asked questions

Who is #1 in Countries generating the most plastic waste per person?: Kuwait is #1 with 0.69 kg per person per day, as of 2026-11-02. Antigua and Barbuda is #2.
How is Countries generating the most plastic waste per person ranked?: By Plastic waste per person. Plastic waste generated per person per day. Our World in Data chart "plastic-waste-per-capita" (column per_capita_plastic_waste__kg_person_day); most recent year per country within the last five years of data, regional aggregates excluded.
How often is this ranking updated?: It refreshes on a fixed schedule from Our World in Data. The latest snapshot was captured on 2026-11-02.
Where does the data come from?: Our World in Data. Data from Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0) and the sources it cites. The raw payload for every refresh is stored unchanged so any number can be traced back.

How this ranking is made

Measure: Plastic waste per person (kg per person per day). Plastic waste generated per person per day. Our World in Data chart "plastic-waste-per-capita" (column per_capita_plastic_waste__kg_person_day); most recent year per country within the last five years of data, regional aggregates excluded.
Source: Our World in Data — Data from Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0) and the sources it cites. (terms)
Fetched: 2026-11-02 10:55 UTC; source data as of 2010-12-31
Caveat: Years differ by country; the chart page documents the original source and its limitations.

Every snapshot is kept; corrections are published as new snapshots and labelled. Nothing on this page is estimated or generated.

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