What nations have the most vegetarians?

November 06, 2026

Meat-Free Nations: Countries With the Most Vegetarians

World Population Review

1. 🥗 India Stands Alone at the Top

No other country comes close on share.

🏆 India leads the world, with about 39 percent of its population following a vegetarian diet.

Mexico follows at 19 percent and China at 16. Brazil stands at 14 percent, Taiwan at 13.5, Argentina at 12, and Indonesia, Austria, and Finland at 11 each. Vietnam rounds out the top ten at 10 percent.

India’s lead is more than twice the next country’s, and it comes from a long cultural and religious tradition of meat-free eating that has shaped daily meals for generations.

Its 470 million vegetarians, a figure from 2021, are by far the largest group anywhere, which makes India the center of gravity for any global discussion of meat-free eating.

📌 Key point: India’s share is about twice Mexico’s (Derived).

2. 👥 The Biggest Vegetarian Populations

Count heads, and a different order appears.

🌏 India has about 470 million vegetarians, the largest number anywhere, followed by China with about 168 million.

Indonesia has about 30 million, Mexico 23.8 million, and Brazil 22 million. The United States has about 14 million, Vietnam 9 million, Germany 6.6 million, Italy 5.6 million, and Argentina 5.4 million.

India alone is home to more vegetarians than the next nine countries combined. Population does much of the work, since China and Indonesia also rank among the world’s most populous nations.

The United States makes the list on headcount even though vegetarians make up only about 4.2 percent of its people.

🔢 By the numbers: India has about 2.8 times as many vegetarians as China (Derived).

3. 🌎 Latin America: A Meat-Free Surprise

Latin America ranks higher than many readers might expect.

🌮 Mexico places second in the world, with about 19 percent of its population following a vegetarian diet.

Brazil follows at 14 percent, Argentina at 12, and Chile at 10. In total numbers, Mexico has about 23.8 million vegetarians, Brazil 22 million, Argentina 5.4 million, and Chile 2.5 million.

The region is better known for its cattle ranches and barbecue, which makes these figures a useful reminder that national food reputations can hide a large plant-based minority.

Three of the four countries rank among the top six in the world on share, with Chile just behind at eleventh. Together the four account for roughly 54 million vegetarians (Derived).

🔍 Look at the gap: Mexico’s share is 9 percentage points above Chile’s (Derived).

* These figures come from Cherry’s provider case studies, so individual results vary. Details at withcherry.com/provider-reviews. Payment options through Cherry are issued by the following financing partners: withcherry.com/financing-partners

4. 🌏 Asia: Tradition and Change

Asia holds both the highest share and some of the largest totals.

🍜 Beyond India, China stands at 16 percent, Taiwan at 13.5, Indonesia at 11, Vietnam at 10, and Thailand and Israel at 8.

Taiwan’s share stands out for an economy of its size, with about 3.3 million vegetarians, a sizable group on an island of that scale.

Indonesia and Vietnam combine large populations with shares around 10 percent, producing 30 million and 9 million vegetarians respectively.

The Asian list covers a wide range, from 39 percent in India to 8 percent in Thailand and Israel, and it includes both the world’s largest vegetarian population and several mid-sized countries, such as Taiwan, with unusually high shares. The seven Asian countries listed range from about 640,000 vegetarians in Israel to 470 million in India.

🔄 Seen another way: India’s share is nearly five times Thailand’s (Derived).

5. 🇪🇺 Europe: A Tight Cluster

European countries sit close together.

🥬 Austria and Finland lead the continent at 11 percent each, followed by Sweden at 10, Italy at 9.5, and Germany and Norway at 8.

Belgium stands at 7 percent, Poland at 6.6, Ireland at 6.35, Switzerland at 5.3, and Ukraine at 5.2.

In headcount, Germany has about 6.6 million vegetarians and Italy about 5.6 million, the largest vegetarian populations among the European countries on the list.

Northern European countries such as Sweden, Finland, and Norway all appear near the top, but so do central and southern countries like Austria and Italy, so the pattern is not strictly regional.

🧭 Context check: Austria’s share is about twice Ukraine’s (Derived).

6. 🍁 English-Speaking Countries

The English-speaking world sits toward the lower end.

🍃 Canada stands at 7.6 percent, Ireland at 6.35, Australia at 5.3, and the United States at 4.2.

Canada leads the group with about 2.9 million vegetarians, while Australia has about 2.5 million and Ireland about 153,500. The United States has the largest total at about 14 million, because of its larger population.

All four sit below Europe’s leaders, though Canada comes close to the 8 percent shared by Germany and Norway.

The American share is the lowest of the four, even as the country’s total ranks sixth in the world.

🎯 Take note: Canada’s share is about 1.8 times that of the United States (Derived).

7. 📊 The Ranking: Places 11 Through 20

Past the top ten, the numbers tighten.

🥇 Chile, Sweden, and Jamaica tie at 10 percent, followed by Italy at 9.5, and Germany, Thailand, Israel, and Norway at 8.

Canada follows at 7.6 percent and Belgium at 7. The whole range from eleventh to twentieth spans just 3 percentage points.

Countries from Asia, Europe, and the Americas all appear in this stretch of the ranking, which shows how widely vegetarian eating is spread. Chile, Sweden, and Jamaica could hardly differ more in climate or cuisine, yet they report the same share.

💡 Why it matters: Vegetarian diets reflect culture, faith, income, and habit all at once, which is why the map looks nothing like a map of wealth or geography alone.

The story of vegetarianism isn’t really about food. It’s about tradition, belief, and the choices people make every day at the table.

The countries at the top of the share ranking are not always the ones with the most vegetarians, and that difference is where the story lives.