Beach litter by country
Beach litter per square kilometer (Number)
Countries reporting
70
Highest
105.35 million number
Cyprus
Lowest
20.7 number
Estonia
Median
187,371 number
Years covered
9
2015–2023
Data points
425
What the numbers show
Beach litter is currently reported for 70 countries. The highest value is 105.35 million number in Cyprus; the lowest is 20.7 number in Estonia.
The median across all reporting countries is 187,371 number, and the mean is 1.86 million number.
Over the past decade 14 countries rose and 54 fell. The largest increase was in Cyprus (up 27,586.9%), and the largest decrease in Argentina (down 99.9%).
Beach litter: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cyprus | 105.35 million number | 2022 | up 27,586.9% | volatile |
| 2 | Kenya | 5.94 million number | 2023 | — | volatile |
| 3 | Bangladesh | 1.48 million number | 2022 | down 99.0% | volatile |
| 4 | Cayman Islands | 1.36 million number | 2022 | down 59.4% | volatile |
| 5 | Vanuatu | 1.10 million number | 2022 | up 106.0% | volatile |
| 6 | China | 1.01 million number | 2022 | down 92.9% | volatile |
| 7 | Guatemala | 1.00 million number | 2022 | down 75.1% | volatile |
| 8 | Mozambique | 984,353 number | 2022 | down 51.2% | volatile |
| 9 | Costa Rica | 864,376 number | 2022 | down 93.6% | volatile |
| 10 | Morocco | 600,490 number | 2019 | — | volatile |
| 11 | Colombia | 564,628 number | 2022 | down 98.8% | volatile |
| 12 | Venezuela | 457,625 number | 2022 | down 71.7% | falling |
| 13 | Brazil | 456,644 number | 2022 | down 91.6% | volatile |
| 14 | Romania | 450,105 number | 2021 | up 208.2% | volatile |
| 15 | Nicaragua | 397,804 number | 2022 | down 87.8% | volatile |
| 16 | Philippines | 334,875 number | 2022 | down 67.3% | volatile |
| 17 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 287,395 number | 2022 | down 71.0% | volatile |
| 18 | Thailand | 287,028 number | 2022 | down 35.9% | falling |
| 19 | Russia | 280,538 number | 2022 | down 49.5% | volatile |
| 20 | Malaysia | 273,440 number | 2022 | down 44.0% | falling |
| 21 | Guam | 267,781 number | 2022 | down 9.5% | volatile |
| 22 | Sri Lanka | 266,145 number | 2022 | down 91.9% | volatile |
| 23 | Tanzania | 265,293 number | 2022 | down 99.4% | volatile |
| 24 | Mexico | 262,943 number | 2022 | up 34.6% | volatile |
| 25 | Singapore | 261,486 number | 2022 | down 96.6% | volatile |
| 27 | Portugal | 248,759 number | 2022 | down 92.0% | volatile |
| 28 | Guernsey | 234,647 number | 2022 | down 56.5% | volatile |
| 29 | Belize | 233,388 number | 2022 | down 85.4% | volatile |
| 30 | Mauritius | 229,477 number | 2022 | down 86.5% | volatile |
| 31 | Jamaica | 226,938 number | 2022 | down 95.0% | volatile |
| 32 | United States | 221,825 number | 2022 | up 2,774.4% | volatile |
| 33 | Sweden | 201,842 number | 2022 | up 2,547.6% | volatile |
| 34 | France | 198,354 number | 2022 | down 97.0% | volatile |
| 35 | Spain | 197,955 number | 2022 | down 87.1% | volatile |
| 36 | Puerto Rico | 188,936 number | 2022 | down 83.3% | volatile |
| 37 | Panama | 185,806 number | 2022 | down 87.2% | volatile |
| 38 | India | 183,680 number | 2022 | down 79.2% | volatile |
| 39 | Bermuda | 180,301 number | 2022 | down 62.8% | volatile |
| 40 | Japan | 170,673 number | 2022 | down 72.5% | volatile |
| 41 | Vietnam | 165,576 number | 2022 | down 95.2% | volatile |
| 42 | Canada | 163,600 number | 2022 | up 10,628.8% | volatile |
| 43 | Northern Mariana Islands | 159,883 number | 2022 | up 82.3% | falling |
| 44 | Chile | 159,732 number | 2022 | down 79.8% | volatile |
| 45 | Trinidad and Tobago | 158,046 number | 2022 | down 89.6% | volatile |
| 46 | Bahamas | 150,771 number | 2022 | up 47.8% | volatile |
| 47 | Australia | 150,188 number | 2022 | up 9,819.5% | volatile |
| 48 | Greece | 143,586 number | 2022 | down 95.0% | volatile |
| 49 | United States Virgin Islands | 126,499 number | 2022 | up 161.6% | volatile |
| 50 | South Africa | 122,938 number | 2022 | down 88.4% | volatile |
| 51 | Dominican Republic | 100,638 number | 2022 | up 8.9% | volatile |
| 52 | Ecuador | 88,797 number | 2022 | down 90.0% | volatile |
| 53 | Germany | 80,125 number | 2022 | down 20.7% | volatile |
| 54 | Uruguay | 71,547 number | 2022 | down 87.2% | volatile |
| 55 | New Zealand | 69,581 number | 2022 | down 75.3% | volatile |
| 56 | Belgium | 69,243 number | 2021 | down 99.5% | volatile |
| 57 | Switzerland | 58,654 number | 2022 | down 99.0% | volatile |
| 58 | Netherlands | 47,957 number | 2022 | down 98.8% | volatile |
| 59 | Denmark | 45,926 number | 2022 | down 64.4% | flat |
| 60 | Turkey | 43,014 number | 2022 | down 98.3% | volatile |
| 61 | Indonesia | 32,501 number | 2022 | down 98.4% | volatile |
| 62 | South Korea | 23,358 number | 2022 | up 994.1% | volatile |
| 63 | Maldives | 7,412 number | 2022 | up 126.6% | volatile |
| 64 | Poland | 6,779 number | 2022 | down 72.8% | falling |
| 65 | Argentina | 5,708 number | 2022 | down 99.9% | volatile |
| 66 | Norway | 1,784 number | 2022 | down 54.7% | falling |
| 67 | Bulgaria | 782.5 number | 2022 | down 64.1% | volatile |
| 68 | Italy | 303 number | 2022 | down 40.7% | falling |
| 69 | United Kingdom | 165 number | 2022 | down 56.0% | falling |
| 70 | Lithuania | 77 number | 2022 | down 22.2% | falling |
| 71 | Estonia | 20.7 number | 2022 | down 20.4% | falling |
About this data
Beach litter per square kilometer (Number)