According to new global statistics, the proportion of smokers on the remote Pacific island of Nauru is the highest in the world. But Lebanon is also among the top ten countries. How many smokers are there? Does the ratio differ between men and women?
In its new statistics for 2023, the World Population Review has published new numbers on the number of smokers around the world.
According to the new report, most smokers are generally found in Southeast Asia as well as in the Balkans in Europe. But there are exceptions, as Chile in South America has one of the highest rates of smokers in the world.
According to the new classification, occupies three remote islands in the Pacific Ocean, the list of countries where the highest proportion of smokers live compared to the total population.
global ranking
The ten smoking countries in the world for the year 2023 are:
1 – Nauru, by 52.1%
2 – Kiribati, by 52%.
3 – Tuvalu, by 48.7%
4- Myanmar, 45.5%
5- Chile, by 44.7%
6- Lebanon, with a rate of 42.6%.
7- Serbia, with a rate of 40.6%.
8- Bangladesh, with a rate of 39.1%.
9- Greece, by 39.1%
10- Bulgaria, with a rate of 38.9%
The institution also published the percentage by gender. For example, the number of male smokers in Lebanon is 49.4%, and 35.9% of females smoke.
But according to the institution’s statisticsThe difference in the percentage of smokers between men and women in South and Southeast Asian countries varies greatly. For example, in Indonesia, 76.2% of men smoke, while only 3.6% of Indonesian women smoke.
It is noteworthy that five European countries in the Balkans and southern Europe were among the first twenty countries in the ranking (Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Bulgaria and Greece), while countries in western Europe and the Americas tend to have lower rates of smokers among their populations.
The numbers are going down
However, in general, the Foundation said in its new report that the number of smokers around the world is declining, due to the increasing awareness about the negative effects of tobacco, and also because of anti-smoking campaigns. In the United Kingdom, for example, the percentage of smokers in 2000 was 38%, but now it has decreased to only 19.2%.
According to the World Health Organization, smoking kills more than eight million people annually, and this figure includes smokers as well as non-smokers who inhale cigarette smoke from people who smoke around them.
