Coffee consumption by country
Where the world’s coffee is drunk, how consumption is estimated from trade and stock data rather than counted, why per-person figures for trading hubs mislead, and where demand is growing fastest.
Contents
In brief
- The International Coffee Organization (ICO) puts world consumption at 182.2 million 60-kg bags in coffee year 2024/25 and expects a 0.8% decline in 2025/26.2
- By US Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates for 2025/26, the European Union, the United States and Brazil drink 51.5% of the world’s coffee (our calculation).1
- Consumption is not counted at the cup. For importing countries, the ICO deducts re-exports from imports and adjusts for changes in inventories.3
- Per person, our calculation from USDA and World Bank data gives 7.9 kg in Switzerland, 6.3 kg in Brazil, 4.5 kg in the United States and 0.27 kg in China (2025/26).1,4
- Between 2021/22 and 2025/26, consumption grew by 53% in Vietnam, 34% in Ethiopia and 30% in China, by USDA figures (our calculation).1
How coffee consumption is counted#
No one counts the cups. Coffee consumption by country is an estimate built from trade, production and stock data. The International Coffee Organization (ICO) calls it apparent consumption: production plus net trade and changes in stocks.2 As apparent consumption, the figures fluctuate from year to year.2
For importing countries, the ICO uses a measure it calls disappearance. Re-exports are deducted from imports, and the result is adjusted for changes in visible inventories.3 Inventories here are stocks of green coffee held by importers and roasters.3 For producing countries, the ICO uses domestic consumption estimates provided by its members.3
Coffee crosses borders as green, roasted and soluble (instant) coffee. To add them up, statistics convert everything to green bean equivalent (GBE). The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) multiplies roasted coffee by 1.19 and soluble coffee by 2.6.1 Volumes are given in bags of 60 kg of green coffee.
The two main datasets use different years. The ICO reports by coffee year, from October to September.2 USDA uses marketing years, which for many producing countries follow their own crop year.1 Crop year and coffee year explains the difference.
The largest consumers#
The ICO estimates world consumption at 182.2 million bags in coffee year 2024/25, up 4.3% on the year before.2 For 2025/26 it expects a decline of 0.8%, partly a normalisation after unusually strong growth.2 The ICO names the United States as the world’s largest coffee-consuming country.2
USDA counts 173.5 million bags in 2025/26, about 10.4 million t of green coffee (our calculation).1 USDA lists the European Union as one bloc. Its 27 countries drank 41.6 million bags, the United States 25.6 million and Brazil 22.3 million.1 These three drink 51.5% of the world total (our calculation).1
Data table
| million 60-kg bags | Source | |
|---|---|---|
| European Union (27 countries) | 41.6 · 24.0% | 1 |
| United States | 25.6 · 14.7% | 1 |
| Brazil | 22.3 · 12.8% | 1 |
| Japan | 6.7 · 3.8% | 1 |
| Philippines | 6.5 · 3.8% | 1 |
| China | 6.4 · 3.7% | 1 |
| Canada | 5.1 · 2.9% | 1 |
| Vietnam | 4.9 · 2.8% | 1 |
| Indonesia | 4.8 · 2.8% | 1 |
| Russia | 4.6 · 2.6% | 1 |
| United Kingdom | 4.6 · 2.6% | 1 |
| Ethiopia | 4.5 · 2.6% | 1 |
After the three leaders, the field is close. Japan, the Philippines and China each drank 6.4–6.7 million bags in 2025/26.1 For 2026/27, USDA forecasts a record 179.7 million bags, with the largest gains in the European Union and the United States.1
By region, Europe drank the most: 30.1% of world consumption in 2024/25, according to the ICO.2 Asia and Oceania followed with 48.9 million bags, North America with 30.2 million and South America with 28.8 million.2 For 2025/26 the ICO expects South America to overtake North America as the third-largest region.2
Coffee per person#
Totals favour large countries. Dividing consumption by population shows how much coffee an average person drinks. The ICO calculates per capita consumption in this way, from disappearance or domestic consumption.3
For the chart below, we divided USDA consumption for 2025/26 by World Bank population for 2025 (our calculation).1,4 The world average is about 1.3 kg of green coffee per person per year. Switzerland reaches 7.9 kg, Brazil 6.3 kg and the United States 4.5 kg. China stands at 0.27 kg and India at 0.06 kg.
Data table
| kg green bean equivalent per person per year | Source | |
|---|---|---|
| Switzerland | 7.9 | 1, 4 |
| Canada | 7.3 | 1, 4 |
| Brazil | 6.3 | 1, 4 |
| European Union | 5.5 | 1, 4 |
| Australia | 5.5 | 1, 4 |
| United States | 4.5 | 1, 4 |
| United Kingdom | 4.0 | 1, 4 |
| South Korea | 3.7 | 1, 4 |
| Philippines | 3.4 | 1, 4 |
| Japan | 3.2 | 1, 4 |
| Vietnam | 2.9 | 1, 4 |
| Ethiopia | 2.0 | 1, 4 |
| Russia | 1.9 | 1, 4 |
| Mexico | 1.4 | 1, 4 |
| World | 1.3 | 1, 4 |
| Indonesia | 1.0 | 1, 4 |
| China | 0.27 | 1, 4 |
| India | 0.06 | 1, 4 |
These are kilograms of green coffee, not of roasted coffee or cups. A kilogram of roasted coffee counts as 1.19 kg of green coffee in USDA tables.1 Per-person figures from other bodies may use roasted weight, so they are not directly comparable.
Trading hubs need care. Belgium imported 282,000 t of green coffee in 2024, according to a Dutch government market study citing Eurostat.7 Divided by its population, that would be 23.8 kg per person (our calculation).7,4 Yet most of it is re-exported, mainly to other European countries.7 Imports alone are therefore not consumption.
Producing countries and Asia#
Producing countries drink a growing part of their crop. Brazil is the second-largest consuming country after the United States in the USDA table.1 How much each producer keeps at home is set out in Coffee production by country.
Several producing and Asian countries have grown fast. Between 2021/22 and 2025/26, Vietnam’s consumption rose from 3.2 to 4.9 million bags (+53%, our calculation).1 Ethiopia rose from 3.4 to 4.5 million bags and China from 4.9 to 6.4 million bags.1 USDA lowered its Ethiopian export estimate because more coffee than expected was drunk at home.1
Data table
| Point | million 60-kg bags | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | 4.9 | 4.92 | |
| China | 6.4 (+30%) | 6.42 | 1 |
| Vietnam | 3.2 | 3.2 | |
| Vietnam | 4.9 (+53%) | 4.9 | 1 |
| Ethiopia | 3.4 | 3.364 | |
| Ethiopia | 4.5 (+34%) | 4.5 | 1 |
| Indonesia | 4.8 | 4.75 | |
| Indonesia | 4.8 (+1%) | 4.81 | 1 |
| South Korea | 3.4 | 3.405 | |
| South Korea | 3.2 (−6%) | 3.2 | 1 |
| India | 0.9 | 0.875 | |
| India | 1.6 (+80%) | 1.575 | 1 |
Not every Asian market grew in this period. South Korea, which USDA does not list as a producer, stayed between 3.2 and 3.4 million bags.1 Indonesia, a large producer, stayed at about 4.8 million bags.1 USDA revises its estimates between reports, and the July 2026 circular lists such revisions.1
Ways of drinking coffee differ widely between these countries. Brewing traditions are described in Coffee drinks around the world and The Ethiopian coffee ceremony.
Disappearance and apparent consumption#
The ICO’s Statistics Committee defines disappearance as the level of consumption in importing members. It is measured by deducting re-exports from imports and adjusting for changes in visible inventories.3 Net imports equal gross imports less re-exports.3 In non-member countries, the ICO treats net imports as actual consumption.3 Per capita consumption is disappearance, or domestic consumption in exporting countries, divided by population, which the ICO takes from the International Monetary Fund.3
For producing countries, members provide the estimates. If no recent estimate exists for the current crop year, the ICO uses the previous year’s.3 In its export statistics, for exporting members that produce or export both species, the ICO converts roasted and soluble coffee into GBE and splits it 50/50 into arabica and robusta.3 Its Coffee Market Report summarises the result as apparent consumption: production plus net trade and changes in stocks, where applicable.2
USDA tables give production, imports, exports, consumption and ending stocks by country. For each non-producing country, it uses the balance of imports and exports to avoid double counting.1 Switzerland shows why. In 2025/26, USDA counts Swiss imports of 3.5 million bags but consumption of 1.2 million.1 Swiss exports of roasted and ground coffee came to 1.9 million bags in GBE.1 South Korea’s imports and consumption are both 3.2 million bags.1
| Step | ICO (importing members) | USDA |
|---|---|---|
| Starting point | Gross imports from all origins, in GBE3 | Production, imports and exports by form in GBE1 |
| Re-exports | Deducted (net imports)3 | Trade balance used for non-producing countries1 |
| Stocks | Adjusted for changes in visible inventories3 | Ending stocks in the balance1 |
| Year | Coffee year, October–September2 | Marketing year; October–September for non-producers1 |
| Conversion | Roasted ×1.19; soluble ×2.6 (2011 document)5 | Roasted ×1.19; soluble ×2.61 |
Re-export hubs and per-person figures#
Hubs import far more coffee than they drink. Belgium is the largest European re-exporter of green coffee, according to the Dutch market study.7 It gives 282,000 t of green coffee imports and 184,000 t of green coffee re-exports for 2024, citing Eurostat.7 For the Belgian consumer market it gives a volume of 44,600 t in 2023, from a European Coffee Federation report, without saying whether this is roasted or green coffee.7 Divided by imports, Belgium would appear to drink 23.8 kg per person; divided by that market volume, 3.8 kg (both our calculation).7,4
Switzerland is the other well-known case. It imports mostly green coffee and exports mostly roasted coffee; Switzerland and the coffee trade explains the flows. The Dutch government study gives about 7.9 kg per person for 2020, without stating whether green or roasted.8 Our calculation from USDA and World Bank data gives the same 7.9 kg for 2025/26.1,4 In the ICO’s 2004 series of per capita disappearance, Switzerland stood at 6.95 kg in 2003.6
Deducting re-exports removes the largest distortion, but not all of it. The 2004 ICO study notes that part of imports is destined for re-export.6 It adds that more precise analysis would need more detail on the structure of imports and re-exports.6 No source consulted for this entry measures how far the remaining gaps change the ranking of small hub countries. Germany, a large importer and re-exporter, is not shown separately in the USDA table, which reports the European Union as a whole.1
Green, roasted and soluble coffee#
How coffee is drunk shapes how it is traded. In 2025/26, USDA counts world exports of 145.9 million bags in GBE.1 Of these, 119.5 million were green coffee, 19.9 million soluble coffee and 6.5 million roasted and ground (our sum and shares: 81.9%, 13.7% and 4.4%).1 In 2025/26 the largest soluble exporters in the table are Brazil, Vietnam, the European Union, Malaysia and India.1
Some markets rely on soluble coffee. The Philippines imported 6.1 million bags in GBE in 2025/26, of which 5.5 million were soluble coffee (90.5%, our calculation).1 No source consulted for this entry gives the share of soluble coffee in consumption worldwide.
An older ICO study estimated the split between roasted and soluble coffee in eight importing countries. It applied Euromonitor market shares to ICO consumption totals, averaged over 1997–2010.5 On that basis, soluble coffee made up 8.8% of consumption in the United States, 35.8% in Japan, 79.8% in the United Kingdom and 88.8% in Russia.5 These shares are dated and rest on market-research data.
Reference values#
| Parameter | Value | Date and basis | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| World consumption (ICO) | 182.2 million bags; 180.6 million estimated | Coffee years 2024/25 and 2025/26; apparent consumption | ICO2 |
| World consumption (USDA) | 171.8 million bags (2024/25); 173.5 million (2025/26); 179.7 million forecast (2026/27) | Marketing years, GBE | USDA1 |
| World consumption in tonnes | ≈10.4 million t | 2025/26, our calculation (bags × 60 kg) | USDA1 |
| World consumption (ICO, older series) | 149.3 million bags, of which 46.2 million in exporting countries | Calendar year 2014, data as at April 2015 | ICO9 |
| Consumption by region (ICO) | Europe 54.8, Asia and Oceania 48.9, North America 30.2, South America 28.8, Africa 13.3, Central America and Mexico 6.2, Caribbean 0.1 million bags | Coffee year 2024/25 | ICO2 |
| Largest consumers (USDA) | European Union 41.6, United States 25.6, Brazil 22.3, Japan 6.7, Philippines 6.5, China 6.4 million bags | 2025/26 | USDA1 |
| Consumption per person | Switzerland 7.9, Canada 7.3, Brazil 6.3, EU 5.5, United States 4.5, Japan 3.2, China 0.27, world 1.3 kg GBE | 2025/26, our calculation with 2025 population | USDA1, World Bank4 |
| Switzerland per person, other sources | 7.9 kg (2020); 6.95 kg (2003, per capita disappearance) | Dutch market study; ICO series | CBI8, ICO6 |
| Belgium imports and re-exports | 282,000 t green coffee imported; 184,000 t re-exported | 2024, Eurostat via CBI | CBI7 |
| Growth 2021/22 to 2025/26 | Vietnam +53%, Ethiopia +34%, China +30%, India +80% (from 0.9 to 1.6 million bags) | Our calculation | USDA1 |
| Conversion to GBE | Roasted × 1.19; soluble × 2.6 | USDA tables | USDA1 |
| Exports by form | Green 119.5, soluble 19.9, roasted and ground 6.5 million bags GBE | 2025/26 | USDA1 |
The ICO figures for 2014 and 2024/25 are not a clean time series. The older table uses calendar years, and later ICO releases revise past years.9,2
Open questions#
- Comparable datasets. ICO and USDA world totals for 2024/25 differ by about 10 million bags; no source consulted here reconciles them country by country (see Contested).1,2
- Hub countries. No source consulted for this entry measures how much of the per-person figure for Switzerland, Belgium or Luxembourg reflects coffee bought by non-residents or stocks moving across borders.
- Producing-country estimates. Consumption in producing countries rests on member estimates and is revised between reports; no survey-based check of these estimates was found.3,1
- Form of coffee drunk. The most recent roasted and soluble shares consulted here are averages for 1997–2010 and rest on market-research data.5
Key reports#
USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, 2026 – Coffee: World Markets and Trade. The USDA report on world coffee supply and use. Its tables give consumption, imports and exports by country and by form (green, roasted, soluble) in green bean equivalent.
International Coffee Organization, 2026 – Coffee Market Report, August 2026. Gives the ICO’s supply and demand balance by coffee year, with consumption by region. It defines consumption as apparent consumption: production plus net trade and changes in stocks.
ICO Statistics Committee, 2015 – Data concepts and variables. Defines the terms behind ICO statistics: disappearance, net imports, inventories, domestic consumption and per capita consumption. It is the clearest statement of how consumption figures are built.
International Coffee Council, 2011 – Drinking patterns in selected importing countries. Estimates the split between roasted and soluble coffee in eight importing countries from 1997 to 2010. It applies market-research shares to ICO totals and states the conversion to green bean equivalent.
- World consumption in 2024/25: the ICO gives 182.2 million bags for the coffee year October–September2; USDA gives 171.8 million bags for marketing year 2024/25, in which producing countries keep their own crop years.1 The ICO notes that its coffee-year figures may differ from crop-year estimates, but neither source reconciles the gap of about 10 million bags.2
- Coffee per person in Belgium: a Dutch government market study cites an industry federation for 5.7 kg of roasted coffee per Belgian per year (year not stated); the same page gives a Belgian consumer-market volume of 44,600 t for 2023, which is 3.8 kg per person (our calculation with World Bank population for 2024).7,4 The page does not say on which basis (roasted or green) the 44,600 t are counted.
Coffearium (2026). Coffee consumption by country. Coffearium – The open coffee compendium. Retrieved 4 November 2026, from https://coffearium.org/entries/coffee-consumption-by-country/
@misc{coffearium2026-coffee-consumption-by-country,
author = {{Coffearium}},
title = {{Coffee consumption by country}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Coffearium -- The open coffee compendium},
url = {https://coffearium.org/entries/coffee-consumption-by-country/},
urldate = {2026-11-04},
note = {Retrieved 4 November 2026}
}Entries are updated when the evidence changes; the retrieval date tells your readers which version you used. Changes are listed in the Change log.
Change log
- – The 50/50 arabica–robusta split of roasted and soluble coffee is now placed in the ICO export statistics. Reason: The ICO data concepts give the split for export statistics, not for consumption estimates. Found in the context audit of 24 Oct 2026.
- – The Belgian 44,600 t for 2023 is now described as a consumer-market volume (basis not stated), not as domestic consumption; the 282,000 t and 184,000 t are green coffee, attributed to Eurostat via the Dutch market study. Reason: The cited CBI page calls the 44,600 t a market “volume” and gives the trade figures for green coffee with Eurostat as source.
- – The ICO’s 50/50 split of roasted and soluble coffee into arabica and robusta is now limited to exporting members that produce or export both species. Reason: The ICO Statistics Committee document (SC-59-15) states the split only for those countries.
Sources
- AUSDA Foreign Agricultural Service (2026). Coffee: World Markets and Trade (July 2026). United States Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service.
- AInternational Coffee Organization (2026). Coffee Market Report – August 2026. International Coffee Organization (ICO).
- AInternational Coffee Organization, Statistics Committee (2015). Data concepts and variables used in the statistics of the Organization (SC-59-15). International Coffee Organization.
- AWorld Bank (2026). World Development Indicators: Population, total (SP.POP.TOTL). World Bank, licence CC BY 4.0.
- A/BInternational Coffee Council (2011). Drinking patterns in selected importing countries (ICC 107-11). International Coffee Organization.
- A/BInternational Coffee Organization, Executive Board (2004). Price-elasticity of demand and coffee consumption in importing countries (EB 3871/04). International Coffee Organization.
- A(2026). The Belgian market potential for coffee. CBI – Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries, Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- A(2022). The Swiss market potential for coffee. CBI – Centre for the Promotion of Imports from developing countries, Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- AInternational Coffee Organization (2015). World coffee consumption. International Coffee Organization (ICO).
Tier A · authoritative · B · trade and expert · C · general. Supporting quotes for every source are in the data version of this entry. If a publisher’s site refuses access, try the doi link or “other copies”.
The literature for this entry was last searched on 24 Oct 2026. A statement that no source consulted for this entry shows something refers to the sources above; newer or missing work may exist.
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