Rice Consumption by Country

Rice isn’t just “another carb.” It’s the daily backbone of meals for billions of people. Roughly 3.5 billion people—almost half of humanity—depend on rice as a staple, and in many of the world’s most populous nations it supplies 20% or more of daily calories.

In this article we’ll zoom in on the 10 countries that eat the most rice in absolute terms—measured by total annual consumption. Together, they account for over 95% of global rice consumption, and they shape everything from local diets to international trade and even climate policy.

How Do We Measure “Rice Consumption”?

Before we rank countries, it’s worth unpacking what “rice consumption” means in data terms—because not all statistics are counting exactly the same thing.

Most official and industry datasets talk about:

• Milled rice equivalent – Paddy (unhusked) rice is converted using a standard milling ratio (~65–68% yield) to get the edible, milled rice figure.

• Domestic consumption / domestic use – The quantity of rice used within a country in a given year. This is essentially: domestic production + imports − exports ± changes in stocks.

• Per capita consumption – How much rice the average person in a country eats per year (kg/person), which can look very different from total volume.

Different sources—FAO, USDA, industry analysts, and secondary compilers like WorldOStats or news explainers—will publish slightly different numbers depending on which year, which crop marketing season, and which definition they use. For example:

• One 2025 explainer lists China’s rice consumption at 155 million metric tons and India’s at ~115 million metric tons.

• Another aggregated dataset for 2023 milled rice domestic consumption puts China at 152.1 million tons and India at 117 million tons, with Bangladesh and Indonesia swapping third and fourth place.

• A 2025 ranking from WorldOStats shows even higher totals (e.g., China at 192.8 million tons, India at 140.3 million) but preserves the same basic ordering of the top rice-consuming nations.

In this article, we’ll:

• Focus on total annual consumption (milled equivalent).

• Use recent 2023–2025 data from USDA/FAO-based compilations (notably WorldOStats and industry datasets).

• Treat figures as approximations, rounded for clarity.

The Global Rice Bowl: A Quick Overview

Globally, rice consumption has been steadily rising and is currently at record levels:

• The USDA projects global rice consumption to reach about 541.1 million metric tons (milled basis) in the 2025–26 season, a historic high.

• Asia is, unsurprisingly, the world’s rice core: estimates suggest around 90% of the world’s rice is consumed in Asia, where it is both grown and eaten in astonishing quantities.

At the same time, demand is growing fast outside Asia, especially in:

• West Africa, where urbanization and the need for convenient, quick-cooking staples have turned rice into a daily food for millions.

• Parts of Latin America, where rice is often paired with beans as a fundamental national dish.

But even with this spread, the top 10 rice-consuming nations are still dominated by Asia—and they effectively define the global rice market.

Ranking the World’s Top 10 Rice-Consuming Nations

Using a recent 2025 ranking of total rice consumption by country (milled equivalent) compiled from FAO/USDA data, we can list the top 10 rice-consuming countries as follows:

Note: Global consumption here is approximated at 541.1 million metric tons (USDA 2025–26 projection).

Table 1 – Top 10 Rice-Consuming Countries (Total Volume)

*Figures compiled from recent estimates of milled rice domestic consumption; rounded to one decimal place.

Collectively, these 10 countries consume about 516.2 million tons, or roughly 95.4% of all rice eaten worldwide—an extraordinary concentration of dietary dependence on a single grain.

Now let’s walk through each country and look at why rice is so central, and what its consumption patterns reveal.

1. China – The World’s Rice Giant

China is both the largest producer and consumer of rice on earth. Recent estimates put its annual rice consumption in the 150–190 million ton range, depending on the year and methodology, with some compilations listing 192.8 million tons.

Historically:

• Rice has provided about 30–38% of China’s total dietary energy, based on FAO historical data, making it a fundamental calorie source.

• Around 65% of the population—especially in southern and eastern provinces—relies on rice as a staple.

Why consumption is so high:

• Population scale: With over 1.4 billion people, even moderate per-person intake translates into immense total consumption.

• Regional cuisines: Southern China in particular treats rice as the “default” starch—rice bowls, congee, rice noodles, and rice-based snacks are everywhere.

• Industrial use: Rice also enters processed foods, beverages, and animal feed.

China’s rice sector is characterized by:

• Intensive, high-yield production, with over 140 million tons of annual output in recent seasons.

• Ongoing efforts to improve quality and efficiency, including hybrid rice varieties and mechanization.

At the same time, changing diets (more meat, wheat-based products, and processed foods) have slightly tempered per capita rice consumption, but total volume remains enormous and deeply influential in global markets.

2. India – The Second Giant and Top Exporter

India ranks second in total rice consumption, with recent estimates in the 115–140 million ton range, and around 140.3 million tons in some 2025 compilations.

Rice plays a complex role in Indian diets:

• FAO data indicate rice contributes roughly 31% of total dietary energy and 24% of protein, especially in eastern, northeastern, and southern states.

• In the north, wheat is more dominant, but rice is still important and growing in urban diets.

India is also a powerhouse producer and exporter:

• USDA-linked reports put India’s rice production around 145–152 million tons in recent years, with the 2025–26 crop projected to hit a record 152 million tons.

• India is currently the world’s largest rice exporter, shipping ~24 million tons in recent seasons.

This creates a delicate balance:

• Domestic demand: Hundreds of millions of low-income households rely on subsidized rice from public distribution systems for food security.

• Export ambitions: High global prices incentivize exports, but export restrictions periodically appear when domestic inflation or stock concerns arise.

The result is a rice economy that is deeply political—prices, export bans, and support prices for farmers are all part of India’s broader social contract around food.

3. Indonesia – Rice as Daily Necessity

Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country, consumes roughly 51 million tons of rice per year, accounting for about 9.4% of global consumption.

For Indonesians, rice is not just a food; it is almost a definition of a proper meal. National dishes like nasi goreng (fried rice), nasi uduk, and countless rice-based plates show up for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Key features of Indonesia’s rice consumption:

• Historical FAO data suggest rice once contributed over half of the country’s dietary energy—around 51–59%—a level matched by only a handful of nations.

• Per capita consumption remains very high; some 2025 per capita rankings put Indonesians at about 185 kg of rice per person per year.

Indonesia strives for rice self-sufficiency, but:

• Land constraints, yield plateaus, and climate variability mean it often imports rice in bad harvest years, making it a key player in the global rice import market.

• Policy has oscillated between keeping consumer prices low and ensuring farmers earn enough to keep planting—an eternal trade-off in staple food politics.

4. Bangladesh – A Nation Built on Rice

Bangladesh consumes roughly 42.3 million tons of rice annually—almost 8% of global consumption—despite having a much smaller population than China or India.

Bangladesh is one of the world’s most rice-centric societies:

• FAO research has historically found that rice can provide over 70–75% of total dietary energy and more than 60% of protein intake for Bangladeshis—one of the highest levels on the planet.

• Rice is eaten at virtually every meal, in forms that range from steamed rice to congee-like khichuri and sweet rice-based desserts.

Over the last few decades, Bangladesh has:

• Dramatically raised rice yields through irrigation, high-yielding varieties, and policy support.

• Reduced chronic food insecurity thanks in part to reliable rice harvests.

But this reliance also makes Bangladesh:

• Vulnerable to climate risks like floods, cyclones, saltwater intrusion, and shifting monsoons in the Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna delta.

• Highly sensitive to global rice price spikes, even though it is now much more self-sufficient than in the past.

Bangladesh’s position in the ranking reflects a story of successful agricultural intensification in the face of extreme demographic and environmental pressures.

5. Philippines – High Consumption, Tight Balances

The Philippines consumes about 22.5 million tons of rice per year, around 4.2% of world consumption, placing it fifth in the ranking.

Two things stand out about the Philippines:

1. Very high per capita consumption
   Recent per capita rankings suggest the average Filipino eats roughly 194 kg of rice per year—almost half a kilo per day.

2. Chronic tension between self-sufficiency and imports
   Despite being among the world’s larger rice producers, the Philippines has frequently been a major rice importer, especially when typhoons or El Niño events hit domestic output.

Rice is central to Filipino cuisine—sinangag (garlic fried rice), lugaw (rice porridge), and endless rice-based meals underpin daily food culture. Social and political debates over rice prices, minimum support prices for farmers, and import duties are permanent fixtures in national policy discussions.

6. Vietnam – Big Consumer, Bigger Exporter

Vietnam consumes around 22.4 million tons of rice annually, almost the same as the Philippines and about 4.1% of global consumption.

At first glance, Vietnam’s consumption might look modest relative to its reputation—but that’s because:

• Vietnam is not only a major consumer; it is also one of the world’s largest rice exporters, routinely ranking among the top two or three export countries alongside India and Thailand.

Domestically:

• Rice has long provided over two-thirds of dietary energy for Vietnamese households, according to FAO historical data (with rice supplying ~67% of calories and ~58% of protein).

• Everyday dishes—com tam, pho (rice-noodle soup), and countless rice-based street foods—make rice omnipresent in both urban and rural diets.

Vietnam’s policy story is one of post-Đổi Mới transformation: from a rice-deficit country in the 1980s to a major surplus producer today, using that surplus to earn foreign exchange while still feeding its population comfortably.

7. Myanmar – The Most Rice-Dependent Society?

Myanmar’s total rice consumption is estimated around 15.1 million tons, or nearly 2.8% of global consumption—which is remarkable given its relatively small population.

Why so high?

• According to recent per-capita rankings, Myanmar is number one in the world in rice eaten per person, at roughly 279 kg per person per year, more than three times the global average.

• Historical FAO data show rice providing around 74% of total dietary energy and over two-thirds of protein, making it one of the most rice-dependent diets anywhere.

Myanmar is also a significant exporter, shipping surplus rice to regional markets when conditions allow. However:

• Political instability, conflict, sanctions, and infrastructure challenges have periodically disrupted both production and exports.

• Climate vulnerabilities—floods, cyclones, shifting rainfall—pose ongoing risks to a system where food security is almost synonymous with rice security.

In short, Myanmar’s spot in the ranking highlights how some relatively small economies can still be rice giants in dietary terms.

8. Thailand – Export Titan, Modest Consumer

Thailand consumes about 12.8 million tons of rice per year, roughly 2.4% of global consumption.

That might sound low for such a famous rice country—until you remember:

• Thailand is one of the world’s top rice exporters (usually in the top three), with production around 20 million tons or more, meaning a large share of its crop is exported.

Domestically:

• Rice remains central to Thai cuisine—plain steamed rice, sticky rice in the north and northeast, and rice noodles.

• FAO data suggest rice contributes around 43–58% of total dietary calories, depending on region and timeframe.

Thailand’s rice story is thus one of:

• Moderate domestic consumption, with high per-capita intake but a relatively smaller population.

• Strategic export orientation, leveraging its high-quality jasmine rice and well-developed trading networks.

9. Japan – Tradition Under Pressure

Japan consumes about 9.1 million tons of rice per year, about 1.7% of world consumption, yet rice holds an outsized cultural and political significance.

Key dynamics:

• Rice has historically been the symbolic heart of Japanese agriculture and cuisine, from go-han (literally “cooked rice,” synonymous with “meal”) to sake and rice crackers.

• Diets have diversified; FAO data show rice’s share of total calories declining to around 20–25%, as bread, pasta, and meat consumption rise.

Yet the Japanese government still treats rice as a strategic staple:

• Japan maintains large public rice reserves. In 2025, facing a surge in rice prices of more than 50% in a year, the government released up to 210,000 tons from emergency stockpiles to stabilize markets.

• Trade and tariff policies around imported rice remain sensitive, reflecting a desire to protect domestic farmers and maintain some degree of self-reliance.

Japan’s place in the ranking illustrates how a country can be relatively small in total volume but still treat rice as a key national security issue.

10. Brazil – The Non-Asian Outlier

Rounding out the top 10 is Brazil, with roughly 7.9 million tons of rice consumed annually, accounting for around 1.5% of global consumption.

Brazil is one of the few non-Asian countries on this list. Its rice story looks different:

• Historically, FAO data show per-capita rice availability around 40–45 kg/year, providing 13–16% of total dietary energy—much lower than in Asia but still significant.

• Rice is usually paired with beans (arroz e feijão), forming a nutritionally complementary staple that underpins diets across income levels.

Brazil is also a producer:

• Rice is grown largely in the south (Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina), often in irrigated systems.

• Production can fluctuate with water availability and competition from soybeans and other cash crops, but domestic output generally covers most of its consumption.

Brazil’s presence in the top 10 shows how large population and regional food traditions can push a country into the global rice big-league even without the extreme per-capita dependence seen in Asia.

What About Nigeria and Other Fast-Growing Consumers?

You might notice Nigeria isn’t in the table above—yet some datasets show it edging into the top 10, particularly if different years or methodologies are used.

• One 2023 domestic consumption dataset puts Nigeria at about 7.7 million tons, comparable to Brazil.

• Other rankings swap Brazil out and include Nigeria instead, or list both within the top dozen rice consumers worldwide.

Nigeria’s trajectory is emblematic of West Africa’s rice boom:

• Urbanization and changing diets have made rice a “convenience staple”, often preferred to slower-cooking traditional cereals.

• Governments in the region, including Nigeria, have introduced policies to boost domestic rice production and reduce import dependence—sometimes with mixed results.

Other notable rising consumers include:

• Egypt, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire in Africa.

• Latin American countries where rice-and-beans dishes are core to national cuisines.

In short, while Asia currently dominates, Africa’s rice consumption is rising faster than anywhere else, reshaping trade flows and future rankings.

Rice, Health, and Climate: Emerging Pressures on the Big Consumers

The sheer scale of rice consumption in these top 10 countries ties the grain to several 21st-century challenges.

1. Climate Change and Crop Yields

Rice is extremely sensitive to:

• Temperature shifts, especially nighttime heat.

• Water stress in rain-fed systems.

• Salinity and sea-level rise in river deltas (e.g., Bangladesh, Vietnam, parts of India).

The USDA projects record global rice production of 541.6 million tons in 2025–26, but warns that this is contingent on continued yield gains and stable weather.

Extreme weather and climate change could:

• Reduce yields in key producing regions.

• Increase year-to-year volatility, forcing importers like the Philippines or West African nations to scramble on global markets.

2. Food Safety: Arsenic Risks

A 2025 study highlighted a more subtle risk: arsenic accumulation in rice as climate change alters water and soil chemistry. Experiments simulating future high-CO₂ and warmer conditions in China’s Yangtze River Delta showed synergistic increases in arsenic levels in rice grains.

Modeling suggests:

• Arsenic-related cancer risks in major rice-consuming countries could increase sharply by 2050 if no mitigation steps are taken.

• The risk is particularly serious in countries where rice supplies a large fraction of calories—exactly the nations in our top-10 list.

Mitigation options include:

• Breeding arsenic-tolerant or low-uptake varieties.

• Changing irrigation practices (e.g., alternate wetting and drying instead of continuous flooding).

• Improving milling and cooking practices, such as rinsing and boiling in excess water.

3. Nutrition and Diversification

While rice is a valuable source of energy, an ultra-rice-heavy diet can:

• Crowd out other nutrient-rich foods.

• Contribute to micronutrient deficiencies (iron, zinc, vitamins).

Many top-consuming countries are therefore grappling with a double challenge:

• Ensuring enough rice to prevent hunger.

• Encouraging dietary diversification to address obesity and hidden hunger—without triggering social resistance to changes in beloved staples.

What the Ranking Tells Us

Looking across the top 10 rice-consuming nations, a few big themes emerge:

1. Population drives volume, but culture drives dependence.
   China and India top the list partly because they’re huge—but countries like Myanmar and Bangladesh consume eye-watering amounts of rice per person.

2. Asia is still the rice universe, but not forever.
   Asia accounts for almost all of the top 10, yet Africa’s rapid growth in rice consumption suggests the world’s “rice map” will keep expanding.

3. Production and consumption aren’t always aligned.
   Vietnam and Thailand export a large share of what they grow; the Philippines and some African nations import heavily. These imbalances create fragile interdependencies in global trade.

4. Rice is increasingly a climate and health story.
   From arsenic risks and methane emissions to extreme weather and water scarcity, the future of rice consumption will depend on how well the big consumers adapt their farming systems.

5. Small policy choices in big consumers ripple worldwide.
   An export ban in India, a stockpile release in Japan, or a failed harvest in China can swing global prices and affect food security in dozens of importing nations.

Wrapping Up

“Rice Consumption by Country” isn’t just a trivia list—it’s a map of global food security:

• The top 10 nations alone account for over 95% of all rice consumed globally.

• Their combined decisions on farming, trade, climate adaptation, and nutrition will determine whether rice remains a reliable, affordable staple for billions in the decades ahead.

Understanding who eats the most rice—and why—helps us see not only the culinary diversity of the planet, but also the risks and responsibilities that come with depending so heavily on a single grain.