EU countries by circular material use rate
The Netherlands had the highest circular material use rate of 27 EU countries in 2021, at 30.1%. Romania had the lowest, at 1.5%. The median was 8.7% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 11.1%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.
Map of EU countries, 2021
- Under 5
- 5 to 6.5
- 6.5 to 9.3
- 9.3 to 15
- 15 and over
All EU countries, 2021
Full ranking
| Rank | EU countries | 2021 (%) | Change on 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Netherlands | 30.1 | +1.9 pts |
| 2 | Belgium | 21.3 | -1.6 pts |
| 3 | Estonia | 19.9 | +3.6 pts |
| 4 | Italy | 19.3 | -0.8 pts |
| 5 | Malta | 18.4 | +2.2 pts |
| 6 | France | 15.4 | 0 pts |
| 7 | Germany | 12.3 | -0.6 pts |
| 8 | Austria | 11.2 | -0.2 pts |
| 9 | Czechia | 11 | -0.5 pts |
| 10 | Slovakia | 10.4 | +0.1 pts |
| 11 | Sweden | 9.5 | +2.6 pts |
| 12 | Spain | 9.1 | -0.3 pts |
| 13 | Slovenia | 8.9 | -1 pts |
| 14 | Luxembourg | 8.7 | -1 pts |
| 15 | Denmark | 8.4 | +0.9 pts |
| 16 | Poland | 7 | -0.4 pts |
| 17 | Croatia | 6.1 | +0.6 pts |
| 18 | Cyprus | 5.8 | +2 pts |
| 19 | Finland | 5.5 | +0.7 pts |
| 20 | Greece Series break | 5.3 | +1.1 pts |
| 21 | Hungary | 5 | -0.1 pts |
| 21 | Latvia | 5 | -0.2 pts |
| 23 | Bulgaria | 4.3 | -1.5 pts |
| 24 | Lithuania | 4.1 | +0.1 pts |
| 25 | Portugal | 2.8 | +0.2 pts |
| 26 | Ireland | 2 | +0.2 pts |
| 27 | Romania | 1.5 | 0 pts |
Other periods
About this ranking
Material recovered from waste and fed back into the economy, as a percentage of all material used. All material used is domestic material consumption plus the recovered material.
Recovered material is estimated from waste sent to domestic recovery plants, minus imported and plus exported waste for recovery. The EU aims to double the rate between 2020 and 2030. The latest year is often an estimate.
Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the EU countries are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.
How to cite
Eurostat. Circular material use rate (env_ac_cur). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/env_ac_cur/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-18.Citation styles
APA 7
Eurostat, European Commission. (2025). Circular material use rate (env_ac_cur) (EU countries by circular material use rate, 2021) [Data set]. Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/env_ac_cur/default/table
MLA 9
Circular material use rate (env_ac_cur), EU countries by circular material use rate, 2021. Eurostat, European Commission, 24 Nov. 2025, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/env_ac_cur/default/table. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/circular-material-use-rate/eu-countries?period=2021. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.
Chicago (author-date)
Eurostat, European Commission. 2025. Circular material use rate (env_ac_cur). EU countries by circular material use rate, 2021. Dataset. Accessed October 18, 2026. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/env_ac_cur/default/table. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/circular-material-use-rate/eu-countries?period=2021.
Harvard
Eurostat, European Commission (2025) Circular material use rate (env_ac_cur), EU countries by circular material use rate, 2021 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/env_ac_cur/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/circular-material-use-rate/eu-countries?period=2021 (Accessed: 18 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_circular_2021,
author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
title = {{Circular material use rate (env\_ac\_cur): EU countries by circular material use rate, 2021}},
year = {2025},
howpublished = {Data set},
url = {https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/env_ac_cur/default/table},
urldate = {2026-10-18},
note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/circular-material-use-rate/eu-countries?period=2021. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Circular material use rate (env\_ac\_cur). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/env\_ac\_cur/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-18.},
}
RIS
TY - DATA
AU - Eurostat, European Commission
TI - Circular material use rate (env_ac_cur): EU countries by circular material use rate, 2021
PY - 2025
DA - 2025/11/24
PB - Eurostat, European Commission
DB - Invokely
UR - https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/env_ac_cur/default/table
L2 - https://invokely.ai/rankings/circular-material-use-rate/eu-countries?period=2021
Y2 - 2026/10/18
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/circular-material-use-rate/eu-countries?period=2021.
N1 - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Circular material use rate (env_ac_cur). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/env_ac_cur/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-18.
ER -
Use this data in your AI agent
Invokely serves this figure to AI assistants through MCP and to code through a REST API, with the source and citation attached. Ask your assistant:
Rank EU countries by circular material use rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"circular_material_use_rate","level":"country","within":"European Union (27)","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=circular_material_use_rate&level=country&within=European%20Union%20(27)&limit=10Questions
Which EU country has the highest circular material use rate?
The Netherlands, with 30.1% in 2021, according to Eurostat, European Commission.
Which EU country has the lowest circular material use rate?
Romania, with 1.5% in 2021.
Where does this ranking come from?
Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Eurostat, European Commission, Circular material use rate (env_ac_cur). Retrieved 2026-10-18.