Data / Rankings / Municipal waste generated per person / EU countries

EU countries by municipal waste generated per person

Austria had the highest municipal waste generated per person of 27 EU countries in 2020, at 834 kg per person. Romania had the lowest, at 292 kg per person. The median was 504 kg per person and the figure for the European Union (27) was 521 kg per person. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

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Highest834Austria
Lowest292Romania
Median50427 EU countries
European Union (27)521History

Map of EU countries, 2020

Austria: 834 kg per personBelgium: 729 kg per personBulgaria: 432 kg per personCyprus: 614 kg per personCzechia: 543 kg per personGermany: 641 kg per personDenmark: 814 kg per personEstonia: 383 kg per personSpain: 463 kg per personFinland: 609 kg per personFrance: 534 kg per personGreece: 504 kg per personCroatia: 433 kg per personHungary: 406 kg per personIreland: 637 kg per personItaly: 487 kg per personLithuania: 480 kg per personLuxembourg: 790 kg per personLatvia: 478 kg per personMalta: 642 kg per personNetherlands: 533 kg per personPoland: 350 kg per personPortugal: 509 kg per personRomania: 292 kg per personSweden: 431 kg per personSlovenia: 487 kg per personSlovakia: 478 kg per person
  • Under 430
  • 430 to 480
  • 480 to 530
  • 530 to 640
  • 640 and over
kg per person, 2020. Source: Eurostat, Municipal waste by waste management operations, waste generated, kilograms per capita (env_wasmun). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2020

Austria: 834 kg per personAustria834Denmark: 814 kg per personDenmark814Luxembourg: 790 kg per personLuxembourg790Belgium: 729 kg per personBelgium729Malta: 642 kg per personMalta642Germany: 641 kg per personGermany641Ireland: 637 kg per personIreland637Cyprus: 614 kg per personCyprus614Finland: 609 kg per personFinland609Czechia: 543 kg per personCzechia543France: 534 kg per personFrance534Netherlands: 533 kg per personNetherlands533Portugal: 509 kg per personPortugal509Greece: 504 kg per personGreece504Italy: 487 kg per personItaly487Slovenia: 487 kg per personSlovenia487Lithuania: 480 kg per personLithuania480Latvia: 478 kg per personLatvia478Slovakia: 478 kg per personSlovakia478Spain: 463 kg per personSpain463Croatia: 433 kg per personCroatia433Bulgaria: 432 kg per personBulgaria432Sweden: 431 kg per personSweden431Hungary: 406 kg per personHungary406Estonia: 383 kg per personEstonia383Poland: 350 kg per personPoland350Romania: 292 kg per personRomania292Austria: 834 kg per personAustria834Denmark: 814 kg per personDenmark814Luxembourg: 790 kg per personLuxembourg790Belgium: 729 kg per personBelgium729Malta: 642 kg per personMalta642Germany: 641 kg per personGermany641Ireland: 637 kg per personIreland637Cyprus: 614 kg per personCyprus614Finland: 609 kg per personFinland609Czechia: 543 kg per personCzechia543France: 534 kg per personFrance534Netherlands: 533 kg per personNetherlands533Portugal: 509 kg per personPortugal509Greece: 504 kg per personGreece504Italy: 487 kg per personItaly487Slovenia: 487 kg per personSlovenia487Lithuania: 480 kg per personLithuania480Latvia: 478 kg per personLatvia478Slovakia: 478 kg per personSlovakia478Spain: 463 kg per personSpain463Croatia: 433 kg per personCroatia433Bulgaria: 432 kg per personBulgaria432Sweden: 431 kg per personSweden431Hungary: 406 kg per personHungary406Estonia: 383 kg per personEstonia383Poland: 350 kg per personPoland350Romania: 292 kg per personRomania292
kg per person. Source: Eurostat, Municipal waste by waste management operations, waste generated, kilograms per capita (env_wasmun). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankEU countries2020
kg per person		Change on 2019
1Austria Series break834+41.8%
2Denmark814-3.6%
3Luxembourg790-0.1%
4Belgium729+75.2%
5Malta642-7.9%
6Germany641+5.3%
7Ireland Series break637+2.7%
8Cyprus614-6%
9Finland609+7.6%
10Czechia543+8.6%
11France Estimated534-3.8%
12Netherlands533+4.9%
13Portugal509-0.2%
14Greece Series break504-4.5%
15Italy487-3.2%
15Slovenia487-3.4%
17Lithuania480+2.3%
18Latvia478+8.9%
18Slovakia478+13.5%
20Spain463-1.9%
21Croatia433-5.7%
22Bulgaria432-7.1%
23Sweden Series break431-4%
24Hungary406+4.1%
25Estonia383+3.8%
26Poland350+4.2%
27Romania292+4.3%

Other periods

About this ranking

Municipal waste generated in the year, in kilograms per inhabitant: household waste and similar waste from shops, offices and public institutions, collected by or for municipalities.

Countries differ in how much commercial waste they count as municipal, which explains part of the gap between them.

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. Municipal waste by waste management operations, waste generated, kilograms per capita (env_wasmun). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/env_wasmun/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

Eurostat, European Commission. (2026). Municipal waste by waste management operations, waste generated, kilograms per capita (env_wasmun) (EU countries by municipal waste generated per person, 2020) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/env_wasmun/default/table

MLA 9

Municipal waste by waste management operations, waste generated, kilograms per capita (env_wasmun), EU countries by municipal waste generated per person, 2020. Eurostat, European Commission, 30 Mar. 2026, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/env_wasmun/default/table. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/municipal-waste-per-capita/eu-countries?period=2020. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Eurostat, European Commission. 2026. Municipal waste by waste management operations, waste generated, kilograms per capita (env_wasmun). EU countries by municipal waste generated per person, 2020. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/env_wasmun/default/table. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/municipal-waste-per-capita/eu-countries?period=2020.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2026) Municipal waste by waste management operations, waste generated, kilograms per capita (env_wasmun), EU countries by municipal waste generated per person, 2020 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/env_wasmun/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/municipal-waste-per-capita/eu-countries?period=2020 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_municipal_2020,
  author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
  title = {{Municipal waste by waste management operations, waste generated, kilograms per capita (env\_wasmun): EU countries by municipal waste generated per person, 2020}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/env_wasmun/default/table},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/municipal-waste-per-capita/eu-countries?period=2020. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Municipal waste by waste management operations, waste generated, kilograms per capita (env\_wasmun). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/env\_wasmun/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - Eurostat, European Commission
TI  - Municipal waste by waste management operations, waste generated, kilograms per capita (env_wasmun): EU countries by municipal waste generated per person, 2020
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/03/30
PB  - Eurostat, European Commission
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/env_wasmun/default/table
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/municipal-waste-per-capita/eu-countries?period=2020
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/municipal-waste-per-capita/eu-countries?period=2020.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Municipal waste by waste management operations, waste generated, kilograms per capita (env_wasmun). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/env_wasmun/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which EU country has the highest municipal waste generated per person?

Austria, with 834 kg per person in 2020, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest municipal waste generated per person?

Romania, with 292 kg per person in 2020.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Eurostat, European Commission, Municipal waste by waste management operations, waste generated, kilograms per capita (env_wasmun). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

EU countries: more rankings