EU countries by municipal waste recycling rate
Germany had the highest municipal waste recycling rate of 26 EU countries in 2013, at 63.8%. Slovakia had the lowest, at 10.8%. The median was 28.2% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 41.5%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.
Map of EU countries, 2013
- Under 15
- 15 to 26
- 26 to 33
- 33 to 46
- 46 and over
- No data
All EU countries, 2013
Full ranking
| Rank | EU countries | 2013 (%) | Change on 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 63.8 | -1.4 pts |
| 2 | Austria | 57.7 | 0 pts |
| 3 | Belgium | 52.8 | -0.6 pts |
| 4 | Netherlands | 49.8 | +0.4 pts |
| 5 | Sweden | 48.2 | +1.3 pts |
| 6 | Luxembourg | 46.3 | -1.1 pts |
| 7 | Denmark | 43.3 | +0.8 pts |
| 8 | Italy | 39.4 | +1 pts |
| 9 | France | 38.7 | +1 pts |
| 10 | Slovenia Series break | 34.8 | -7.3 pts |
| 11 | Finland | 32.5 | -0.8 pts |
| 11 | Spain | 32.5 | +2.7 pts |
| 13 | Bulgaria | 28.5 | +3.5 pts |
| 14 | Lithuania | 27.8 | +4.3 pts |
| 15 | Hungary | 26.4 | +0.9 pts |
| 16 | Latvia | 25.9 | +11.3 pts |
| 17 | Portugal | 25.8 | -0.3 pts |
| 18 | Czechia Estimated | 24.2 | +1 pts |
| 19 | Estonia | 17.6 | -1.5 pts |
| 20 | Greece | 15.8 | -1.2 pts |
| 21 | Poland Series break | 15.1 | +3.1 pts |
| 22 | Croatia | 14.9 | +0.2 pts |
| 23 | Cyprus | 13.9 | +1.1 pts |
| 24 | Romania | 13.2 | -1.6 pts |
| 25 | Malta | 12.5 | -2.3 pts |
| 26 | Slovakia | 10.8 | -2.6 pts |
Other periods
About this ranking
Municipal waste recycled, including composting and anaerobic digestion, as a percentage of municipal waste generated.
Stricter EU calculation rules apply from reference year 2020 in some countries; Eurostat marks those changes as series breaks.
Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the EU countries are compared on one definition. 1 EU countries with data in other periods have no value for 2013 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.
How to cite
Eurostat. Recycling rate of municipal waste (cei_wm011). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/cei_wm011/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.Citation styles
APA 7
Eurostat, European Commission. (2026). Recycling rate of municipal waste (cei_wm011) (EU countries by municipal waste recycling rate, 2013) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/cei_wm011/default/table
MLA 9
Recycling rate of municipal waste (cei_wm011), EU countries by municipal waste recycling rate, 2013. Eurostat, European Commission, 30 Mar. 2026, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/cei_wm011/default/table. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/municipal-waste-recycling-rate/eu-countries?period=2013. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.
Chicago (author-date)
Eurostat, European Commission. 2026. Recycling rate of municipal waste (cei_wm011). EU countries by municipal waste recycling rate, 2013. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/cei_wm011/default/table. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/municipal-waste-recycling-rate/eu-countries?period=2013.
Harvard
Eurostat, European Commission (2026) Recycling rate of municipal waste (cei_wm011), EU countries by municipal waste recycling rate, 2013 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/cei_wm011/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/municipal-waste-recycling-rate/eu-countries?period=2013 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_municipal_2013,
author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
title = {{Recycling rate of municipal waste (cei\_wm011): EU countries by municipal waste recycling rate, 2013}},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Data set},
url = {https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/cei_wm011/default/table},
urldate = {2026-10-12},
note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/municipal-waste-recycling-rate/eu-countries?period=2013. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Recycling rate of municipal waste (cei\_wm011). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/cei\_wm011/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY - DATA
AU - Eurostat, European Commission
TI - Recycling rate of municipal waste (cei_wm011): EU countries by municipal waste recycling rate, 2013
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/03/30
PB - Eurostat, European Commission
DB - Invokely
UR - https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/cei_wm011/default/table
L2 - https://invokely.ai/rankings/municipal-waste-recycling-rate/eu-countries?period=2013
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/municipal-waste-recycling-rate/eu-countries?period=2013.
N1 - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Recycling rate of municipal waste (cei_wm011). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/cei_wm011/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER -
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Rank EU countries by municipal waste recycling rate using official data, and cite the source.
rank_places {"indicator":"municipal_waste_recycling_rate","level":"country","within":"European Union (27)","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=municipal_waste_recycling_rate&level=country&within=European%20Union%20(27)&limit=10Questions
Which EU country has the highest municipal waste recycling rate?
Germany, with 63.8% in 2013, according to Eurostat, European Commission.
Which EU country has the lowest municipal waste recycling rate?
Slovakia, with 10.8% in 2013.
Where does this ranking come from?
Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Eurostat, European Commission, Recycling rate of municipal waste (cei_wm011). Retrieved 2026-10-12. 1 EU countries have no value for 2013 and are not ranked.