EU countries by municipal waste recycling rate
Germany had the highest municipal waste recycling rate of 26 EU countries in 2015, at 66.7%. Malta had the lowest, at 10.9%. The median was 32.4% and the figure for the European Union (27) was 44.9%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.
Map of EU countries, 2015
- Under 18
- 18 to 30
- 30 to 41
- 41 to 48
- 48 and over
- No data
All EU countries, 2015
Full ranking
| Rank | EU countries | 2015 (%) | Change on 2014 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 66.7 | +1.1 pts |
| 2 | Austria | 56.9 | +0.6 pts |
| 3 | Slovenia Series break | 54.1 | +18.1 pts |
| 4 | Belgium | 53.5 | -0.3 pts |
| 5 | Netherlands | 51.8 | +0.9 pts |
| 6 | Sweden | 47.6 | -1.7 pts |
| 7 | Denmark | 47.4 | +2 pts |
| 7 | Luxembourg | 47.4 | -0.3 pts |
| 9 | Italy Series break | 44.3 | +2.7 pts |
| 10 | France | 40.7 | +1 pts |
| 11 | Finland Series break | 40.6 | +8.1 pts |
| 12 | Lithuania | 33.2 | +2.7 pts |
| 13 | Poland Estimated | 32.5 | +6 pts |
| 14 | Hungary | 32.2 | +1.7 pts |
| 15 | Spain | 30 | -0.8 pts |
| 16 | Portugal Series break | 29.8 | -0.6 pts |
| 17 | Czechia Estimated | 29.7 | +4.3 pts |
| 18 | Bulgaria | 29.4 | +6.3 pts |
| 19 | Latvia | 28.7 | +1.7 pts |
| 20 | Estonia | 28.3 | -2.8 pts |
| 21 | Croatia | 18 | +1.6 pts |
| 22 | Cyprus | 16.7 | +1.9 pts |
| 23 | Greece | 15.8 | +0.4 pts |
| 24 | Slovakia | 14.9 | +4.5 pts |
| 25 | Romania | 13.3 | +0.2 pts |
| 26 | Malta | 10.9 | -0.8 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 2015 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, 2015) [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, 2015. 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=2015. 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, 2015. 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=2015.
Harvard
Eurostat, European Commission (2026) Recycling rate of municipal waste (cei_wm011), EU countries by municipal waste recycling rate, 2015 [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=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).
BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_municipal_2015,
author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
title = {{Recycling rate of municipal waste (cei\_wm011): EU countries by municipal waste recycling rate, 2015}},
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=2015. 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, 2015
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=2015
Y2 - 2026/10/12
N1 - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/municipal-waste-recycling-rate/eu-countries?period=2015.
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 -
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 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 66.7% in 2015, according to Eurostat, European Commission.
Which EU country has the lowest municipal waste recycling rate?
Malta, with 10.9% in 2015.
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 2015 and are not ranked.