Which Countries Eat the Most Butter Per Person?

A slab of butter melting into warm bread is hard to argue with. Some countries spread it far thicker than others, though, and the gap between the top and the bottom of the list is enormous. A Dane gets through more than 8 kilograms a year. A resident of Sudan or Mali gets through about 10 grams.

Denmark eats the most butter per person at 8.55 kg (18.8 lb) a year, with France and Bahrain close behind. India consumes the most in total at 4,976 kt (about 5.5 million short tons), and its figure most likely includes ghee. Large studies link butter to small or neutral health effects, but heart health groups still advise keeping it modest.

Key Takeaways

• Denmark leads per person at 8.55 kg (18.8 lb), followed by France at 8.38 kg (18.5 lb) and Bahrain at 8.15 kg (18.0 lb).
• Western and Northern Europe fill most of the top of the ranking, along with New Zealand and Iceland.
• 13 of the 182 countries in the data pass 5 kg (11 lb) per person, while 101 stay under 1 kg (2.2 lb).
• India (4,976 kilotonnes) and Pakistan (1,231 kilotonnes) lead on total volume, then the United States (894 kt).

Where do people eat the most butter?

Hover over the world map to compare countries. Darker shades mean more butter per person.

The top of the ranking is crowded with dairy countries. After Denmark, France and Bahrain come Belgium (7.80 kg, 17.2 lb), the Netherlands (6.89 kg, 15.2 lb), New Zealand (6.40 kg, 14.1 lb) and Iceland (6.32 kg, 13.9 lb). Austria and Germany follow at 5.62 kg (12.4 lb) and 5.57 kg (12.3 lb).

What does the full data look like?

Every country is below. Sort by any column or search for a name.

Two cautions apply when reading it. Totals favor large populations, which is why India, Pakistan and the United States top the volume column. Per person figures favor small ones, which is how Bahrain (about 12 kt) lands next to France (542 kt).

Is butter healthy?

The research is more forgiving than its reputation. A 2016 meta-analysis of 636,151 people found butter only weakly associated with total mortality, not associated with cardiovascular disease, and slightly associated with a lower risk of diabetes. In that study, a serving was 14 g, roughly one tablespoon or half an ounce.

The American Heart Association still takes a firmer line. It recommends keeping saturated fat under 6% of calories, which is about 120 calories on a 2,000-calorie diet, and says swapping in oils such as olive, canola or soybean lowers heart disease risk. One tablespoon of butter carries around 7 g of saturated fat, so a couple of spoonfuls can use up most of that allowance.

In short, a tablespoon a day looks low risk for most healthy adults in the research, while the countries at the top of this map eat several times that. Anyone with high cholesterol should check with a doctor.