Visualizing The Smoking Population of Countries
According to Our World in Data, about one-in-four adults around the world smoke tobacco—at least on an occasional basis. And in many countries, a majority of these smokers are men.
But just how big is the smoking gender gap, and which places have the biggest divide between men and women when it comes to smoking? This graphic by Pablo Alvarez visualizes the smoking population breakdown across the globe.
About the Dataset
The dataset is compiled by Our World in Data and uses the latest available figures (2020) that’ve been pulled from the World Bank. The data includes men and women aged 15 and over, and focuses on the world’s top 50 most populous countries.
It’s also worth highlighting that, for the purposes of this study, a smoker is defined as someone who smokes any form of tobacco (cigarettes, cigars, pipes, etc.) and includes people who smoke on a daily, non-daily, and occasional basis.
The Breakdown of Men versus Women Smokers
According to the figures in the dataset, countries in Asia and Africa seem to have the biggest gender gap when it comes to smoking.
For instance, 71% of Indonesian men smoke, while only 4% of Indonesian women use tobacco. And in China, nearly half of men are smokers, while only 2% of women smoke.
| Country | % of women who smoke | % of men who smoke |
|---|---|---|
 Indonesia | 4% | 71% |
 Myanmar | 20% | 68% |
 Bangladesh | 17% | 52% |
 China | 2% | 49% |
 Nauru | 49% | 47% |
 Nepal | 13% | (Read more...) |