Protein consumption statistics vary substantially by country. The 2023 figures in the Our World in Data per-capita-sources-of-protein chart place Iceland at 149.14 grams of total daily protein supply per person, while the lowest figure in this set is Uzbekistan at 109.16 grams. These are food-supply figures, not a claim that every person consumed exactly that amount.
Contents
- What these protein figures measure
- The countries with the highest figures
- A compact country comparison
- North America, Europe, and other regional benchmarks
- Protein supply across Asia and the Pacific
- What the spread shows
What these protein figures measure
The source label for every figure here is the Our World in Data per-capita-sources-of-protein chart. Its measure is total daily protein supply per person, expressed in grams, and the measurement year is 2023. “Supply” is important: the statistic describes the quantity available in the food system per person rather than an individually recorded food diary.
The list also includes countries, regional groupings, and income groupings. Those categories should not be read as interchangeable. For example, “United States” is a country, “North America” is a geographic grouping, “Northern America (FAO)” is an FAO grouping, and “High-income countries” is an income grouping. They are all reported in the same unit and year, but they represent different populations.
The figures are useful for broad comparison. They can show how reported protein supply differs between places, while leaving room for differences in food waste, household access, preparation, and individual diets. For a wild game cook, the practical takeaway is that a national supply statistic gives background scale; it does not determine the protein content of a particular venison meal.
The countries with the highest figures
Iceland has the highest country figure in this supplied 2023 set, at 149.14 g per person per day. Montenegro follows at 133.13 g, a difference of 16.01 g from Iceland’s figure. Ireland records 132.10 g, and Serbia records 131.47 g. Israel is next at 129.12 g.
China is listed at 128.62 g per person per day. The dataset also includes a separate “China (FAO)” entry at 128.07 g. Because the source presents these as separate labels, they should remain separate in a comparison rather than being combined or treated as a duplicate without explanation. Tonga is reported at 128.12 g.
The next group remains above 120 g per person per day. Denmark records 125.48 g, Norway 124.24 g, Portugal 124.07 g, and Finland 123.99 g. Belarus is at 123.51 g. “Eastern Asia (FAO)” is close behind at 123.41 g, although it is a regional grouping rather than a country.
These numbers create a useful high-end reference band. The countries from Iceland through Finland all exceed 123 g per person per day in the 2023 chart. That does not mean their residents all eat identical diets. It means the chart assigns those populations the listed average daily protein supply for the year.
A compact country comparison
The following table gathers the country entries from the upper portion of the supplied ranking. All values are grams of total daily protein supply per person in 2023, as reported by the Our World in Data per-capita-sources-of-protein chart.
| Country | 2023 g/person/day |
|---|---|
| Iceland | 149.14 |
| Montenegro | 133.13 |
| Ireland | 132.10 |
| Serbia | 131.47 |
| Israel | 129.12 |
| China | 128.62 |
| Tonga | 128.12 |
| Denmark | 125.48 |
| Norway | 124.24 |
| Portugal | 124.07 |
| Finland | 123.99 |
| Belarus | 123.51 |
| United States | 122.69 |
| Lithuania | 122.15 |
| Luxembourg | 121.30 |
| Australia | 120.93 |
The United States figure is 122.69 g per person per day. That places it below Belarus at 123.51 g and above Lithuania at 122.15 g. Luxembourg records 121.30 g, while Australia records 120.93 g. These close values are best read with their displayed precision rather than rounded into a tie.
The table also illustrates why the word “statistics” needs careful framing. A difference of a few grams separates several neighboring entries, but the figures are still estimates of population-level supply. The precision shown by the chart does not turn them into exact personal intake measurements.
North America, Europe, and other regional benchmarks
The chart reports 111.30 g per person per day for Canada in 2023. The United States is higher at 122.69 g. The broader “North America” grouping is listed at 109.97 g, while “Northern America (FAO)” is listed at 121.52 g. These labels produce different comparisons because the geographic definitions differ; the values should not be averaged together.
Several European reference points sit in a relatively narrow band. The European Union (27) is reported at 111.31 g per person per day. “Europe (FAO)” is 111.02 g, and “Europe” is 110.93 g. Western Europe (FAO) is 109.65 g. Northern Europe (FAO) is higher at 112.93 g, while Southern Europe (FAO) is 115.74 g.
Country figures within that wider European set include France at 112.90 g, Bosnia and Herzegovina at 112.61 g, the Netherlands at 112.21 g, Croatia at 112.16 g, Albania at 111.32 g, Romania at 110.78 g, and Greece at 110.33 g. Belgium is reported at 113.80 g.
Italy’s 2023 figure is 114.73 g per person per day, and Spain’s is 116.05 g. Poland is at 116.70 g, while Russia is at 115.29 g. These values show that country-level figures around 110–117 g occur across several parts of the European comparison, even though individual entries differ.
The chart also lists “High-income countries” at 113.59 g per person per day. That is an income-group statistic, not a country result. It provides a benchmark for the grouping defined by the source, but it should not be presented as the intake of a typical person in every high-income country.
Protein supply across Asia and the Pacific
The 2023 country figures include several high values outside Europe and North America. Israel is at 129.12 g per person per day, China at 128.62 g, and Tonga at 128.12 g. “Eastern Asia (FAO)” is 123.41 g. Hong Kong is 116.02 g, and Macao is 114.67 g.
Turkey records 118.56 g per person per day. Mongolia records 117.88 g, while Uzbekistan records 109.16 g. Those three entries span 9.40 g from the highest to the lowest value in this particular comparison. The figures are country-specific and should not be used to describe all of Asia as one dietary pattern.
Pacific and island entries in the chart include the Marshall Islands at 118.25 g, Nauru at 109.95 g, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines at 113.02 g. Guyana is listed at 113.79 g. These entries can be useful when comparing individual countries, but the source’s country labels do not by themselves explain why one value is higher or lower.
Australia is reported at 120.93 g per person per day. Together with the Marshall Islands at 118.25 g and Tonga at 128.12 g, it provides several Pacific-area reference points without requiring them to be treated as a single regional average.
What the spread shows
Across the 50 supplied entries, the highest displayed figure is Iceland’s 149.14 g per person per day and the lowest is Uzbekistan’s 109.16 g. The difference between those two reported values is 39.98 g. That is a comparison of the source’s displayed figures, not a newly calculated national statistic.
The upper end is concentrated around 120 g and above: Iceland, Montenegro, Ireland, Serbia, Israel, China, Tonga, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Finland, Belarus, Eastern Asia (FAO), the United States, Lithuania, Northern America (FAO), Luxembourg, Australia, Turkey, the Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Argentina, Poland, Spain, Hong Kong, Southern Europe (FAO), Russia, Italy, and Macao all appear at or above 114.67 g, with several above 120 g.
Argentina’s 2023 figure is 117.14 g per person per day. Poland is 116.70 g, Spain 116.05 g, and Hong Kong 116.02 g. At the lower end of this supplied set, Western Europe (FAO) is 109.65 g, Uzbekistan is 109.16 g, and Nauru is 109.95 g. North America is 109.97 g, while Greece is 110.33 g.
For readers who cook wild game, these comparisons offer context rather than a recipe rule. The chart measures total protein supply at population level. A serving of venison, the ingredients served with it, and the amount eaten at one meal are separate questions. The most defensible use of these statistics is to identify broad differences in reported food supply while keeping the 2023 date, the population geography, and the supply-based measure visible.