India has the highest share of vegetarians in the country compared to other select countries in 2024, according to the Statista Consumer Insight survey. Over a third of Indian respondents reported following a vegetarian diet, compared to only eight percent in the United Kingdom. Meat substitutes market in Europe The United Kingdom and Germany hold second and third place respectively for the highest share of vegetarians in the country. Both countries have also increased their production of vegetarian and vegan meat substitutes in recent years. Germany’s meat substitute production increased by over 60 percent between 2019 and 2021 and amounted to 104,300 metric tons. Consumption in the UK is forecast to exceed 130,000 metric tons by 2028. Health and wellness food trends Cutting out meat and animal byproducts is one of many health and wellness trends adopted by consumers to lead a healthier lifestyle. Other wellness trends include reducing sugar intake, using supplements such as vitamins or probiotics, and purchasing organic products. Globally, the functional and natural health food market is expected to reach 27.44 billion U.S. dollars by 2026, and it is likely this trend will only continue to grow.

Introduction

Vegan Statistics: As the saying goes, what we eat today affects our future and personality. Eating healthy foods can increase our life expectancy. During the pandemic, following a diet that keeps our body strong and boosts immunity is important. There are many different types of vegans worldwide. With the rising number of vegans, experts predict that the Vegan Food market will grow by 6.4% annually, reaching $36.3 billion by 2030.

It involves not eating animal products like meat, dairy, eggs, and honey and not using animal-based items in other parts of life, such as clothes and beauty products. Here are some interesting Vegan Statistics from around the world.

During four surveys carried out between January four and December 12, 2024, approximately eight percent of people in the United States aged between 20 and 29 said they were following a vegetarian diet. The share of vegetarians among respondents aged between 50 and 59 was much lower at two percent. Vegetarianism in the U.S. The main two reasons for following a meat-free diet in the U.S. are to be healthier or due to concerns about animal welfare. Overall, approximately six percent of U.S. consumers follow a vegetarian diet. Only India has a share of vegetarians that is considerably higher. According to a survey, the South Asian country has by far the highest share of vegetarians worldwide, with over a third of the population following a vegetarian diet. Meat consumption in the U.S. While many people follow meat-free diets in the U.S., meat remains to be an essential part of the majority of consumers’ diets. In 2023, per capita meat consumption in the U.S. amounted to approximately 225.5 pounds. Broiler chicken was the most consumed meat, followed by beef and pork. Consumption is forecast to slightly grow within the next ten years. The leading U.S. meat and poultry processing companies, based on sales, are Tyson Foods Inc. and JBS USA Holdings Inc. owner of Cargill Meat Solutions.

In 2022, the region of Europe accounted for the highest retail sales of plant-based meat, valued at 3.3 billion U.S. dollars. In comparison, the APAC region had retail sales that year with 326 million dollars.

Animal welfare topped the list of motivations for vegetarians and vegans of why they follow their diet in the United States. The survey, from early 2024, found that roughly 43 percent of respondents named this as a one of the reasons they currently follow their diet.

More and more consumers are adopting vegetarian and vegan diets in the United States. Where only 2.5 percent of Americans over the age of 50 consider themselves vegetarian, 7.5 percent of Millennials and Gen Z have given up meat. The same goes for veganism, where the younger generations have taken on the diet at nearly double the rate of older Americans.

Plant-based diets

A vegetarian diet is one which excludes the consumption of meat and in some cases animal-derived foods such as eggs and milk. A vegan diet is characterized by abstaining from the consumption of all animal products, which can extend to products like honey as well. People who adopt these diets do so for either ethical, dietary, environmental concerns, or a combination of all three. While there are health benefits attributed to these diets, primarily a lower incidence of heart disease, they must be carefully constructed in order to receive the nutrients that are normally ingested from animal products. A recent survey of Millennial American consumers showed that the purported health benefits of a meat-free diet was the main reason for adopting a vegetarian or vegan diet.

Plant-based food sales

Sales of plant-based foods experienced rapid growth in 2018. Compared to the previous year, plant-based meals sales grew by 28 percent and meat alternatives by 24 percent. The sales values of these categories were worth 210 million and 670 million dollars respectively. Milk alternatives are still the highest selling segment of plant-based foods, valued at 1.6 billion dollars in 2018.

In 2024, about 8.43 million people in Germany were either vegetarians or largely forgo meat consumption. Since 2014, the number of people identifying as either complete or nearly complete vegetarians has grown noticeably. Trends in German meat consumption Per capita meat consumption in Germany has changed in recent years. Except for poultry, pork an beef saw noticeable annual decreases. Consumption of meat and sausage products, for which the country is well known, varied by product, giving rise to the idea that Germans are no longer totally hesitant to give up on meat or sausages. The German vegetarian and vegan meat Substitute market The decline in German meat consumption is accompanied by a rise in the production of vegan and vegetarian meat substitutes. In 2021, close to 100,000 tons of these alternatives were produced in Germany. Just in the two since 2019 this production has grown by almost 40,000 tons. In monetary value, this means a production of meat substitutes worth close to 460 million euros.

According to an online survey as of June 2024, the majority of vegetarians, vegans or supporters in Brazil were living in the state of São Paulo, with over 11.1 thousand people. The second largest population of self-identified vegetarians, vegans and supporters were found in Rio de Janeiro, with more than 3.2 thousand respondents. In 2018, 14 percent of respondents in a survey in Brazil identified as vegetarians.

In 2024, the number of vegans was estimated to be 2.5m. Based on survey results, another two million intend to follow the diet in the future. A combined 6.1 million more are going meatless and either follow a vegetarian or a pescetarian diet. How many vegans are there really? Due to the small share of vegans in a population, it is often difficult to get a reliable estimate of how many vegans can be found in any given population. Often the margin of error in a survey is larger than the share of vegans found. In the United States, for example, depending on the survey, you can find survey results ranging from one to four percent of the population. Across Europe, the overwhelming majority of countries have three percent or less of their population following a vegan diet. Healthy eating & Veganism In the United Kingdom, consumers cite health reasons among the top factors that might encourage them to adapt a vegan or vegetarian diet. Almost a quarter of women named health reasons, while 19 percent of their male counterparts had a similar standpoint. For men, this made it the leading reason, while women named animal welfare as high as health. Consumers in the United States who have already adopted a vegan or vegetarian diet also frequently named the desire to eat healthier as one of the reasons they adopted their current diet. Two in five vegans and vegetarians in the U.S. named healthier eating, only animal welfare ranked slightly higher.

This statistic shows the results of a 2018 survey among adult Americans on whether they are vegetarian or vegan. During the survey, 5 percent of respondents in the United States said they considered themselves vegetarian, while 3 percent said they were vegan.

In 2024, around four percent of responding German consumers between 18 and 64 years of age followed a vegan diet. In Brazil, China, Mexico, and the U.S., between two and four percent of respondents ate vegan diets. The noteworthy standout is India, where about a tenth of respondents said they typically follow a vegan diet. The survey was carried out in four quarterly waves among online users. Veganism in the European Union The share of adults following a vegan diet in the European Union (EU) varies considerably among the different generations. According to a recent survey, Gen Z had the highest share of vegans in the EU, with approximately four percent. In comparison, among Generation X and the Baby Boomers, the share of vegans was only one percent. In general, the share of vegans in the EU tends to be higher among younger generations. The number of vegans in the EU is forecast to grow from about 6.6 million in 2023 to almost 8.3 million by 2033. Veganism in Germany Germany has a particularly high share of young adults who are vegan or vegetarian, as compared to other European countries. Approximately six and eleven percent of young adults in Germany classify themselves as vegan or vegetarian, respectively. Moreover, being vegan in Germany has become considerably easier over the years. The number of vegan restaurants in Germany has almost quadrupled throughout the last decade, adjusting to the growing demand for alternatives to animal products. While there were only 113 purely vegan restaurants in 2014, a total of 393 vegan restaurants were counted in 2024. The growing demand for animal alternatives can also be observed in the production volume of vegetarian and vegan meat substitutes in Germany. The volume of vegetarian and vegan meat substitutes produced has grown from approximately 60,000 tons in 2019 to about 121,600 tons in 2023.

In the United Kingdom, about four percent of female respondents stated that they follow a vegan diet. The displayed data on diets and nutrition shows the results of the Statista Global Consumer Survey conducted in the UK in 2023. The displayed data shows the aggregated results of four survey waves.

The relationship between the willingness to feed cultivated meat and consume it, by respondents’ diet.

During a survey in April of 2023, 55 percent of responding U.S. adults who have ever been a vegetarian stated that health benefits were among the reasons they were or are vegetarians. Personal taste, food safety concerns, and weight management all ranked above moral reasons as reasons why U.S. citizens were or are vegetarians.

[201+ Pages Report] The global vegan protein market size is expected to grow from USD 13.01 billion in 2022 to USD 28.80 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 10.45% from 2023-2030

Conscious meat consumption is a topic regularly debated in the Netherlands, and more and more Dutch refrain from eating meat. The vegetarian community in the country is small but growing. Whereas in 2017, six percent of survey respondents stated to consider themselves vegetarian, by 2021 this had reached 11 percent. A similar upward trend is visible among the flexitarians, or part-time vegetarians who do not eat meat one or several days a week. The vegan population in the Netherlands is estimated at around two percent.

 The young vegetarian  

Not eating meat is particularly popular among the younger generations in the Netherlands. A 2018 survey found that the share of 18-to-24 year-olds following a vegetarian diet was five times as large as the share of respondents aged 55 years and older following this type of diet. 18-24 and 25-34-year-olds were also overrepresented among the flexitarian population.

 Reasons to go vegetarian  

Vegetarians have different motives to stop eating meat. According to a 2019 survey, the main reasons to go vegetarian included more variety in meals, contributing to a better nature and environment, concern about animal welfare and health-related reasons. On the other hand, the price of meat did not seem a deciding factor for most vegetarians: only eight percent cited this as a reason to cut meat from their diet altogether.

This statistic shows the share of consumers who consider themselves to be vegan or vegetarian in the United States as of July 2018, by income. During the survey, four percent of respondents who reported having less than 30,000 dollars annual income said they considered themselves vegan.

According to a survey conducted in 2021, 24 percent of Indians were vegetarians and 18 percent were selective meat eaters. Similarly, nine percent were vegans while around eight percent were pescatarians.

During a survey carried out between July 2021 and June 2022, approximately five percent of French people aged between 18 and 19 said they were following a vegetarian diet. The share of vegetarians among respondents aged between 50 and 59 was at two percent.

Meat-free diets in France

The share of French people who follow a flexitarian (semi-vegetarian) diet reached almost 30 percent among people aged between 35 and 64. The main reasons given by survey respondents for being a flexitarian were nutritional-, health-, or environmental concerns. While the share of flexitarian diets is particularly high in the middle age groups, vegan diets are most popular among young people in France. Nearly 11 percent of people aged 18 or 19 follow a vegan diet. This is by far the highest among all age groups. The share of vegans decreases with age.

Meat consumption in France

While many French people reduce their meat intake or follow a meat-free diet, meat remains an essential part of food consumption in France. In 2020, the per capita consumption of meat in France amounted to a total of approximately 84.4 kilograms. Pork and poultry made up the largest share with 31.5 kilograms and 27.7 kilograms, respectively. That year, French households spent almost 40 billion euros on meat. Meat is mostly distributed via hypermarkets in France. Nearly half of all meat purchases occur through at these shopping locations. The second most frequent sales channel of meat is supermarkets.

When it comes to the consumption of vegetarian diet in selected countries worldwide, India tops the list followed by Pakistan. 36 percent of consumers from India as well as 27 percent from Pakistan state that they follow this diet. Statista Consumer Insights offer you all results of our exclusive Statista surveys, based on more than 2,000,000 interviews.