How we use materials

Australia has the third highest material consumption rate in the world.

Australia has the third highest material consumption rate in the world (38 tonnes/capita), well above the global average (12 tonnes/capita).

For every kilogram of materials consumed, Australia generates economic output of US$1.28.

This is below the world average (US$1.55 per kg materials consumed). We can do more to extract value from the materials we consume, before we dispose of them. 

NameMaterial Consumption (tonnes/capita)Material Productivity (USD/kg)
Afghanistan1.871.111
Albania7.9141.645
Algeria8.9931.341
Angola4.9181.357
Argentina11.2931.75
Armenia11.0390.966
Australia37.7191.28
Austria18.6612.803
Azerbaijan9.1561.552
Bahrain28.4851.582
Bangladesh2.7291.465
Belarus17.5241.033
Belgium12.323.906
Benin5.0920.586
Bhutan11.2270.935
Bolivia11.3350.664
Bosnia and Herzegovina11.0051.177
Botswana30.6420.524
Brazil12.8941.103
Brunei23.0932.616
Bulgaria21.2571.013
Burkina Faso4.3980.413
Burundi1.7570.449
Cambodia5.2850.711
Cameroon4.0830.821
Canada28.7081.576
Central African Republic3.4290.246
Chad2.5050.621
Chile40.4050.562
Colombia5.8912.264
Costa Rica7.4452.362
Croatia10.5012.517
Cuba6.6193.69
Cyprus13.4931.99
Czech Republic15.8812.399
Democratic Republic of the Congo2.2970.392
Denmark25.4172.12
Dominican Republic5.3742.995
East Timor8.0470.347
Ecuador8.0121.348
Egypt7.9381.511
El Salvador4.1461.903
Equatorial Guinea19.3030.9992
Eritrea10.3990.199
Estonia29.4391.182
eSwatini11.4190.785
Ethiopia3.1310.601
Fiji6.2562.123
Finland31.341.465
France11.7733.789
Gabon5.8652.425
Georgia6.6041.835
Germany14.6263.401
Ghana6.8720.797
Greece10.0072.877
Greenland25.4172.12
Guatemala5.0231.588
Guinea3.9650.531
Guinea-Bissau3.9350.434
Haiti1.2821.329
Honduras3.9491.286
Hungary17.7651.8
Iceland30.9361.817
India5.531.105
Indonesia7.4531.481
Iran14.5231.071
Iraq6.4081.726
Ireland24.6833.436
Israel13.0642.968
Italy8.0964.77
Ivory Coast2.9351.734
Jamaica5.8271.529
Japan8.944.628
Jordan6.9941.316
Kazakhstan29.3350.808
Kenya3.191.115
Kuwait30.1631.452
Kyrgyzstan8.1760.542
Laos11.8280.578
Latvia13.9422.084
Lebanon8.9181.657
Lesotho12.4460.254
Liberia3.0980.4
Libya10.71.372
Lithuania19.6011.796
Luxembourg22.2964.834
Madagascar2.4130.658
Malawi3.5170.293
Malaysia16.6471.601
Mali5.7990.368
Malta13.1083.533
Mauritania7.650.544
Mauritius11.6071.783
Mexico8.2862.267
Moldova7.6680.921
Mongolia34.1130.324
Morocco7.8910.928
Mozambique2.5260.52
Myanmar3.5151.395
Namibia11.8090.858
Nepal4.0370.694
Netherlands8.7686.222
New Zealand24.11.643
Nicaragua5.3561.054
Niger3.3950.346
Nigeria3.4391.485
North Korea3.6351.184
Norway31.0371.986
Oman31.4720.952
Pakistan4.2131.109
Panama6.9943.877
Papua New Guinea9.9290.426
Paraguay7.7411.58
China24.7010.578
Peru15.0490.794
Philippines3.9532.022
Poland17.7881.804
Portugal16.5862.012
Qatar48.2991.88
Republic of Macedonia9.2911.627
Republic of the Congo3.6350.833
Romania27.5520.981
Russia16.1241.533
Rwanda2.9950.633
Saudi Arabia24.8391.873
Senegal3.3090.97
Serbia14.4390.958
Sierra Leone7.0820.237
Singapore32.5972.787
Slovakia12.0552.757
Slovenia13.7012.67
Somalia2.6860
South Africa11.2231.106
South Korea11.2911.184
Spain9.2374.162
Sri Lanka5.0832.442
Sudan5.350.982
Sweden25.9571.998
Switzerland10.6756.448
Syria11.2680.206
Tajikistan3.5180.931
Tanzania3.3420.733
Thailand12.7021.331
The Gambia2.3890.871
Togo4.1990.349
Trinidad and Tobago19.6841.267
Tunisia9.3871.096
Turkey12.0912.324
Turkmenistan16.4750.908
Uganda3.0070.71
Ukraine12.4160.826
United Arab Emirates22.2793.001
United Kingdom8.2425.286
United States of America18.5683.145
Uruguay34.6770.604
Uzbekistan9.050.761
Venezuela6.8141.8
Vietnam11.0940.611
Yemen2.2990.802
Zambia8.520.405
Zimbabwe3.9030.703
OECD