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.
| Name | Material Consumption (tonnes/capita) | Material Productivity (USD/kg) |
|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | 1.87 | 1.111 |
| Albania | 7.914 | 1.645 |
| Algeria | 8.993 | 1.341 |
| Angola | 4.918 | 1.357 |
| Argentina | 11.293 | 1.75 |
| Armenia | 11.039 | 0.966 |
| Australia | 37.719 | 1.28 |
| Austria | 18.661 | 2.803 |
| Azerbaijan | 9.156 | 1.552 |
| Bahrain | 28.485 | 1.582 |
| Bangladesh | 2.729 | 1.465 |
| Belarus | 17.524 | 1.033 |
| Belgium | 12.32 | 3.906 |
| Benin | 5.092 | 0.586 |
| Bhutan | 11.227 | 0.935 |
| Bolivia | 11.335 | 0.664 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 11.005 | 1.177 |
| Botswana | 30.642 | 0.524 |
| Brazil | 12.894 | 1.103 |
| Brunei | 23.093 | 2.616 |
| Bulgaria | 21.257 | 1.013 |
| Burkina Faso | 4.398 | 0.413 |
| Burundi | 1.757 | 0.449 |
| Cambodia | 5.285 | 0.711 |
| Cameroon | 4.083 | 0.821 |
| Canada | 28.708 | 1.576 |
| Central African Republic | 3.429 | 0.246 |
| Chad | 2.505 | 0.621 |
| Chile | 40.405 | 0.562 |
| Colombia | 5.891 | 2.264 |
| Costa Rica | 7.445 | 2.362 |
| Croatia | 10.501 | 2.517 |
| Cuba | 6.619 | 3.69 |
| Cyprus | 13.493 | 1.99 |
| Czech Republic | 15.881 | 2.399 |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | 2.297 | 0.392 |
| Denmark | 25.417 | 2.12 |
| Dominican Republic | 5.374 | 2.995 |
| East Timor | 8.047 | 0.347 |
| Ecuador | 8.012 | 1.348 |
| Egypt | 7.938 | 1.511 |
| El Salvador | 4.146 | 1.903 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 19.303 | 0.9992 |
| Eritrea | 10.399 | 0.199 |
| Estonia | 29.439 | 1.182 |
| eSwatini | 11.419 | 0.785 |
| Ethiopia | 3.131 | 0.601 |
| Fiji | 6.256 | 2.123 |
| Finland | 31.34 | 1.465 |
| France | 11.773 | 3.789 |
| Gabon | 5.865 | 2.425 |
| Georgia | 6.604 | 1.835 |
| Germany | 14.626 | 3.401 |
| Ghana | 6.872 | 0.797 |
| Greece | 10.007 | 2.877 |
| Greenland | 25.417 | 2.12 |
| Guatemala | 5.023 | 1.588 |
| Guinea | 3.965 | 0.531 |
| Guinea-Bissau | 3.935 | 0.434 |
| Haiti | 1.282 | 1.329 |
| Honduras | 3.949 | 1.286 |
| Hungary | 17.765 | 1.8 |
| Iceland | 30.936 | 1.817 |
| India | 5.53 | 1.105 |
| Indonesia | 7.453 | 1.481 |
| Iran | 14.523 | 1.071 |
| Iraq | 6.408 | 1.726 |
| Ireland | 24.683 | 3.436 |
| Israel | 13.064 | 2.968 |
| Italy | 8.096 | 4.77 |
| Ivory Coast | 2.935 | 1.734 |
| Jamaica | 5.827 | 1.529 |
| Japan | 8.94 | 4.628 |
| Jordan | 6.994 | 1.316 |
| Kazakhstan | 29.335 | 0.808 |
| Kenya | 3.19 | 1.115 |
| Kuwait | 30.163 | 1.452 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 8.176 | 0.542 |
| Laos | 11.828 | 0.578 |
| Latvia | 13.942 | 2.084 |
| Lebanon | 8.918 | 1.657 |
| Lesotho | 12.446 | 0.254 |
| Liberia | 3.098 | 0.4 |
| Libya | 10.7 | 1.372 |
| Lithuania | 19.601 | 1.796 |
| Luxembourg | 22.296 | 4.834 |
| Madagascar | 2.413 | 0.658 |
| Malawi | 3.517 | 0.293 |
| Malaysia | 16.647 | 1.601 |
| Mali | 5.799 | 0.368 |
| Malta | 13.108 | 3.533 |
| Mauritania | 7.65 | 0.544 |
| Mauritius | 11.607 | 1.783 |
| Mexico | 8.286 | 2.267 |
| Moldova | 7.668 | 0.921 |
| Mongolia | 34.113 | 0.324 |
| Morocco | 7.891 | 0.928 |
| Mozambique | 2.526 | 0.52 |
| Myanmar | 3.515 | 1.395 |
| Namibia | 11.809 | 0.858 |
| Nepal | 4.037 | 0.694 |
| Netherlands | 8.768 | 6.222 |
| New Zealand | 24.1 | 1.643 |
| Nicaragua | 5.356 | 1.054 |
| Niger | 3.395 | 0.346 |
| Nigeria | 3.439 | 1.485 |
| North Korea | 3.635 | 1.184 |
| Norway | 31.037 | 1.986 |
| Oman | 31.472 | 0.952 |
| Pakistan | 4.213 | 1.109 |
| Panama | 6.994 | 3.877 |
| Papua New Guinea | 9.929 | 0.426 |
| Paraguay | 7.741 | 1.58 |
| China | 24.701 | 0.578 |
| Peru | 15.049 | 0.794 |
| Philippines | 3.953 | 2.022 |
| Poland | 17.788 | 1.804 |
| Portugal | 16.586 | 2.012 |
| Qatar | 48.299 | 1.88 |
| Republic of Macedonia | 9.291 | 1.627 |
| Republic of the Congo | 3.635 | 0.833 |
| Romania | 27.552 | 0.981 |
| Russia | 16.124 | 1.533 |
| Rwanda | 2.995 | 0.633 |
| Saudi Arabia | 24.839 | 1.873 |
| Senegal | 3.309 | 0.97 |
| Serbia | 14.439 | 0.958 |
| Sierra Leone | 7.082 | 0.237 |
| Singapore | 32.597 | 2.787 |
| Slovakia | 12.055 | 2.757 |
| Slovenia | 13.701 | 2.67 |
| Somalia | 2.686 | 0 |
| South Africa | 11.223 | 1.106 |
| South Korea | 11.291 | 1.184 |
| Spain | 9.237 | 4.162 |
| Sri Lanka | 5.083 | 2.442 |
| Sudan | 5.35 | 0.982 |
| Sweden | 25.957 | 1.998 |
| Switzerland | 10.675 | 6.448 |
| Syria | 11.268 | 0.206 |
| Tajikistan | 3.518 | 0.931 |
| Tanzania | 3.342 | 0.733 |
| Thailand | 12.702 | 1.331 |
| The Gambia | 2.389 | 0.871 |
| Togo | 4.199 | 0.349 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 19.684 | 1.267 |
| Tunisia | 9.387 | 1.096 |
| Turkey | 12.091 | 2.324 |
| Turkmenistan | 16.475 | 0.908 |
| Uganda | 3.007 | 0.71 |
| Ukraine | 12.416 | 0.826 |
| United Arab Emirates | 22.279 | 3.001 |
| United Kingdom | 8.242 | 5.286 |
| United States of America | 18.568 | 3.145 |
| Uruguay | 34.677 | 0.604 |
| Uzbekistan | 9.05 | 0.761 |
| Venezuela | 6.814 | 1.8 |
| Vietnam | 11.094 | 0.611 |
| Yemen | 2.299 | 0.802 |
| Zambia | 8.52 | 0.405 |
| Zimbabwe | 3.903 | 0.703 |
| OECD |