Recycling rate

Slovenia recycles more than Germany, while Japan trails behind Thailand.

OECDUpdated Dec '25

Summary

Top 5 Recycling Leaders

1Slovenia
71.7 %
2Germany
66.7 %
3South Korea
59.7 %
4Austria
59 %
5Netherlands
56.9 %
Dataset Median
38.6 %

Bottom 5 Recycling Leaders

35Turkey
12.3 %
36Costa Rica
6.7 %
37Argentina
6 %
38Chile
0.68 %
39South Africa
0.328 %

Gap

38.6%

Europe dominates top recycling rankings

Outlier

19.6%

Japan only recycles 19.6% despite tech image

Gap

71.4%

218x gap between top Slovenia and bottom Chile

Data

39 results

1Slovenia71.7 %
2Germany66.7 %
3South Korea59.7 %
4Austria59.0 %
5Netherlands56.9 %
6Lithuania56.5 %
7Italy55.4 %
8Belgium54.7 %
9Switzerland53.0 %
10Denmark51.5 %

Map

Recycling rate

0.328 %
71.7 %

Insights

Generated automatically using AI

Gap

38.6%

European nations claim 9 of top 10 spots with 38.6% gap over best Asian rate

Outlier

19.6%

Japan ranks 33rd with only 19.6% recycling rate despite tech reputation

Gap

71.4%

Top recycler Slovenia achieves 218x higher rate than bottom Chile

Leader

71.7%

Slovenia tops global recycling at 71.7%, beating Germany and South Korea

Cluster

56.9%

Top 5 European nations all exceed 56% recycling rates consistently

Methodology

This dataset is sourced from the OECD through its official SDMX data service.
Rankdat does not alter or model the underlying values — we only clean formats, standardize country names, and reshape the data for visualization.

OECD compiles these indicators from a mix of sources including national statistical offices, international household surveys (such as Gallup World Poll, EU-SILC, ISSP), and harmonised administrative datasets.
Each indicator follows the definitions and structure specified in the OECD’s Data Structure Definition (DSD) for this dataflow.

Because indicators originate from different countries and surveys, collection years, sampling methods, and questionnaire wording may vary. OECD applies harmonisation rules to improve comparability, but differences in national methodology may still affect cross-country comparisons.

Full definitions, data collection notes, and quality documentation are available through the OECD metadata portal linked in the Sources section.

Source