Beach litter items per unit of surface area (Number of items per 100 square meters) by country
Countries reporting
93
Highest
185,292
Cameroon
Lowest
0
Iceland
Median
13
Years covered
10
2015–2024
Data points
1,160
What the numbers show
Beach litter items per unit of surface area (Number of items per 100 square meters) is currently reported for 93 countries. The highest value is 185,292 in Cameroon; the lowest is 0 in Iceland.
The median across all reporting countries is 13, and the mean is 2,384.
Over the past decade 14 countries rose and 68 fell. The largest increase was in United States Virgin Islands (up 2,960.0%), and the largest decrease in Iceland (down 100.0%).
Beach litter items per unit of surface area: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cameroon | 185,292 | 2024 | up 2,088.1% | volatile |
| 2 | Republic of Korea | 23,358 | 2022 | up 994.1% | volatile |
| 3 | Poland | 6,779 | 2022 | down 72.8% | falling |
| 4 | Norway | 1,784 | 2022 | down 54.7% | falling |
| 5 | Bulgaria | 783 | 2022 | down 64.0% | volatile |
| 6 | Kenya | 594 | 2023 | — | volatile |
| 7 | Italy | 303 | 2022 | down 40.7% | falling |
| 8 | Dominican Republic | 266 | 2024 | up 2,855.6% | volatile |
| 9 | Egypt | 256 | 2024 | up 2,460.0% | volatile |
| 10 | Philippines | 245 | 2024 | up 140.2% | volatile |
| 11 | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 165 | 2022 | down 56.0% | falling |
| 12 | United States Virgin Islands | 153 | 2024 | up 2,960.0% | volatile |
| 13 | Ukraine | 146 | 2021 | — | volatile |
| 14 | Grenada | 130 | 2020 | — | volatile |
| 15 | Vanuatu | 93 | 2024 | up 72.2% | volatile |
| 16 | Nigeria | 89 | 2024 | down 55.1% | volatile |
| 17 | Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba | 84 | 2022 | up 460.0% | volatile |
| 18 | Lithuania | 77 | 2022 | down 22.2% | falling |
| 19 | Cambodia | 76 | 2024 | down 73.9% | volatile |
| 20 | Chile | 69 | 2024 | down 12.7% | volatile |
| 21 | Bangladesh | 62 | 2024 | down 99.6% | volatile |
| 22 | Bahamas | 52 | 2024 | up 420.0% | volatile |
| 23 | Samoa | 48 | 2024 | down 77.0% | volatile |
| 24 | Malawi | 46 | 2023 | — | volatile |
| 25 | Guatemala | 40 | 2024 | down 90.0% | volatile |
| 26 | Germany | 38 | 2024 | up 280.0% | volatile |
| 27 | Brazil | 36 | 2024 | down 93.3% | volatile |
| 28 | Jamaica | 34 | 2024 | down 92.5% | volatile |
| 28 | Thailand | 34 | 2024 | down 24.4% | volatile |
| 30 | Antigua and Barbuda | 32 | 2024 | down 30.4% | volatile |
| 31 | Panama | 31 | 2024 | down 78.6% | volatile |
| 32 | Singapore | 30 | 2024 | down 96.0% | volatile |
| 33 | Netherlands (Kingdom of the) | 25 | 2024 | down 93.5% | volatile |
| 34 | Australia | 24 | 2024 | — | volatile |
| 35 | Barbados | 23 | 2023 | down 80.0% | volatile |
| 36 | Estonia | 21 | 2022 | down 19.2% | falling |
| 36 | Mexico | 21 | 2024 | up 5.0% | volatile |
| 38 | Guyana | 20 | 2024 | down 93.3% | volatile |
| 39 | Malaysia | 19 | 2024 | down 61.2% | falling |
| 39 | South Africa | 19 | 2024 | down 82.1% | volatile |
| 41 | Bermuda | 18 | 2024 | down 62.5% | volatile |
| 42 | Mozambique | 15 | 2024 | down 92.6% | volatile |
| 42 | Slovenia | 15 | 2024 | down 91.8% | volatile |
| 42 | Australia and New Zealand | 15 | 2024 | — | volatile |
| 45 | Japan | 14 | 2024 | down 77.4% | volatile |
| 46 | Puerto Rico | 13 | 2024 | down 88.5% | volatile |
| 46 | British Virgin Islands | 13 | 2024 | down 94.8% | volatile |
| 48 | Trinidad and Tobago | 12 | 2023 | down 92.1% | volatile |
| 49 | Canada | 10 | 2024 | — | volatile |
| 49 | Fiji | 10 | 2024 | down 23.1% | volatile |
| 51 | Israel | 9 | 2024 | down 59.1% | volatile |
| 51 | Morocco | 9 | 2023 | down 99.4% | volatile |
| 51 | Northern Mariana Islands | 9 | 2024 | unchanged | volatile |
| 54 | Finland | 8 | 2023 | up 300.0% | volatile |
| 54 | Croatia | 8 | 2024 | down 99.8% | volatile |
| 54 | Malta | 8 | 2023 | down 93.4% | volatile |
| 54 | Nicaragua | 8 | 2024 | down 97.5% | volatile |
| 54 | Romania | 8 | 2021 | down 46.7% | volatile |
| 59 | Kuwait | 7 | 2024 | — | volatile |
| 59 | Portugal | 7 | 2024 | down 97.7% | volatile |
| 61 | Cyprus | 6 | 2024 | down 84.2% | volatile |
| 61 | India | 6 | 2024 | down 93.2% | volatile |
| 61 | Sint Maarten (Dutch part) | 6 | 2024 | down 88.9% | volatile |
| 61 | Uruguay | 6 | 2024 | down 89.3% | volatile |
| 65 | Costa Rica | 5 | 2024 | down 99.6% | volatile |
| 65 | Suriname | 5 | 2020 | — | volatile |
| 67 | Argentina | 4 | 2024 | down 99.3% | volatile |
| 67 | China | 4 | 2024 | down 99.7% | volatile |
| 67 | Indonesia | 4 | 2024 | down 98.1% | volatile |
| 67 | Mauritius | 4 | 2024 | down 97.6% | volatile |
| 67 | New Zealand | 4 | 2024 | down 85.7% | volatile |
| 67 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 4 | 2023 | down 97.3% | volatile |
| 73 | Cayman Islands | 3 | 2024 | down 99.1% | volatile |
| 73 | Spain | 3 | 2024 | down 98.0% | volatile |
| 73 | Greece | 3 | 2024 | down 99.0% | volatile |
| 73 | Guam | 3 | 2024 | down 90.0% | volatile |
| 73 | Ireland | 3 | 2024 | up 50.0% | volatile |
| 73 | Saint Lucia | 3 | 2024 | down 97.4% | volatile |
| 73 | Sweden | 3 | 2024 | up 200.0% | volatile |
| 80 | Belize | 2 | 2024 | down 98.8% | falling |
| 80 | Colombia | 2 | 2024 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 80 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 2 | 2024 | down 98.0% | volatile |
| 80 | Maldives | 2 | 2024 | — | volatile |
| 80 | Seychelles | 2 | 2024 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 80 | Guernsey | 2 | 2024 | down 96.3% | volatile |
| 80 | Russian Federation | 2 | 2022 | down 96.4% | volatile |
| 87 | United Arab Emirates | 1 | 2024 | down 99.4% | volatile |
| 87 | Belgium | 1 | 2024 | down 99.9% | volatile |
| 87 | Denmark | 1 | 2024 | down 92.3% | volatile |
| 87 | Ecuador | 1 | 2024 | down 98.9% | volatile |
| 87 | France | 1 | 2024 | down 99.9% | volatile |
| 87 | Sri Lanka | 1 | 2024 | down 99.7% | volatile |
| 93 | Iceland | 0 | 2024 | down 100.0% | volatile |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- Middle Africa 1,967
- Northern Africa 223
- Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 197
- South-Eastern Asia 124
- Eastern and South-Eastern Asia 108
- Asia 97
- Caribbean 91
- Viet Nam 90
- Western Africa 89
- Small Island Developing States (SIDS) 63
- Africa 77
- Sub-Saharan Africa 77
- Least Developed Countries (LDCs) 52
- Polynesia 37
- Latin America and the Caribbean 68
- Türkiye 21
- South America 45
- Southern Asia 45
- Central and Southern Asia 45
- Melanesia 20
- Landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) 10
- United Republic of Tanzania 8
- World 27
- Micronesia 4
- Eastern Asia 23
- Americas 19
- Southern Africa 19
- Central America 14
- Western Europe 13
- Oceania 9
- Northern America 7
- United States of America 7
- Northern Africa and Western Asia 7
- Southern Europe 6
- Oceania (exc. Australia and New Zealand) 6
- Europe and Northern America 6
- Europe 4
- Northern Europe 4
- Eastern Europe 3
- Eastern Africa 3