This Balkan Country Eats The Most Pork Per Capita In The World

Pork is the most popular meat in the world, so it's no surprise that you'll find many types of pork dishes worldwide, each carrying a certain cultural significance depending on where they hailing from. But there is one country, nestled on the Balkan Peninsula, that loves pork more than any other: Croatia. According to World Population Review, this Mediterranean gem annually consumes about 59 kilograms of pork per capita, making it the leading consumer in the world.

It wasn't always that way — Croatia's pork consumption has been rapidly growing over the past few years. Per Helgi Library, it increased by 12% within a single year from 2020 to 2021. It then reached a peak in 2022, when the country surpassed Poland as a top consumer. The protein has immense cultural significance in Croatia; you'll be hard-pressed to find a social gathering, big or small, where some type of pork isn't on the table. Many of the must-try foods in Croatia either feature the protein on its own or in dishes that include a mix of meats.

Despite the record-high consumption, Croatia's production of the protein is slowly decreasing – especially since the country became a member of the European Union in 2013 and a lot of small-scale pig farms struggled to comply with the EU farming standards. According to a paper published in MESO: Prvi hrvatski časopis o mesu, only about 65% of pork consumed in Croatia was produced domestically between the years 2012 and 2020.

All Balkan countries are known for their strong love of all things meat, so it's no surprise that Croatia wouldn't be the only one reigning at the very top of pork consumption. Montenegro is the third-largest consumer, per World Population Review, eating around 55 kilograms per capita, annually. Njeguški steak, for example, is a classic dish in Montenegro featuring pork prosciutto tucked inside a veal (or pork) steak. You'll also find pork-based ćevapi and pork-laden sarma (a type of cabbage roll) all over the Balkan Peninsula, including in Serbia, which consumes about 52 kilograms of the protein per capita and ranks sixth in the world when it comes to consumption.

On the other side of the Mediterranean, though, lies a country that proudly holds the title for being the second-largest consumer of pork: Spain. The average Spanish person eats around 56 kilograms of the protein every year. The country is also the largest producer of pork within the European Union — and the third-largest producer worldwide. If you're left wondering where America ranks on the list, the U.S. is tailgating China as the second-largest pork producer in the world. However, on the consumption end, the average American only eats about 29 kilograms each year. This means that the U.S. isn't even among the top ten countries in terms of global pork consumption, trailing well behind many Balkan countries.