Which country has the highest Mismanaged Waste Index?

Eritrea has the highest Mismanaged Waste Index in 2025, at 97.3%, followed by Central African Republic (95.7%) and Malawi (95.4%).

Which country has the lowest Mismanaged Waste Index?

Bermuda has the lowest Mismanaged Waste Index in 2025, at 1.32%.

What is the median Mismanaged Waste Index across countries?

The median is 60.0% across the 214 countries with data in 2025.

Where does this plastic pollution by country data come from?

Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Plastic Overshoot Day, 2025 Report - Plastic Overshoot; Plastic Overshoot Day, 2024 Report - Plastic Overshoot; Plastic Overshoot Day, 2023 Report - Plastic Overshoot; Plastic Waste by Country - Our World in Data.

Country rankings

Plastic Pollution by Country

Name: Plastic Pollution by Country
Creator: Rankodex

Eritrea has the highest Mismanaged Waste Index in 2025 (97.3%), followed by Central African Republic (95.7%) and Malawi (95.4%). Bermuda has the lowest (1.32%).

Environment215 countries · 9 metricsUpdated Jan 12, 2025Original page

6 sources

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Year

214 of 235 countries

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Mismanaged Waste Index, 2025

Green is better, red is worse (lower is better). Click a place to highlight it.

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Ranking

Best first: the first 15 and last 5 of 214 countries.

Distribution Median and middle halfThe median is the middle value: half of places are above it, half below. The middle half is the range holding the central 50% of places.More in the glossary →

Each dot is one country; the lines mark the median and the middle half.

Median

60.0%

Middle half 23.5% – 85.7%

Average

54.3%

214 countries

Lowest (best)

1.32%

Bermuda

Highest (worst)

97.3%

Eritrea

Over time · 2023–2025

The top 5 in 2025, against the median.

Median of all countries
Bermuda
South Korea
Antigua and Barbuda
Iceland
Singapore

Data

Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.

214 countries · # = rank by Mismanaged Waste Index

#
1	Bermuda	1.32%
2	South Korea	2.6%
3	Antigua and Barbuda	2.61%
4	Iceland	2.68%
5	Singapore	2.8%
6	Finland	2.81%
7	New Zealand	3.28%
8	Japan	3.77%
9	Isle of Man	4%
10	Taiwan	4.49%
11	Luxembourg	4.5%
12	Norway	4.6%
13	Denmark	4.84%
14	Greenland	5.06%
15	United States	5.07%
16	Switzerland	5.21%
17	Canada	5.22%
18	Lithuania	5.48%
19	France	5.61%
20	Austria	5.77%
21	Saint Kitts and Nevis	5.85%
22	Sweden	5.86%
23	Belgium	6%
24	United Kingdom	6.03%
25	Australia	6.27%
26	Hungary	6.57%
27	Poland	6.92%
28	Croatia	7.49%
29	Czechia	7.5%
30	Slovenia	7.67%
31	Malta	8.11%
32	Hong Kong	8.36%
33	Spain	8.7%
34	Portugal	9.18%
35	Monaco	9.6%
36	Slovakia	9.95%
37	Ireland	9.99%
38	Estonia	11.6%
39	Barbados	12.8%
40	Netherlands	13.7%
41	Germany	14.0%
42	Cyprus	15.3%
43	Guam	17.6%
44	Italy	18.6%
45	Turks and Caicos Islands	18.7%
46	Gibraltar	19.3%
47	Sint Maarten	20.2%
48	Puerto Rico	20.9%
49	Bahamas	21.2%
50	United States Virgin Islands	21.2%
50	Saint Martin	21.2%
52	Latvia	22.7%
52	Brunei	22.7%
54	British Virgin Islands	23.1%
55	Saint Lucia	24.7%
56	Algeria	24.9%
57	Grenada	25.3%
58	China	25.6%
59	Belarus	25.7%
60	Seychelles	26.1%
61	Malaysia	26.9%
62	Israel	27.0%
63	Colombia	28.8%
64	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	29.2%
65	North Macedonia	31.0%
66	Chile	32.5%
67	Samoa	32.7%
68	New Caledonia	34.3%
69	Mexico	34.4%
70	Costa Rica	34.7%
71	Dominica	34.9%
72	Liechtenstein	35.4%
73	Bulgaria	35.5%
74	Faroe Islands	36.0%
75	Turkmenistan	36.9%
76	Palau	37.2%
77	Andorra	37.8%
78	American Samoa	38.4%
79	El Salvador	38.4%
80	Argentina	38.7%
81	Brazil	39.8%
82	Serbia	40.2%
83	Romania	41.4%
84	Greece	41.4%
85	Thailand	43.0%
86	San Marino	44.8%
87	Indonesia	45.2%
88	Peru	47.4%
89	Mauritius	48.9%
90	Nauru	49.0%
91	Ecuador	50.2%
92	Fiji	50.6%
93	Tunisia	51.2%
94	Ukraine	51.2%
95	Saudi Arabia	52.2%
96	Venezuela	52.3%
97	Guyana	52.5%
98	Panama	53.2%
99	Turkey	53.5%
100	Vietnam	53.6%
101	Kiribati	54.6%
102	Lebanon	54.8%
103	Philippines	55.6%
104	Papua New Guinea	56.2%
105	Albania	57.7%
106	Belize	58.6%
107	South Africa	59.4%
108	Bosnia and Herzegovina	60.6%
109	Morocco	61.3%
110	Jordan	63.2%
111	Paraguay	63.5%
112	Bolivia	63.6%
113	Honduras	64.2%
114	Libya	65.0%
115	Marshall Islands	65.4%
116	Northern Mariana Islands	65.6%
117	Equatorial Guinea	65.9%
118	Vanuatu	66.2%
119	Tonga	67.3%
120	Russia	67.5%
121	Guatemala	67.7%
122	French Polynesia	67.7%
123	India	69.6%
124	Jamaica	69.7%
125	Cuba	69.8%
126	Qatar	71.8%
127	Laos	72.6%
128	Bahrain	73.2%
129	Mongolia	73.2%
130	Uruguay	73.5%
131	Cayman Islands	74.2%
132	Nicaragua	74.8%
133	Tuvalu	75.9%
134	Moldova	76.4%
135	Bhutan	78.1%
136	Sudan	78.3%
137	Georgia	78.4%
138	Trinidad and Tobago	79.4%
139	Micronesia	79.7%
140	Kyrgyzstan	80.1%
141	Cape Verde	80.6%
142	Cambodia	80.9%
143	Montenegro	81.2%
144	United Arab Emirates	82.3%
144	Aruba	82.3%
146	Myanmar	83.0%
147	Timor-Leste	83.4%
148	Bangladesh	83.5%
149	Palestine	83.5%
150	Sao Tome and Principe	83.9%
151	Dominican Republic	84.1%
152	Republic of the Congo	84.1%
153	Djibouti	84.4%
154	Nepal	84.9%
155	Gabon	85.1%
156	Syria	85.1%
157	Iraq	85.2%
158	Cameroon	85.2%
159	Iran	85.2%
160	Benin	85.6%
161	Kazakhstan	85.7%
162	Haiti	86.0%
163	Afghanistan	86.3%
164	Ghana	86.4%
165	Zimbabwe	86.4%
166	Maldives	86.6%
167	Egypt	86.9%
168	Sri Lanka	87.2%
169	Kenya	87.2%
170	Mauritania	87.3%
171	Togo	87.5%
172	Tajikistan	87.5%
173	Pakistan	87.8%
174	Solomon Islands	87.9%
175	Eswatini	88.0%
176	Azerbaijan	88.0%
177	Armenia	88.1%
178	Oman	88.2%
179	Nigeria	89.1%
180	Gambia	89.3%
181	Suriname	89.6%
182	Angola	89.7%
183	Chad	90.1%
184	South Sudan	90.2%
185	Burkina Faso	90.3%
186	Guinea	90.3%
187	Somalia	90.3%
188	Tanzania	90.5%
189	Yemen	90.9%
189	Burundi	90.9%
191	Zambia	91.7%
192	Senegal	91.7%
193	Uganda	92.0%
194	Comoros	92.2%
195	Niger	93.0%
196	DR Congo	93.3%
197	Liberia	93.3%
198	Botswana	93.3%
199	Lesotho	93.5%
200	Kuwait	93.6%
201	Rwanda	93.9%
202	Madagascar	94.0%
203	Mali	94.0%
204	Namibia	94.1%
205	Ethiopia	94.2%
206	Sierra Leone	94.3%
207	Uzbekistan	94.4%
208	Ivory Coast	94.8%
209	Mozambique	95.2%
210	Curacao	95.2%
211	Guinea-Bissau	95.4%
212	Malawi	95.4%
213	Central African Republic	95.7%
214	Eritrea	97.3%

What correlates with Mismanaged Waste Index (2025)?

Pearson r against 1,333 other country metrics sharing at least 129 countries. Ranks are read by standing: a better rank counts as higher, whether rank 1 is the best place on a list or the worst. Correlation is not causation.

Higher together

Places that have a higher Mismanaged Waste Index tend to score higher on these (or rank better)

% of Pop. Living on Less Than $10 USD/DayPoverty Rate by Country
r = +0.82 · very strong · n = 160
Plot
Vulnerability ScoreGlobal Slavery Index by Country
r = +0.81 · very strong · n = 157
Plot
Vulnerability Score (lower is better)Countries that Still Have Slavery
r = +0.81 · very strong · n = 158
Plot
Individuals Making Under $10kWealth Inequality by Country
r = +0.81 · very strong · n = 171
Plot
Failed States IndexFailed States
r = +0.78 · very strong · n = 177
Plot
Fragile States Index
r = +0.78 · very strong · n = 178
Plot

Opposite directions

Places that have a higher Mismanaged Waste Index tend to score lower on these (or rank worse)

Crude Cancer Rate - FemaleCancer Rates by Country
r = −0.85 · very strong · n = 179
Plot
LP Living ConditionsLegatum Prosperity IndexA rank: rank 1 is the best
r = −0.85 · very strong · n = 167
Plot
Crude Cancer Rate - AllCancer Rates by Country
r = −0.85 · very strong · n = 179
Plot
Advanced EducationSocial Progress Index by Country
r = −0.85 · very strong · n = 167
Plot
HPI Score (out of 226)Countries with Open Borders
r = −0.84 · very strong · n = 191
Plot
HPI %Countries with Open Borders
r = −0.84 · very strong · n = 191
Plot

Quick answers

Which country has the highest Mismanaged Waste Index?: Eritrea has the highest Mismanaged Waste Index in 2025, at 97.3%, followed by Central African Republic (95.7%) and Malawi (95.4%).
Which country has the lowest Mismanaged Waste Index?: Bermuda has the lowest Mismanaged Waste Index in 2025, at 1.32%.
What is the median Mismanaged Waste Index across countries?: The median is 60.0% across the 214 countries with data in 2025.
Where does this plastic pollution by country data come from?: Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Plastic Overshoot Day, 2025 Report - Plastic Overshoot; Plastic Overshoot Day, 2024 Report - Plastic Overshoot; Plastic Overshoot Day, 2023 Report - Plastic Overshoot; Plastic Waste by Country - Our World in Data.

Higher together

Opposite directions

Quick answers

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