12 min read Dara Petrova

Vegetarian Stats

Vegetarian

Vegetarianism continues to hold a meaningful place in modern eating habits, though the data behind it is shaped by changing definitions, survey methods, and regional differences. That is why vegetarian statistics are most useful when looked at in the right context and in the right timeframe. A closer look at the numbers can reveal how common vegetarianism is, where it is more prevalent, and how vegetarian trends differ across countries and demographic groups. 

The Most Significant Vegetarian Statistics

  • 5% of people across 28 countries described themselves as vegetarian
  • 4% of US adults identified as vegetarian in 2023, equivalent to roughly 13.2 million people
  • 63% of US adults said they always, usually, or sometimes eat vegetarian meals
  • 22% of respondents in India said they were vegetarian, the highest share of any country surveyed
  • 13% of 16-to 24-year-olds in the UK described themselves as vegetarian, more than double the national average
  • 51% of meat eaters in Europe reported reducing their annual meat intake
  • The global plant-based meat market is projected to grow from $7.17 billion in 2023 to $24.77 billion by 2030

How Many People are Vegetarians? 

Тhe exact number of vegetarians is hard to find, because the answer can change depending on how the survey defines vegetarianism and whether they ask about identity or actual eating habits. 

Looking at these findings together, vegetarianism appears to be a well-established dietary pattern, but still far from mainstream in most countries where reliable tracking exists. In population terms, 4% of the United States is roughly 13.2 million people, while 5% to 7% is about 3.4 million to 4.8 million of the UK population. 

North America 

In North America, the most detailed and consistent vegetarian research comes from the United States. While the exact share differs slightly across surveys, the overall picture is similar: vegetarian diets are clearly present, but they still represent a relatively small part of the population.

Differences between sources often stem from survey design, wording, and whether the focus is on diet labels or eating patterns.

The difference matters because the surveys do not measure vegetarianism in exactly the same way. Gallup relies on self-identification, while the VRG/YouGov survey uses a different questionnaire and grouping, which helps explain why the totals are not identical.

Broader eating habits look much more common than a strict vegetarian identity. That suggests many Americans are reducing meat consumption without describing themselves as fully vegetarian. 

  • 63% of adults said they always, usually, or sometimes eat vegetarian meals, while 29% said the same about vegan meals. (VRG / YouGov, US 2022)
  • 4% of adults followed a vegetarian diet, including vegans, while 46% said they always or sometimes eat vegetarian meals when eating out. (VRG / Harris Poll, US 2019)

Together, these findings suggest that meat reduction is far more common than a full vegetarian lifestyle. 

Regional differences also show up in US polling, which suggests vegetarianism is not evenly distributed across the country, even if the national share remains fairly low. 

  • The Northeast had the highest vegetarian share at 5.4%, while the Midwest and South were both at 2.3%. (VRG / Harris Poll, US 2016)

Consumer behaviour points to a broader plant-based interest beyond people who identify as vegetarian. These statistics don’t point toward vegetarian prevalence, but they help show how far plant-based demand extends beyond strict diet labels. 

For Canada, the available numbers are older, but they still point in a similar direction. Fully vegetarian diets remain a minority, while meat reduction appears much more widespread.

  • 7% of Canadians said they were vegetarian, while an estimated 6.4 million people were restricting or eliminating meat from their diets. (Dalhousie University, Canada, 2018)

This broadly mirrors the US pattern: a relatively small share of people identify as vegetarian, but a much larger group is moving toward lower-meat eating habits. 

Europe

Across Europe, vegetarian eating patterns differ substantially from one country to another, and the figures do not always match. Some sources combine vegetarian and vegan diets, while others report vegetarianism on its own, which makes direct comparison harder. 

  • Germany and Ireland were each at around 10% for people following vegetarian and vegan diets combined, while Hungary was at around 2%. (European Commission, 2024)

These figures highlight how uneven meat-free eating is across the region. They also show why Europe is easier to understand through country-level comparisons than through a single regional percentage. 

National surveys can produce lower or more narrowly defined results. Germany is a good example of how methodology can change the picture. 

That result is clearly lower than the European Commission estimate for Germany, which likely reflects the fact that the two sources are not measuring the same thing. 

The UK offers a more consistent picture across multiple surveys, with recent figures landing in a similar range. 

Wider European consumer research shows that a much larger share of people are reducing meat consumption than formally calling themselves vegetarian. 

  • 38% of Europeans were following a flexitarian, pescetarian, vegan, or vegetarian diet; the UK had the highest vegetarian share at 7%, while Austria had the highest vegan share at 5%. (ProVeg, pan-European survey 2024)

Overall, these findings show that fully vegetarian diets remain a smaller part of Europe’s overall eating patterns, while lower-meat and plant-forward habits are far more widespread and increasingly visible across the region. 

Asia

Asia is more difficult to capture with a single vegetarian figure because the vast continent includes very different food traditions, consumer habits, and survey methods. Some sources track strict identity, while others count people who are trying, practicing, or moving toward vegetarian eating, which can make numbers look farther apart than they actually are. 

India stands out clearly in international research, with much higher vegetarian and vegan rates than most other countries included in global surveys.

  • 22% of respondents said they were vegetarian, 19% said they were vegan, and only 32% said they regularly eat meat. (Ipsos, India 2018) 

These figures help explain why vegetarian eating appears far more rooted in India than in many other parts of Asia.

Elsewhere in the region, the shares are considerably lower. Singapore is one example where fully vegetarian eating remains fairly limited, even though meat reduction is more common.

  • 5% of consumers followed a fully plant-based diet, 18% described themselves as flexitarian, and 51% considered themselves meat eaters. (YouGov, Singapore 2023)

This points to a pattern where cutting back on meat is much more common than following a fully vegetarian diet.

South Korea paints a different picture, but the wording of the survey is broader, which is important when comparing it with stricter measures from other countries.

That is much higher than Singapore’s figure, but it likely reflects a wider definition that includes partial or emerging vegetarian behaviour rather than only strict vegetarians. This is a good example of why Asian vegetarian statistics do not always align neatly across sources.

Overall, the regional picture is highly uneven: India stands above most other countries, while elsewhere in Asia the bigger shift often appears in flexitarian or lower-meat habits rather than in a strict vegetarian lifestyle. 

Other Regions

Outside North America, Europe, and Asia, vegetarian data is less consistent, which makes cross-regional comparisons more difficult. The clearest picture comes from a combination of country-specific polling and broader consumer research, showing that vegetarian eating and meat reduction are visible in parts of Oceania, Latin America, and Africa, even if data is not measured as uniformly as it is in some other markets. 

Australia offers one of the clearest examples from Oceania, although the measure used is broader than strict vegetarian self-identification.

This points to a gradual rise in vegetarian-style eating over time, even if the survey captures behavior more broadly than a simple vegetarian label.

Brazil stands out in Latin America, with a country-specific survey showing a relatively high vegetarian share.

That total is higher than many estimates reported in Western countries, although it comes from a national survey rather than a globally standardized tracker.

South Africa adds another useful data point, though the survey wording reflects preference rather than strict diet identity.

That distinction matters because “preferring a vegetarian diet” is not the same as formally identifying as a vegetarian. It is therefore better read as a sign of stronger interest in vegetarian eating than as a strict prevalence figure.

Overall, these findings show that vegetarian and lower-meat eating patterns are clearly present beyond the main regions already covered, but the underlying data are more mixed and need to be interpreted with extra care. 

Vegetarian Statistics by Age 

Current research points to a clear pattern: vegetarianism is generally more common among younger adults than among older age groups, although the size of the difference varies depending on the country and the way the question is framed. 

In the United States, Gallup polling shows a noticeable age divide, with vegetarian diets reported more often by younger and middle-aged adults than by older groups. 

  • 8% of adults aged 18–34 said they were vegetarian, compared with 7% of those aged 35–54 and 2% of adults aged 55 and older. (U.S., Gallup 2019)
  • 7% of adults aged 18–29 reported being vegetarian, 8% of those aged 30–49 reported following a vegetarian diet, 3% of those aged 50–64 reported being vegetarian, and 2% of adults aged 65 and older said the same. (U.S., Gallup 2018) 

A similar pattern can be seen in the UK, where younger adults are more likely to describe themselves as vegetarian and less likely to say they eat meat regularly. 

  • 13% of 16–24-year-olds described themselves as vegetarian, compared with an overall national average of 6%; 75% of this age group said they ate meat, versus 95% of people aged 60 and older. (UK, YouGov 2022)

Age differences also show up when surveys focus on eating behaviour rather than strict diet labels. That helps explain why the younger group often appears more plant-forward even when not all of them consider themselves fully vegetarian. 

  • 60% of adults aged 18–34 said they always or sometimes eat vegetarian meals when eating out, compared with 40% of adults aged 35 or older. (U.S., Vegetarian Resource Group 2019)

Taken together, these findings show a consistent trend: vegetarian diets tend to be more common among younger age groups, while older adults are generally less likely to follow a vegetarian diet and more likely to report regular meat consumption. 

Vegetarian Stats by Gender

Available survey data suggest that vegetarianism is generally more common among women than men, although the size of the gap varies by country and survey method. 

  • 8% of women described themselves as vegetarians, compared with 3% of men; 82% of men said they were meat eaters, versus 69% of women. (UK, YouGov 2022)
  • 6% of women reported being vegetarian, compared with 2% of men. (US, Gallup 2023)

Even when the exact percentages differ across surveys, the general pattern is consistent, where women are more likely than men to report being vegetarian. 

Vegetarian trends do not point to one simple story. In the strongest repeat surveys, strict vegetarian identity often appears fairly stable, while larger shifts occur in flexitarian and other lower-meat-eating patterns. That matters when comparing vegetarianism with vegan, pescatarian, and flexitarian diets over time.

In the United States, the long-running Gallup series points to stability rather than rapid growth. 

  • 4% of adults said they were vegetarian, and Gallup’s earlier readings cited in the same report show that vegetarian identification had remained within a fairly narrow range over time rather than rising sharply. (Gallup, U.S. 2023)

In the UK, vegetarianism also appears relatively steady, while other reduced-meat patterns have a clearer presence. 

  • 6% of Britons said they follow a vegetarian diet, compared with 2% who said they are vegan, 4% who are pescatarian, and 13% who identify as flexitarian. (YouGov, UK 2024)

European research points in the same direction: the main shift is not necessarily toward strict vegetarianism, but toward broader reductions in meat consumption.

That broader shift helps explain why vegetarian and vegan identities can look stable even while plant-based eating becomes more visible in everyday life. People are often cutting back on meat without fully moving into a vegetarian or vegan label.

A cautious outlook would be this: vegetarianism is likely to remain an established part of the food landscape, but the fastest growth appears more likely to come from flexitarian and other semi-plant-based eating patterns than from a dramatic rise in full vegetarian identification. That is the clearest direction shown by current tracking data.

Vegetarian Market Share in 2026

Vegetarian eating is also reflected in the wider growth of plant-based categories, even though market sales and diet identity are not the same thing. Retail data shows that plant-based products now occupy a visible place in the food market, which helps illustrate how interest in lower-meat eating extends beyond people who describe themselves as vegetarian.

  • Global retail sales of plant-based meat, seafood, milk, yogurt, cheese, and ice cream reached $28.6 billion. (GFI, global 2024)
  • The U.S. retail plant-based food market was worth $7.9 billion in 2025. (GFI, U.S. 2025 market overview)
  • 15% of U.S. households purchased plant-based meat and seafood. (GFI, U.S. 2024 snapshot / 2023 retail data)
  • The global plant-based meat market is projected to grow from $7.17 billion in 2023 to $24.77 billion by 2030, while the global vegan food market was estimated at $22.14 billion in 2025 and is expected to reach $52.56 billion by 2033. (Grand View Research forecast)

This market picture adds context to vegetarian trends, but a fuller breakdown would be more useful to understand the full picture. 

Conclusion

Vegetarian eating patterns vary widely by country, region, age, gender, and survey method, making the overall picture more nuanced than a single number.

While strict vegetarian identity often remains a smaller share of the population, broader shifts toward flexitarian, pescetarian, and plant-forward eating are becoming much more visible. The latest vegetarian stats show not only how many people are vegetarian, but also how eating habits are changing more broadly over time.

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