Countries Who Consume the Most Butter

Butter is a dairy product. In commercial butter, there is up to 80% butterfat. This fat is usually solid when the butter is cold. When warmed, the butterfat turns to liquid. Aside from the butterfat, there are proteins, water, and in some cases flavors such as salt that can be found in the butter. The most common source of making butter is cow’s milk. However, milk from other mammals may also be used such as sheep, buffalo, goats, and yaks. Ghee is a type of butter that is purely butterfat and is made through a process called rendering butter.

World’s Top Butter Consumers

Continent-wise, Europe dominates consumption of butter while Africa consumes the least. Surprisingly, Oceania has just two countries listed that consume butter, New Zealand and Australia, but their consumption easily beats that of other continents such as Africa and the Middle East quite easily.

The top consumers of butter in the world is France with a per capita butter consumption of 8.2kg. The second nation is Denmark with a per capita consumption of 6.4kg, and it is followed closely by Iceland with 6kg. In the fourth position is Czech Republic with 5.4kg while Switzerland closes the top five with 5.2kg. The only other country with a per capita consumption of above 5kg is New Zealand in the sixth position.

Frances domination in this list is unquestionable. Compared to the second country, Denmark, France has a higher consumption margin of 1.8kg. Compared to the last five nations (Belarus, Finland, Lithuania, India, Slovakia, and Australia), France has at least twice as much consumption as each of these countries.

In previous years, up to 2014 the per capita consumption of butter by France been the same or higher. The highest recorded consumption was in 2014 with a consumption of 8.4kg. Denmark’s consumption has also been steadily increasing all the way from 2012. In fact, Denmark’s increased consumption saw it leapfrog Iceland into second place in 2016. In 2016, Denmark has a recorded consumption of 5.0kg while Iceland had 5.8kg. However, this is not to say that Iceland’s consumption decreased. On the contrary, Iceland had a growth of 0.2kg. Denmark’s growth was by 1.4kg. The last country, Finland has had mixed consumption levels in previous years.

Looking at the other end of the spectrum, Finland is the last in the top fifteen ranking with a per capita consumption of just above 3kg. Belarus and Lithuania tie at position thirteen with a consumption of 3.8kgs. Interestingly, the same thing happens with India and Slovakia at position eleven with a slightly higher consumption of 3.9kg. Australia has a 0.1kg more consumption than India and Slovakia.

Uses of Butter

Butter is used in many different ways. One of the uses is as a spread on bread or toast. Chefs may also use it to add flavor to food like vegetables. Other places butter is used for include baking, frying food on a pan, and making sauce.