North Macedonia ranks among European countries with highest tobacco use

Eurostat data shows that the use of tobacco and similar products in European Union member states declined during 2025. In contrast, in several regional countries, including Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria, and North Macedonia, cigarette consumption increased significantly.

North Macedonia continues to be among the European states with the highest percentage of daily users of tobacco and related products. In 2022, 22.5% of citizens over the age of 16 consumed these products every day, meaning almost one in four people.

This figure is lower than that of Turkey, at 29.6%, Serbia, at 26.6%, and Bulgaria, at 26.3%. However, North Macedonia’s rate remains significantly above the European Union average, which in 2025 was 16.5%.

According to Eurostat, 16.5% of people aged 16 and over in the EU used tobacco or related products such as electronic cigarettes, nicotine pouches, and heated tobacco products daily. Compared to 2022, when this percentage was 17.5%, this represents a slight decrease.

Bulgaria, at 26.3%, Sweden, at 23.9%, and Croatia, at 23.6%, had the highest levels of daily use among EU countries for the 16 and over age group. On the other hand, the lowest percentages were recorded in the Netherlands, at 9.9%, Ireland, at 11.7%, Belgium, at 13.6%, and Luxembourg, at 13.8%.

Serbia has 26.6% smokers, while Montenegro has 23.8%. In Croatia, the percentage in 2025 was 23.6%, an increase of 2.7 percentage points compared to 2022, when the level was 20.9%.

The lowest level of active smokers in the region was recorded in Slovenia, at 17.3%. This represents a decrease of 0.6 percentage points from 2022, when the percentage was 17.9%. Albania recorded 15.1% in 2022.

In the breakdown by gender, the data shows that 20.8% of men consumed tobacco daily, while for women this percentage was 12.6%.