Policy
Taxing sugary drinks
One policy governments use against obesity is a tax on sugar-sweetened drinks. By August 2023, 106 of the countries on this site had one at national level.
Countries with a national sugar-sweetened beverage tax (August 2023)
What this meansCountries with a national tax are found in 6 of WHO’s 6 world regions. Tap a country to see its obesity profile.
- No national tax recorded
- National sugary-drink tax
The database was last updated in August 2023 and no further updates are planned, so newer taxes are not shown. Some countries also have state or city taxes.
How the idea spread
Number of countries with a national sugary-drink tax, by year introduced
What this meansFrom 1 in 1965 to 106 by 2023, counting each country’s first national tax in the database.
A map like this shows where taxes exist, not whether they worked. Countries with and without a tax differ in many other ways too, so simply comparing their obesity rates cannot tell you the effect of the tax.
Every country with a national tax
| Country | Region | Introduced | Type of tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | Americas | 1965 | Ad valorem |
| Niue | Western Pacific | 1969 | Ad valorem |
| Sao Tome and Principe | Africa | 1976 | Ad valorem |
| Fiji | Western Pacific | 1986 | Specific |
| Marshall Islands | Western Pacific | 1989 | Mixed |
| Uruguay | Americas | 1990 | Specific |
| Netherlands | Europe | 1992 | Specific |
| Paraguay | Americas | 1992 | Ad valorem |
| Croatia | Europe | 1994 | Specific |
| Burkina Faso | Africa | 1995 | Ad valorem |
| Panama | Americas | 1995 | Ad valorem |
| Argentina | Americas | 1996 | Ad valorem |
| Samoa | Western Pacific | 1998 | Specific |
| Belize | Americas | 2000 | Specific |
| Latvia | Europe | 2000 | Specific |
| American Samoa | Western Pacific | 2001 | Specific |
| Costa Rica | Americas | 2001 | Specific |
| Eritrea | Africa | 2001 | Mixed |
| Finland | Europe | 2001 | Specific |
| Montenegro | Europe | 2001 | Specific |
| Senegal | Africa | 2001 | Ad valorem |
| Guatemala | Americas | 2002 | Specific |
| Nepal | South-East Asia | 2002 | Specific |
| Türkiye | Europe | 2002 | Ad valorem |
| Vanuatu | Western Pacific | 2002 | Ad valorem |
| Cambodia | Western Pacific | 2003 | Ad valorem |
| Ethiopia | Africa | 2003 | Ad valorem |
| French Polynesia | Western Pacific | 2004 | Specific |
| Laos | Western Pacific | 2005 | Ad valorem |
| Mali | Africa | 2005 | Ad valorem |
| Pakistan | Eastern Mediterranean | 2005 | Ad valorem |
| Suriname | Americas | 2006 | Specific |
| Naoero | Western Pacific | 2007 | Ad valorem |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Americas | 2007 | Ad valorem |
| Belgium | Europe | 2009 | Specific |
| South Sudan | Africa | 2009 | Ad valorem |
| Tuvalu | Western Pacific | 2009 | Ad valorem |
| El Salvador | Americas | 2010 | Mixed |
| Gambia | Africa | 2010 | Specific |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | Americas | 2010 | Ad valorem |
| Benin | Africa | 2011 | Ad valorem |
| Hungary | Europe | 2011 | Specific |
| Liberia | Africa | 2011 | Specific |
| Bangladesh | South-East Asia | 2012 | Ad valorem |
| Burundi | Africa | 2012 | Mixed |
| France | Europe | 2012 | Specific |
| Gabon | Africa | 2013 | Ad valorem |
| Mauritius | Africa | 2013 | Specific |
| Tonga | Western Pacific | 2013 | Specific |
| Chile | Americas | 2014 | Ad valorem |
| Cook Islands | Western Pacific | 2014 | Specific |
| Ghana | Africa | 2014 | Ad valorem |
| Kiribati | Western Pacific | 2014 | Ad valorem |
| Mauritania | Africa | 2014 | Ad valorem |
| Mexico | Americas | 2014 | Mixed |
| Uganda | Africa | 2014 | Mixed |
| Barbados | Americas | 2015 | Ad valorem |
| Dominica | Americas | 2015 | Mixed |
| Kenya | Africa | 2015 | Specific |
| Niger | Africa | 2015 | Ad valorem |
| Bolivia | Americas | 2016 | Specific |
| Ecuador | Americas | 2016 | Mixed |
| Egypt | Eastern Mediterranean | 2016 | Ad valorem |
| Madagascar | Africa | 2016 | Mixed |
| Bahrain | Eastern Mediterranean | 2017 | Ad valorem |
| Brunei | Western Pacific | 2017 | Specific |
| India | South-East Asia | 2017 | Ad valorem |
| Maldives | South-East Asia | 2017 | Mixed |
| Mozambique | Africa | 2017 | Specific |
| Portugal | Europe | 2017 | Specific |
| Saudi Arabia | Eastern Mediterranean | 2017 | Ad valorem |
| Thailand | South-East Asia | 2017 | Mixed |
| United Arab Emirates | Eastern Mediterranean | 2017 | Ad valorem |
| Bermuda | Americas | 2018 | Ad valorem |
| Côte d'Ivoire | Africa | 2018 | Ad valorem |
| DR Congo | Africa | 2018 | Ad valorem |
| Ireland | Europe | 2018 | Specific |
| Philippines | Western Pacific | 2018 | Specific |
| South Africa | Africa | 2018 | Specific |
| Sri Lanka | South-East Asia | 2018 | Specific |
| Tajikistan | Europe | 2018 | Specific |
| Tanzania | Africa | 2018 | Specific |
| Tunisia | Eastern Mediterranean | 2018 | Ad valorem |
| United Kingdom | Europe | 2018 | Specific |
| Zambia | Africa | 2018 | Specific |
| Azerbaijan | Europe | 2019 | Specific |
| Cabo Verde | Africa | 2019 | Ad valorem |
| Cameroon | Africa | 2019 | Mixed |
| Central African Republic | Africa | 2019 | Ad valorem |
| Chad | Africa | 2019 | Ad valorem |
| Malaysia | Western Pacific | 2019 | Specific |
| Morocco | Eastern Mediterranean | 2019 | Specific |
| Nicaragua | Americas | 2019 | Ad valorem |
| Oman | Eastern Mediterranean | 2019 | Ad valorem |
| Qatar | Eastern Mediterranean | 2019 | Ad valorem |
| Rwanda | Africa | 2019 | Ad valorem |
| Seychelles | Africa | 2019 | Specific |
| Togo | Africa | 2019 | Ad valorem |
| Equatorial Guinea | Africa | 2020 | Specific |
| Honduras | Americas | 2020 | Specific |
| Nigeria | Africa | 2021 | Specific |
| Poland | Europe | 2021 | Specific |
| Spain | Europe | 2021 | Ad valorem |
| Guinea-Bissau | Africa | 2022 | Mixed |
| Romania | Europe | 2023 | Ad valorem |
| Timor-Leste | South-East Asia | 2023 | Specific |
Last updated