Netherlands, Australia, Switzerland and Qatar top the ranking, Germany scores poorly

A new study supported by ProVeg International has ranked countries in terms of how balanced their dietary guidelines are. 

The Netherlands tops the ranking with the most balanced guideline, indicating strong support for sustainable healthy food choices and providing nutrition information that covers the broad spectrum of plant-based diets. Mongolia, on the other hand, shares the lowest rank with a group of Central American and Caribbean countries. Germany is found lower down the rankings as well.

The study will be presented to climate leaders at COP27 – the UN climate conference – in Egypt on Tuesday (November 8th).

Published in Current Developments in Nutrition, the study, called “A Global Analysis of National Dietary Guidelines on Plant-Based Diets and Substitutions for Animal-Based Foods”, assessed 95 guidelines from 100 countries, including states and some subnational regions.

In the study’s “Balanced Food Choice Index” (BCFI), the Netherlands, Australia and Qatar came out as the top three countries providing the most balanced dietary guidelines. However, the study demonstrates a considerable information insufficiency in current FBDGs worldwide. The average score of the BFCI is only 33.58 (out of 100 points maximum), leaving ample room for improvement across the globe in the coming years. 

“We hope that our findings will give Governments a global overview of what dietary information countries should provide to their citizens because these guidelines have not only a health impact but have environmental and social dimensions too,” lead study author Anna-Lena Klapp said.

“With COP27 upon us, this study will provide governments with a useful reference point. They can see at a glance which countries they should be aspiring to follow. Also, it provides food for thought for those countries that do not yet have a dietary guideline but are thinking about producing one,” Klapp said.

More about the index

The BFCI was developed in order to measure the extent to which existing dietary guidelines encourage sustainable healthy food choices that can, but do not have to, include animal-based products.

Most countries do not provide information to their citizens that cover the broad spectrum of plant-based diets. A total of 38 guidelines (40%) contain a position on vegetarian diets (including vegan diets). Nearly half (45%) of all guidelines already mention plant-based alternatives to meat or animal milk.

Ranking of countries by Balanced Food Choice Index

Rank	Country (states and subnational regions)	BFCI	Rank	Country (states and subnational regions)	BFCI
1	Netherlands	94	51	Bulgaria	30
2	Australia	89	51	Colombia	30
3	Switzerland	85	51	Cyprus	30
4	Qatar	83	51	Georgia	30
5	New Zealand	82	51	Ireland	30
6	United Kingdom	80	56	Poland	26
7	China (Hong Kong)	78	57	Greece	24
8	USA	75	57	India	24
9	Sweden	74	57	Japan	24
10	Belgium – Flanders	64	57	Russia	24
11	Turkey	63	61	France	23
12	Malaysia	62	62	Republic of Korea	21
13	Italy	61	63	Algeria	18
14	Sri Lanka	60	63	Bahrain	18
15	Canada	59	63	Chile	18
15	Iceland	59	63	Egypt	18
17	Belgium – Wallonia	57	63	Iraq	18
17	North Macedonia	57	63	Jordan	18
19	Israel	56	63	Kuwait	18
19	Lebanon	56	63	Philippines	18
21	Slovenia	55	63	Yemen	18
22	Malta	53	72	Afghanistan	15
22	South Africa	53	72	Honduras	15
24	Denmark	52	72	Oman	15
25	Indonesia	50	72	Uruguay	15
25	Portugal	50	76	Austria	12
27	Finland	49	76	Belize	12
27	Norway	49	76	Dominican Republic	12
29	Ecuador	48	76	Kenya	12
29	Thailand	48	76	Saint Kitts and Nevis	12
31	China	45	81	Bangladesh	9
31	Latvia	45	81	Costa Rica	9
31	Namibia	45	81	Nepal	9
31	Paraguay	45	84	Barbados	6
31	Spain	45	84	Cuba	6
31	United Arab Emirates	45	84	Grenada	6
37	Luxembourg	44	84	Sierra Leone	6
38	Brazil	43	84	Venezuela	6
39	Saudi Arabia	41	89	Guyana	3
40	Fiji	39	89	Jamaica	3
40	Nigeria	39	89	Peru	3
42	Argentina	38	89	Slovakia	3
42	Mexico	38	93	Antigua and Barbuda	0
44	El Salvador	36	93	Bahamas	0
44	Guatemala	36	93	Dominica	0
46	Pakistan	35	93	Mongolia	0
47	Albania	33	93	Panama	0
47	Benin	33	93	Saint Lucia	0
47	Bolivia (Plurinational State of)	33	93	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	0
50	Germany	32	93	Seychelles	0