The Economics of Tobacco and Tobacco Control

Chapter 2: Patterns of Tobacco Use, Exposure, and Health Consequences
Figure 2.2
Estimated and Projected Prevalence Rates for Tobacco Smoking, by WHO Region, Females,
2000–2025
Notes: WHO = World Health Organization. High-income OECD countries = countries defined as high-income by the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development. High-income OECD countries are excluded from their respective regions. Projections are shown for the years 2015, 2020,
and 2025.
Source: Based on data from World Health Organization 2015. 1 For more information, see the Statistical Annex.
WHO has estimated that the number of smokers age 15 years and older in the world has changed very
little over the past 15 years, remaining at slightly more than 1.11 billion since the year 2000 (Table 2.2). 1
This number is not expected to decrease in the near future, and may reach about 1.15 billion in 2025.
Importantly, the global lack of decrease in the number of smokers is due mainly to population growth, as
the prevalence of smoking is decreasing in most regions. In 2013, there were approximately 349 million
smokers in the Western Pacific Region and 228 million smokers in the South-East Asia Region,
accounting for more than 50% of the total number of smokers in the world. Between 2000 and 2013, the
number of smokers in the high-income OECD countries decreased by 45 million people, from 248 to
203 million. This number is projected to decrease further to 163 million smokers by 2025 (Table 2.2). 1
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