There are no stats for how many people are reducing meat or going vegan in Uganda. However, there have been many surveys in other countries.
India
India has significantly higher levels of vegetarian and vegan diets than anywhere in the world; 22 per cent follow a vegetarian diet and 19 per cent are vegan. This means 574 million people are vegetarian or vegan in India.
UK
In 2024, Finder found that there are an estimated 2.5 million adult vegans in the UK (out of about 40 million adults). The number of UK vegans has risen by an estimated 1.1 million between 2023 and 2024.
In 2024, there are:
- 2.5 million vegans
- 3.1 million vegetarians
- 3 million meat avoiders
Other surveys have found similar results, meaning that in the UK eight to eleven million UK consumers don’t eat meat and a further nine to eleven million are reducing their consumption.
USA
The Alliance for Science estimate that one in 10 Americans don’t eat meat and research conducted by One Poll in 2021, found that nearly one in every two Americans consumes more plant-based meals than meat, with 54 per cent of those aged 24 to 39 identifying as flexitarian.
Australia
In Australia, 42 per cent of people reported eating less meat or none at all in 2019. Among them, 20 per cent as flexitarians (almost vegetarian), 12 per cent as meat-reducers and 10 per cent as vegan or vegetarian.
Whichever survey you look at, there is a huge increase in the demand for plant-based and vegan foods:
- The global food market provides a good indication of how veganism is exploding around the world. In 2021, the global vegan food market was close to 16 billion US dollars. It is expected to reach a value of over 24 billion by 2026.
- According to market research company Meticulous Research, the plant-based food market in Europe is expected to grow by 10 per cent a year from 2022 to 2029, to reach 16.7 billion US dollars by 2029 – more than the entire global vegan food market in 2021!
- Around 80 per cent of the top meat producers are now making vegan food – if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!
- According to Mintel, in 2019, the UK became the world leader for vegan product launches.