Plastic production occurs all around the globe. Because of this, each country is somewhat responsible for the accumulation of plastics in water systems that end up in the ocean. The amount of plastic produced from each country depends on many factors including the population, the other different types of industries present, and other economical factors. For example, industries such as fishing contribute a significant amount of plastic waste to the ocean from the loss of nets, ropes and fishing lines. A big factor in what amount of plastic that has been produced ends up in the ocean has to do with the number and size of rivers within the country. The top 10 rivers that contribute to plastic input into the ocean are located in China, India, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Indonesia, Brazil, Phillipines, Myuanmar, and Indonesia.
Statistics can show relationships between the population, amount of plastic produced each year, and the plastic produced per capita. The country that produces the most plastic is China, which produces over 59 million tons of plastic each year. While this is a very abundant amount, in comparison to China's population of 1.3 billion, there is only about .12 kg produced per person. In contrast, the United States produces 3.78 million tons each year (about 1/15th as much as China), but the production per capita is .34 kg per person (over double as China), showing that the United States produces way more plastic for each person that lives there. The following list shows the comparison between 5 different countries and there plastic production total and per capita.
- United States,.34 kg/person,3.78 million tons,,
- United Kingdon,.21 kg/person,4.93 million tons,,
- China,.12 kg/person,59.08 million tons,,
- Mexico,.09 kg/person,3.73 million tons,,
- India,.01 kg/person,4.49 million tons,,
Source: Our World in Data