Milk and milk products facts
More than 6 billion people worldwide consume milk and milk products; the majority of these people live in developing countries.
Since the early 1960s, per capita milk consumption in developing countries has increased almost twofold. However, the consumption of milk has grown more slowly than that of other livestock products; meat consumption has more than tripled and egg consumption has increased fivefold.
Over the last two decades, per capita milk consumption decreased in sub-Saharan Africa.
Per capita milk consumption is:
high (> 150 kg/capita/year) in Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Costa Rica, Europe, Israel, Kyrgyzstan, North America and Pakistan;
medium (30 to 150 kg/capita/year) in India, Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Mongolia, New Zealand, North and Southern Africa, most of the Near East and most of Latin America and the Caribbean
low (< 30 kg/capita/year) in China, Ethiopia, most of Central Africa and most of East and Southeast Asia
In South Asia, the consumption of milk and milk products is expected to increase by 125 percent by 2030.
In India, about 50 percent of milk is consumed on-farm.
Milk provides 3 percent of dietary energy supply in Asia and Africa, compared with 8 to 9 percent in Europe and Oceania; 6 to 7 percent of dietary protein supply in Asia and Africa, compared with 19 percent in Europe; and 6 to 8 percent of dietary fat supply in Asia and Africa, compared with 11 to 14 percent in Europe, Oceania and the Americas.