Before you read to the end and find out which country consumes instant noodles more, which country came to your mind? Korea, right? At least, that's what I was so sure of until a few days ago. I mean, there's almost no kdrama without a Ramyeon treat especially in south Korea series.
I wouldn't have been surprised if my country, Nigeria is also one of the top countries that consumes instant noodles a lot but it's a bit exaggerated where I have to mention Korea. Well, I found out a shocking stat that pushed me to write this post and that is the countries revealed.
It's a fact that ramen isn't a healthy meal but how it is prepared helps limit it's unhealthiness like adding veggies, eggs and some other ingredients just so you're not having only ramen. Many who love noodles mainly love it for it's taste and convenience regardless of it's nutritional value.
Maybe all the countries in the world consumes noodles but there are ones who top the list in noodle consumption and the stat I came across shows the top 10 countries that have an average of over 31 servings per person in a year. That kinda low until you hear from the top 1 country.
I love noodles but I've always thought the Koreans have a way of making theirs look tastier and maybe has more nutritional value than the ones we have over here. I know that's kinda silly but I've always thought Ramyeon is different from our noodles, turns out they are quite same.
Before I'll reveal the country that consumes ramen more, I'll share that Koreans are top 2 consumers with 79 servings per person in a year. It's not a surprise for me since I see it everywhere on their series but it's shocking that there's a country that consumes ramen than the Koreans.
Vietnam has been topping the list of ramen consumers until 2020 where Koreans took the lead but Vietnam reclaimed their place again the next year. An average of 81 servings per person in a year is not too far from Koreans average but it still proves that there's a Korean-like country lol.
Thailand, Nepal, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, the Philippines and China are all on the top ten list after Vietnam (top 1)and Korean (top 2), respectively. So yeah, my country Nigeria isn't one of the top 10 but I'm sure they are somewhere down the list of noodle consumers.
It's amazing how a meal so tasty and convenient yet has no nutritional value except prepared properly, is being consumed this much. This post is also serving as a reminder or warning regarding eating too much instant noodles, it is best to have it with other nutritional ingredients.
So tell me, have you ever thought of the country Vietnam to be an instant noodle consumer country? Because I never did until I saw the stat. I guess we will give it to Koreans for the cute adverts in most of their series, it gave them top 1.
Images used are AI generated.