Recycling rate of municipal waste in Spain

Spain recycled 42.5% of its municipal waste in 2024.

Measure: Recycling rate of municipal waste Unit: % of municipal waste generated Data: 2000 to 2024 Source: Eurostat
The latest value carries the source flag “Estimated”.
Spain, 2024 42.5%e (Estimated) % of municipal waste generated
Change from 2023 −0.8percentage points 2023: 43.3%
European Union, 2024 49.4%i (Source flag i) Official aggregate
Median of European Union (27 countries), 2024 45.8% Middle value of 26 countries
Position in 2024 20th of 32 See the full ranking

Recycling rate of municipal waste in Spain over time

View
Places
2 selected
Spain European Union ×

% of municipal waste generated. Source: Eurostat. Gaps mean no published value; points are not joined across missing years.

Recycling rate of municipal waste (% of municipal waste generated), 2000 to 2024
Period SpainEuropean Union
2024 42.5%e (estimated) 49.4%i (value imputed by Eurostat or other receiving agencies)
2023 43.3%p (provisional) 47.9%
2022 43.1% 49.1%
2021 43.7% 49.7%
2020 40.4% 48.5%
2019 37.9% 47.2%i (value imputed by Eurostat or other receiving agencies)
2018 34.8% 46.4%
2017 36.1% 46.3%
2016 33.9% 45.9%
2015 30.0% 44.9%
2014 30.8% 43.4%
2013 32.5% 41.5%
2012 29.8% 40.9%
2011 26.7% 38.9%
2010 29.2% 38.0%
2009 33.2% 37.3%
2008 39.7% 36.6%
2007 30.6% 35.2%
2006 31.2% 33.2%i (value imputed by Eurostat or other receiving agencies)
2005 31.4% 32.5%i (value imputed by Eurostat or other receiving agencies)
2004 30.9% 31.8%i (value imputed by Eurostat or other receiving agencies)
2003 28.7% 31.1%i (value imputed by Eurostat or other receiving agencies)
2002 29.3% 30.4%i (value imputed by Eurostat or other receiving agencies)
2001 21.4% 28.7%i (value imputed by Eurostat or other receiving agencies)
2000 18.4% 27.3%i (value imputed by Eurostat or other receiving agencies)

Flags: p provisional; e estimated; i value imputed by Eurostat or other receiving agencies . A dash means no value was published.

In short

  • That is a change of −0.8 percentage points from 43.3% in 2023.
  • Since 2014, when it was 30.8%, the figure has changed by +11.7 percentage points.
  • Among the 32 countries with data for 2024, Spain has the 20th highest value.
  • The figure for the European Union in 2024 was 49.4%.

Source and dates

Original producer
Eurostat
Source
Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union
Dataset or series code
sdg_11_60 · dataset details · view at source
Selection
freq=A unit=PC
Observation period
2000 to 2024 for Spain
Provider update
15 October 2026
Retrieved
9 November 2026
Published here
9 November 2026
Licence
Eurostat reuse policy (attribution)
Attribution
Source: Eurostat