Juicy new stats say Czech men consume their weight in meat every year

With its national dish of pork knee, it's no secret that the Czech Republic has a passion for maso -- but new statistics reveal just what a nation of meat-lovers the Czechs really are.

Data from the CZSO (Czech Statistical Office) and UZIS (Institute of Health Information and Statistics) show that the average Czech male eats his weight in meat every year.

While figures from the Czech statistical office data show the average Czech male’s weight to be around 83.6 kilograms, numbers from the UZIS show that Czech men consume around 83.2 kilograms of meat per year. 

According to the CZSO, pork is the most commonly consumed meat in the Czech Republic, followed by poultry, beef, and veal. Czech magazine 5plus2 notes that poultry consumption has gone up to 29 kilograms per year, an increase of 5 kilos more than in 2010. 

The Czech Republic actively produces meats and various other foods. 

“In 2020, 454,846 tonnes of meat were produced in the Czech Republic,” the CZSO says, “of which 72,518 tonnes were beef, 211,436 tonnes were pork, and 170,725 tonnes were poultry.”

The Czech Republic produces almost all of its own beef, 63% of its chicken, and 43% of its pork. The 5plus2 weekly magazine states that Czech also produces most of its own cereals, milk, beef, sugar, and beer.

Food consumption as a whole reached its peak since the CZSO started tracking it in 1993. 

“Total food consumption, including food losses and waste, reached 796.5 kg per capita in 2019.” the, CZSO says, “This is the highest consumption since 1993, the year-on-year increase being 6.9 kg.” 

In the grand scheme of things, the Czech Republic ranks only 30th in meat consumption worldwide. 

For example, in an earlier ranking of the world’s biggest meat-eating countries, the U.S. led the way with 120.2 kg per capita, followed by Kuwait, Australia, the Bahamas, Luxembourg, New Zealand, and Austria.