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Ice Cream Consumption Statistics: Global, U.S., Canada, and Japan

Explore checked ice cream consumption statistics on country comparisons, North American trends, Japanese spending, habits, choices, and summer behavior.

November 11, 2026 9 min read quickdessertrecipe.com Editorial Team

Contents

Ice cream consumption statistics: annual per-capita consumption across 25 countries

The 2023 country table reproduced by the Japan Ice Cream Association from Euromonitor reports annual ice cream consumption per person in liters. Its total column combines retail purchases and out-of-home consumption, so the figures describe a country-level annual per-capita measure rather than only supermarket sales. Among the 14 checked countries here, New Zealand led at 20.1 liters per person, followed by Australia at 19.4 liters. Finland recorded 14.3 liters and the United States 13.0 liters. These values provide a comparison across the countries in the table, but do not explain why consumption differs. Source: Japan Ice Cream Association, 2023 country consumption table

CountryAnnual consumption per person, 2023
New Zealand20.1 liters
Australia19.4 liters
Finland14.3 liters
United States13.0 liters
Italy11.9 liters
Norway10.9 liters
Portugal10.9 liters
Lithuania10.1 liters
Sweden10.1 liters
Spain9.8 liters
Canada9.5 liters
Germany9.1 liters

The figures span a range from 9.1 liters per person in Germany to 20.1 liters in New Zealand among the countries listed. Norway and Portugal share the same reported value, as do Lithuania and Sweden. Canada’s 9.5 liters and the United States’ 13.0 liters are from this same 2023 table and use its liters-per-person annual measure. The country table’s method and definitions should be kept distinct from national availability measures and household surveys discussed below. Source: Japan Ice Cream Association, citing Euromonitor

For the United States, USDA Economic Research Service estimates regular ice cream consumption at 12.0 pounds per person in 2021. Low-fat and nonfat ice cream was 6.4 pounds per person that year; the source says that amount was roughly the same as in 2000. These are product-specific estimates, not a single figure for every frozen dairy product. USDA notes that its chart data do not account for spoilage, waste, and other losses. Source: USDA Economic Research Service

Canada’s series uses a different concept: food availability per person, which Statistics Canada explicitly distinguishes from measured intake. Availability was 10.47 liters per person in 1960, the first year tracked. The stated all-time high was 12.79 liters in 1970. More recent values were 4.51 liters in 2022 and 4.75 liters in 2023. The recent figure was therefore reported as higher than the preceding year, while remaining a measure of food available rather than the amount Canadians actually ate. Source: Statistics Canada, availability series

The U.S. estimates in pounds and Canada’s availability series in liters cannot be read as a direct head-to-head ranking: the units and measures differ. The 2023 country table above also gives Canada and the United States annual per-capita consumption in liters, but that is a separate source series with its own scope. Keeping these definitions visible helps prevent availability, estimated consumption, and survey-reported behavior from being treated as interchangeable. Sources: USDA ERS; Statistics Canada; Japan Ice Cream Association

Ice cream consumption statistics: household spending and seasonality in Japan

Japan’s household expenditure series covers households with 2 or more people, so it measures household spending rather than liters consumed or an individual’s intake. Annual ice cream expenditure was ¥8,908 in 2016 and ¥13,044 in 2025. The association’s table reports 2025 expenditure as 106.1% of the 2024 amount and shows ice cream at 1.15% of household food expenditure. These statistics describe money spent and its share of food spending; they do not indicate how many servings were bought. Source: Japan Ice Cream Association, citing the Statistics Bureau of Japan Household Survey

Household measureReported value
Annual ice cream expenditure, 2016¥8,908
Annual ice cream expenditure, 2025¥13,044
2025 expenditure as a share of the 2024 amount106.1%
Ice cream share of food expenditure, 20251.15%

Monthly spending offers a separate view of timing: Japanese households with 2 or more people spent ¥1,854 on ice cream in July 2025. This is a monthly household expenditure figure, not a per-person or per-serving amount. The age-group table also records different annual expenditure amounts by the age of the household head. Households headed by someone aged 40–49 spent ¥18,372 in 2025, compared with ¥10,728 for those headed by someone aged 29 or younger and ¥10,360 for those headed by someone aged 70 or older. These are group-level spending figures, not evidence that age itself causes a particular level of consumption. Source: Japan Ice Cream Association household expenditure tables

A separate 2025 Household Budget Survey in Latvia reports annual mean consumption of “ice cream and edible ice” per household member, in liters. The figure was 5.81 liters across all households, 5.74 liters in urban areas, and 5.99 liters in rural areas. This measure includes edible ice and is not the same as Japan’s household spending measure. It is also distinct from individual survey responses about how often people buy and eat store-sold ice cream. Source: Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia

Ice cream consumption statistics: how often Japanese consumers eat ice cream

The Japan Ice Cream Association’s 2025 survey included 1,400 residents aged 15 and older who personally bought and ate store-bought ice cream at least once every 2 months. Respondents described their average frequency over the preceding year. The results show several distinct rhythms: 6.4% said almost every day, 15.9% about 3 times a week, 27.1% about once a week, and 19.3% about once every 2 weeks. Source: Japan Ice Cream Association, Ice Cream White Paper 2025, page 5

Reported frequency during the preceding yearShare of respondents
Almost every day6.4%
About 3 times a week15.9%
About once a week27.1%
About once every 2 weeks19.3%
About once a month21.4%
About once every 2 months9.9%

The most commonly reported frequency in this selection was about once a week, at 27.1%. Monthly eating was reported by 21.4%, and once every 2 months by 9.9%. These are survey shares among eligible consumers, not estimates of how often every person in Japan eats ice cream. The sampling rule excludes people who did not personally buy and eat store-bought ice cream at least once every 2 months, and the response categories describe recalled average behavior. Source: Japan Ice Cream Association, 2025 survey methodology and frequency results

ice cream consumption: Ice cream choices in Japan: flavors, formats, and purchase locations

In the same survey, 47.9% ranked ice cream as their first-choice sweet. For flavors, vanilla was the first choice for 34.4% of respondents and appeared among the top 3 favorites for 64.3%. Chocolate appeared among the top 3 for 49.0%. The first-choice result and top-3 result answer different questions: one records a single leading selection, while the other allows respondents to include more than 1 flavor. Source: Japan Ice Cream Association, 2025 survey, pages 2–3

Cup ice cream was the most often eaten format for 58.4% when reporting the first choice. The purchase-location question recorded where respondents had bought ice cream during 2025 and allowed multiple answers: 83.0% selected supermarket stores, including co-ops; 51.1% selected convenience stores; 29.3% selected discount stores or drugstores; and 20.6% selected ice cream specialty shops. Because respondents could name multiple locations, these percentages overlap and should not be summed as exclusive shares of purchases. Source: Japan Ice Cream Association, 2025 survey, pages 4–5

Survey resultShare
Ice cream as first-choice sweet47.9%
Vanilla as first-choice flavor34.4%
Vanilla among top 3 flavors64.3%
Chocolate among top 3 flavors49.0%
Cup as most often eaten format, first choice58.4%
Bought at a supermarket in 202583.0%
Bought at a convenience store in 202551.1%
Bought at a discount store or drugstore in 202529.3%
Bought at an ice cream specialty shop in 202520.6%

Taken together, the results distinguish preference from access: flavor and format responses describe reported favorites or habits, while the location answers show places visited for purchases over the survey year. The supermarket result is the most frequently selected location in this group, but it does not mean that 83.0% of all ice cream purchases occurred there. Source: Japan Ice Cream Association, 2025 survey

Summer ice cream consumption in Japan: heat, stocking, and price choices

The survey asked about summer 2025, defined as June through September, and about desired treats at particular temperatures. At around 30°C, 54.9% selected refreshing ice cream as something they wanted. At 35°C or above, 52.5% selected shaved ice. These are responses to a question about desired sweets or drinks at specified temperatures; they are not measurements of how much ice cream respondents actually ate at those temperatures. Source: Japan Ice Cream Association, 2025 survey, page 13

For reported summer behavior, 38.6% said hot weather increased how often or how much ice cream they ate. Another 19.1% said hot weather increased their opportunities to eat ice cream at night. A further 21.0% said their frequency or quantity in September remained the same as in midsummer. These results describe respondents’ self-reports during the June–September period and allow overlapping answers. Source: Japan Ice Cream Association, 2025 survey, page 14

Freezer stocking responses also show more than 1 pattern. Year-round stocking was reported by 33.4%, while 29.6% said they stocked ice cream during particular seasons such as summer. Another 21.5% said they did not particularly keep ice cream stocked. This was a multiple-response question about household freezer stock, so the categories should not be treated as a mutually exclusive breakdown. Source: Japan Ice Cream Association, 2025 survey, page 8

Price responses indicate varied reported buying habits. In 2025, 36.6% said they choose ice cream at an affordable price, 31.7% said they buy the ice cream they want regardless of price, and 27.3% said they buy a different ice cream when their preferred one costs too much. The survey permitted multiple selections, so a respondent could endorse more than 1 of these statements. Source: Japan Ice Cream Association, 2025 survey, page 14

The summer findings cover stated preferences, recalled behavior, freezer habits, and price attitudes. They are useful for describing how respondents say heat and shopping choices relate to their ice cream routines, while keeping each result tied to its particular question. They do not establish that hot weather caused a specific change for every consumer or quantify total Japanese consumption in summer.

Sources

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