China Leads the World in Instant Noodle Consumption

By Ryan Gandolfo, July 19, 2019

Apparently, a lot of people love instant noodles.

Is it the taste, the convenience or the price? Regardless, we know one thing for sure: China consumes more fangbianmian than any other country in the world.

According to a recent report by Ries & Ries Consulting, titled ‘Instant Noodle Industry Analysis and Outlook Report,’ the world consumed 103.6 billion bowls of instant noodles in 2018. (We can’t make this stuff up). China led all other countries in the consumption race, tallying over 40 billion instant ramen purchases (think convenience store bowls, supermarket packages and wherever else you’ll find the quick fix) last year.

Image via @刘萍萍生活营养/Weibo

The runners-up were Indonesia and India, gobbling up 12.5 billion and 6 billion instant noodle meals, respectively.

Granted, Chinese people make up a sizeable percentage of the world population, so their seemingly lofty achievement isn’t all its built up to be.

If you’re looking at the rate of instant noodle consumption per person, South Korea is the real winner. South Koreans consumed 74.6 bowls of instant ramen per person last year, on average, followed closely by ramen lovers in Vietnam and Nepal.

In China, the noodle news has been a top trending topic on Weibo, with nearly 300 million people tuning in, as of press time. Netizens have been sharing their favorite instant noodle recipes and holding chat room debates on whether paomian (another Chinese term for instant noodles) have any nutrients.

But the real question of the day has been ‘have you eaten instant noodles today?’

“I’m suddenly jonesing for a pot of instant noodles,” posted one netizen upon hearing the news. Others noted that too much ramen may not be such a good thing. “As a member of the working class, I’ve eaten my fair share of ramen. But in order to stay healthy, I’ve gotten it under control,” commented another Weibo user. And good for you Sarina, although it looks like millions of other people haven’t gotten the memo.

[Cover image via Pixabay]