The country that has most vegetarians in the world
Do you know which country has the most vegetarians in the world? It is none other than India.
India has more than 400 million vegetarians. Various surveys showed that the percentage of vegetarians can be in the range of 23% and 37% in the country. The remaining people are non-vegetarians.
The food habits of people are different based on region and gender. More Indian women are vegetarians than men. In other words, more men consume meat than women in the country.
The survey of US-based anthropologist Balmurli Natrajan and India-based economist Suraj Jacob showed that couples were meat-eaters in around 65% of households. In 12% of households, the husband consumed non-vegetarian food while the wife was a vegetarian. But, only in 3% of households, the wife was a non-vegetarian while the husband was a vegetarian.
Some states have the largest number of vegetarians. Rajasthan has the largest number of vegetarians in the country with around 75%, followed by Haryana with 69%. Punjab, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh are in the next three places in consuming vegetarian food.
According to the central government’s Sample Registration System Baseline Survey 2014, Telangana topped the list of states with most non-vegetarians. Here, 98.8% of men and 98.6% of women are non-vegetarians. West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala are in the next four places in non-vegetarianism.
Though a majority of people consume meat and poultry, India is considered a vegetarian country. It may surprise you. But the fact is that the meat consumption habits of Indians are different from other countries. Most Indians eat meat once or twice a week. Regular meat-eaters are less.
Many cultural and religious factors affect the food of people here. Many people don’t eat meat in the auspicious months like Kartika. That’s why India has the most vegetarians in the world.
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