An image of many water bottles in various colors

II

SSB tax coverage

Libby Hattersley, Kate Mandeville

This second in a series of stories introducing the Global SSB Tax Database examines population coverage of SSB taxes worldwide, and by World Bank region and income group. It also explores the products covered by these taxes. For more information, check out our data story on SSB tax designs in this series. This story uses data from the February 2023 version of the Global SSB Tax Database. Visit the World Bank Data Catalog or Github repository to access the latest data.

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1

More than half of the world’s population lives in a country with a national SSB tax, though coverage varies

East Asia & Pacific
Europe & Central Asia
Latin America & Caribbean
Middle East & North Africa
North America
South Asia
Africa
No tax identified
121 verified SSB taxes are in effect worldwide in February 2023, including national-level taxes in 106 countries and territories...
… covering 52% of the global population.
More than 8 in every 10 people in South Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Africa live in a country with a national SSB tax.
When viewed by income group

… a higher proportion of people living in low and lower-middle income economies are covered by a national SSB tax than in high and upper-middle income economies.

Click here for more information on World Bank income classifications.

2

There is also wide variation in products covered by SSB taxes

Ideally, all commonly-consumed non-alcoholic beverages that are high in free sugars would be taxed.

An icon for Sodas represented by a pink can
An icon for Energy drinks represented by a tall orange can
An icon for Concentrates and syrups represented by a bag of red sachet
An icon for Sweetened juices represented by a green bottle
An icon for Flavored milks represented by a blue milk carton with a chocolate image on the cover
An icon for Flavored water represented by a blue water bottle with an image of the water drop on the cover
An icon for Unsweetened juices represented by an orange bottle with an orange image on the cover
An icon for Sports drinks represented by purple bottle with a lightning image on the cover
An icon for Sweetened tea and coffee represented by brown bottle with an image of coffee beans on the cover
Main product categories covered by current SSB taxes
Sodas An icon for Sodas represented by a pink can
0%20%40%60%80%100%
99%
Energy drinks An icon for Energy drinks represented by a tall orange can
99%
Concentrates and syrups An icon for Concentrates and syrups represented by a bag of red sachet
71%
Sweetened juices An icon for Sweetened juices represented by a green bottle
64%
Flavored milks An icon for Flavored milks represented by a blue milk carton with a chocolate image on the cover
45%
Unsweetened juices An icon for Unsweetened juices represented by an orange bottle with an orange image on the cover
34%
Proportion of current taxes
In practice, product coverage varies.
Almost all current SSB taxes apply to sodas (carbonated soft drinks) and energy (stimulant) drinks, with some taxes applying only to these products.
Almost 3 in 4 taxes apply to liquid and powder concentrates used to prepare SSBs, ...
...and almost 2/3 of SSB taxes apply to sweetened fruit and vegetable juices.
However, unsweetened juices and flavored milks (sweetened milk-based drinks) are covered by less than half of current SSB taxes.
These beverages are more commonly taxed in low- and middle-income countries than in high-income countries.
3 in 4 SSB taxes worldwide apply to diet drinks (low/zero-calorie sweetened beverages), which do not contain free sugars.

3

Too many SSB taxes apply to unsweetened bottled water

Main product categories covered by current SSB taxes
Sodas An icon for Sodas represented by a pink can
99%
0%20%40%60%80%100%
Energy drinks An icon for Energy drinks represented by a tall orange can
99%
Concentrates and syrups An icon for Concentrates and syrups represented by a bag of red sachet
71%
Diet drinks An icon for Diet drinks represented by a light brown bottle
76%
Sweetened juices An icon for Sweetened juices represented by a green bottle
64%
Flavored milks An icon for Flavored milks represented by a blue milk carton with a chocolate image on the cover
45%
Unsweetened juices An icon for Unsweetened juices represented by an orange bottle with an orange image on the cover
34%
Unsweetened water An icon for Unsweetened water represented by blue water bottle
28%
Proportion of current taxes
Crucially, more than 1 in 4 SSB taxes worldwide apply to unsweetened bottled water.
This rises to more than half of SSB taxes in low income economies.
SSB taxes that apply to non-SSB like unsweetened bottled water are less likely to create a price differential between SSB and these healthier alternatives, and are therefore likely to be less effective at disincentivizing SSB consumption.
This means that 1/4 of all SSB taxes worldwide could be immediately strengthened by excluding unsweetened bottled water.

Learn more

This story uses data from the Febrary 2023 version of the Global SSB Tax Database. Access and download this and other versions of the Database here. For more interactive data visualizations and stories, visit Global SSB Tax Database landing page.

While all reasonable efforts are made to ensure the Global SSB Tax Database is comprehensive, accurate, and up to date, there may be unintended exclusions or errors. The number of implemented SSB taxes changes frequently and design changes to existing tax policies are common. The Database is updated biannually with verified information on new SSB tax developments and corrections where new information is received.