The rapid expansion of technology, the digitalization of everyday life and the growing use of electronic devices have brought many benefits, but they have also produced a less visible consequence: the ever-growing accumulation of electronic waste. The latest data from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), published in the Global E-waste Monitor 2024, show that the world generated 62 billion kilograms of electronic waste in 2022, setting a new record, with average annual generation reaching 7.8 kilograms per person.
Among the countries included in the comparison, Norway ranks first, with 26.8 kilograms per person. This means that, on average, each Norwegian citizen generates more than three times the global average amount of electronic waste. Norway is followed by the United Kingdom at 24.4 kilograms, Switzerland at 23.4 kilograms and France at 22.4 kilograms.
The US ranks next, with 21.3 kilograms per person, followed by Germany at 21.2 kilograms and Japan at 21.2 kilograms. Sweden, at 21 kilograms, is also among the countries at the top of the list. These figures show that high levels of electronic waste generation are not confined to a single region. In many developed economies, greater access to digital devices has been accompanied by a simultaneous increase in the volume of waste.
Further down the list are the United Arab Emirates, at 18.9 kilograms, and South Korea, at 17.9 kilograms. The gap between these two countries and the global average remains significant: per-capita e-waste generation in the UAE is more than twice the global average, while South Korea’s figure is also more than twice the global average of 7.8 kilograms. Brazil ranks next, at 11.4 kilograms, followed by Iran at 9.3 kilograms.
Iran’s figure is particularly significant from a global comparative perspective. The country’s per-capita generation of 9.3 kilograms is about 1.5 kilograms above the global average. Iran therefore falls into the group of countries where electronic waste generation exceeds the world average. This could draw greater attention to the life cycle of mobile phones, computers, televisions, household appliances, communications equipment and other electronic devices.
China follows Iran, at 8.5 kilograms per person. While that figure remains higher than that of many low-consumption countries, it is only slightly above the global average of 7.8 kilograms. Egypt, by contrast, stands below the global average at 6.3 kilograms. The gap is more pronounced in India, where per-capita e-waste generation is 2.9 kilograms — less than half the global average. Afghanistan ranks at the bottom of this list, with only 0.8 kilograms per person per year.
These differences, of course, do not simply mean that one country is “good” or “bad.” The amount of electronic waste generated is linked to income levels, access to technology, rates of consumption and equipment replacement, the size of the electronic-goods market, and patterns of consumption. In fact, higher per-capita generation can indicate more widespread use of technology, while at the same time placing greater pressure on systems for waste collection, sorting, recycling and safe disposal.
The scale of the issue becomes clearer when we consider that, of the 62 billion kilograms of electronic waste generated worldwide in 2022, only 13.8 billion kilograms were formally collected and recycled. That represents a documented formal collection and recycling rate of just 22.3 percent. In other words, a large share of this enormous waste stream continues to be managed outside formal systems.
The historical trend is also alarming. Global electronic waste increased from 34 billion kilograms in 2010 to 62 billion kilograms in 2022, while formal collection and recycling rose from 8 billion to 13.8 billion kilograms. The ITU emphasizes that e-waste generation has grown much faster than formal collection and recycling.
The outlook for the future points to even greater pressure. According to ITU estimates, if current trends do not undergo significant change, global e-waste will reach 82 billion kilograms by 2030. Even the formal collection and recycling rate could fall to 20 percent under a business-as-usual scenario.
The electronic-waste issue, therefore, is not merely an environmental concern. It is an economic and health challenge and is also closely tied to the circular economy. Many discarded devices contain valuable materials and resources, and their proper management can both prevent pollution and return some raw materials to the production cycle. For Iran as well, the per-capita figure of 9.3 kilograms underscores the need to strengthen a culture of repair and reuse, expand collection and recycling networks, and move toward systematic management of electronic waste.