Vegan diet statistics span participation, plant-based purchasing, clinical outcomes, nutrient intake, food costs and environmental modeling. The evidence below distinguishes strictly vegan diets from broader plant-based categories and identifies each population, period and measurement type.
Key Vegan Diet Statistics
The most broadly useful figures include:
- In 2023, U.S. plant-based retail sales reached $8.1 billion.
- From 2017 to 2023, U.S. plant-based retail sales increased 80%, from $4.5 billion to $8.1 billion.
- In 2023, 62% of U.S. households bought plant-based products.
- In 2023, 81% of U.S. plant-based-buying households purchased those products again.
- In the 2023 report survey, 41% of U.S. consumers chose plant-based menu items weekly when dining out.
- In randomized trials of adults with overweight, prediabetes or type 2 diabetes, vegan diets reduced weight by 4.1 kg across 10 trials and 697 participants.
- In the same trial population, vegan diets reduced BMI by 1.38 kg/m² across 10 trials and 780 participants.
- Across nine randomized studies and 687 participants, vegan diets lowered HbA1c by 0.18 percentage points.
- Among 321 participants with type 2 diabetes, vegan interventions lowered HbA1c by 0.38 percentage points.
- Across eight studies and 605 participants, vegan diets reduced total cholesterol by 0.30 mmol/L.
- Across eight studies and 684 participants, vegan diets reduced LDL cholesterol by 0.24 mmol/L.
- In a 55,504-person UK analysis published in 2023, vegan diet greenhouse-gas impact was 25.1% of the impact of high meat-eaters.
- In the same UK analysis, vegan diet water-use impact was 46.4% of high meat-eaters’ impact.
- In a Berlin study recruited in 2017, median vegan fiber intake was 46 g/day, versus 24 g/day among omnivores.
- In that Berlin study, median dietary vitamin B12 intake was 0.29 µg/day among vegans, versus 5.22 µg/day among omnivores.
- In the same study, 92% of vegan participants reported vitamin B12 supplementation during the previous four weeks.
- In a U.S. randomized-trial secondary analysis, a low-fat vegan diet reduced food costs by 19%.
- In that analysis, the vegan-diet food-cost change was -$1.8 per day, with a 95% confidence interval of -$2.6 to -$1.0.
Contents
- Participation, adoption and plant-based market scale
- Weight, BMI and blood-sugar outcomes
- Cholesterol and blood-pressure data
- Environmental footprint estimates
- Nutrition intake and adequacy
- Cost and consumer behavior
Vegan Diet Participation, Adoption and Plant-Based Market Scale
Plant-based market figures are useful indicators of availability and consumer behavior, but they do not measure the number of people following a strictly vegan diet. The Plant Based Foods Association’s 2024 State of the Marketplace Report uses a broader category that includes purchases by non-vegans.
| Measure | Result | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Plant-based retail sales | $8.1 billion | U.S. retail, 2023 |
| Retail sales growth | 80%, from $4.5 billion to $8.1 billion | U.S. retail, 2017–2023 |
| Households buying plant-based products | 62% | United States, 2023 |
| Repeat purchase among buying households | 81% | United States, 2023 |
| Plant-based e-commerce sales | $394 million | U.S. e-commerce, 2023 |
| Online market share versus retail | 6.8% versus 3.8% | U.S. food market, 2023 |
Source: 2024 State of the Marketplace Report. The report notes that these categories are broader than vegan diets.
Additional survey measures describe consumption patterns rather than vegan identity:
- Plant-based e-commerce sales grew at a 16.4% annual rate over the three years ending in 2023, according to the PBFA report.
- 88% of surveyed U.S. consumers said they maintained or increased plant-based consumption during the three months before the 2023 report survey.
- In the report’s 2024 consumer journey analysis of Kroger shoppers, 9 in 10 plant-based shoppers planned to maintain or increase consumption.
- In that consumer analysis, the share of plant-based shoppers perceiving product taste or flavor positively improved from 23% to 36%.
- 48% of surveyed consumers believed plant-based foods were healthier than animal-based foods in the 2024 report consumer research; this is a perception measure, not a clinical outcome.
Vegan Diet Weight, BMI and Blood-Sugar Outcomes
A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials examined adults with overweight, prediabetes or type 2 diabetes. The interventions lasted at least 12 weeks, the search covered studies through March 14, 2022, and children and pregnancy were excluded.
| Outcome | Vegan versus control | Evidence base |
|---|---|---|
| Body weight | -4.1 kg; 95% CI -5.9 to -2.4 | 10 trials, 697 participants |
| BMI | -1.38 kg/m²; 95% CI -1.96 to -0.80 | 10 trials, 780 participants |
| HbA1c | -0.18 percentage points | 9 studies, 687 participants |
Source: Effects of vegan diets on cardiometabolic health. The pooled weight evidence had moderate certainty and high heterogeneity, so the estimates do not predict every individual response.
Comparator choice materially changed the pooled estimates:
- Against habitual diets, vegan interventions reduced weight by 7.4 kg across 322 participants, while the subgroup heterogeneity was 79%.
- Against other dietary interventions, vegan diets reduced weight by 2.7 kg across 375 participants, with 80% subgroup heterogeneity.
- Against habitual diets, vegan interventions reduced BMI by 2.78 kg/m² across 322 participants.
- Against other dietary interventions, vegan diets reduced BMI by 0.87 kg/m² across 458 participants.
- Among participants with type 2 diabetes, HbA1c fell by 0.38 percentage points across 321 participants; among participants with overweight, it fell by 0.08 percentage points across 366 participants.
Vegan Diet Cholesterol and Blood-Pressure Data
The same randomized-trial review found clearer pooled changes for some cholesterol measures than for blood pressure. Evidence certainty was low for the lipid outcomes and moderate for the blood-pressure outcomes.
| Measure | Pooled difference | Participants and studies |
|---|---|---|
| Systolic blood pressure | +1.28 mmHg; 95% CI -1.54 to +4.11 | 466 participants, 8 studies |
| Diastolic blood pressure | +0.54 mmHg; 95% CI -1.21 to +2.29 | 466 participants, 8 studies |
| Total cholesterol | -0.30 mmol/L; 95% CI -0.52 to -0.08 | 605 participants, 8 studies |
| LDL cholesterol | -0.24 mmol/L | 684 participants, 8 studies |
| HDL cholesterol | -0.06 mmol/L, not statistically significant | 698 participants, 9 studies |
| Triglycerides | +0.11 mmol/L, not statistically significant | 698 participants, 9 studies |
Source: Effects of vegan diets on cardiometabolic health. The blood-pressure confidence intervals crossed zero, and short interventions cannot establish long-term cardiovascular effects.
Vegan Diet Environmental Footprint Estimates
A UK analysis of 55,504 people, published in 2023, linked dietary data with life-cycle assessments. The study’s evidence base included 570 life-cycle assessments covering more than 38,000 farms in 119 countries.
| Modeled impact | Vegan diet as share of high-meat-eater impact | 95% uncertainty interval when supplied |
|---|---|---|
| Greenhouse gases | 25.1% | 15.1%–37.0% |
| Land use | 25.1% | 7.1%–44.5% |
| Water use | 46.4% | 21.0%–81.0% |
| Eutrophication | 27.0% | Not supplied |
| Potential biodiversity impact | 34.3% | Not supplied |
Source: Vegans, vegetarians, fish-eaters and meat-eaters in the UK show discrepant environmental impacts. These are modeled relative impacts versus high meat-eaters consuming at least 100 g of meat per day, not direct household-emissions measurements.
The estimates vary by indicator: modeled water use was higher relative to the reference group than greenhouse gases, while land use and eutrophication were lower. Production methods, sourcing and the linked life-cycle assumptions contribute to the uncertainty.
Vegan Diet Nutrition Intake and Adequacy Statistics
The German RBVD study recruited 36 vegans and 36 omnivores in Berlin in 2017 and collected three-day weighed food records. It was a small convenience sample, and the dietary-intake table excluded supplements.
| Median dietary intake | Vegans | Omnivores |
|---|---|---|
| Fiber | 46 g/day | 24 g/day |
| Protein | 72 g/day | 86 g/day |
| Carbohydrate | 259 g/day | 230 g/day |
| Fat | 86 g/day | 104 g/day |
| Vitamin B12 | 0.29 µg/day | 5.22 µg/day |
| Vitamin D | 0.94 µg/day | 2.53 µg/day |
| Folate | 446 µg/day | 296 µg/day |
| Vitamin E | 25.9 mg/day | 13.4 mg/day |
| Calcium | 899 mg/day | 1,049 mg/day |
| Iodine | 0.08 mg/day | 0.12 mg/day |
Source: Vitamin and Mineral Status in a Vegan Diet. These are medians, not recommended targets, and fortified foods, supplements and sunlight exposure can affect status.
Biomarker and supplement findings add context:
- Only 8% of vegans versus 25% of omnivores reached urinary iodine excretion of at least 100 µg/L; the threshold is a WHO population cut-off, not an individual diagnosis.
- 31% of vegan participants excreted less than 20 µg/L iodine in urine.
- Riboflavin levels below the reference range occurred in 36% of vegans versus 14% of omnivores.
- Elevated parathyroid hormone above 65 pg/mL occurred in 10 vegans and 3 omnivores.
- Signs of iron deficiency were observed in 11% of vegan participants and 8% of omnivores.
- 92% of vegans reported vitamin B12 supplementation during the previous four weeks.
The study’s small, health-conscious convenience sample limits generalization. Its reported biomarker differences do not by themselves establish disease or prove that all vegan diets have the same nutritional profile.
Vegan Diet Cost and Consumer Behavior Data
A secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial compared a specific low-fat vegan intervention with a Mediterranean diet in adults in the United States. The cost findings describe the trial menus, prices and study period rather than every vegan shopping pattern.
| Cost measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Low-fat vegan diet food-cost change | -19%; -$1.8/day, 95% CI -$2.6 to -$1.0 |
| Mediterranean diet food-cost change | +$0.6/day, 95% CI -$0.3 to +$1.6 |
| Between-diet food-cost difference | -$2.4/day, 95% CI -$3.6 to -$1.3 |
| Between-diet relative cost difference | 25% |
Source: Food Costs of a Low-Fat Vegan Diet vs a Mediterranean Diet. The Mediterranean confidence interval crossed zero, and relative cost depends on baseline prices, menu design and the trial’s food-cost algorithm.
These results should be separated from the broader plant-based market measures: a household can buy plant-based products without following a vegan diet, and a vegan diet can be built from different combinations of staple foods, prepared foods and supplements. The available cost evidence therefore supports a trial-specific comparison, not a universal claim that vegan eating is always cheaper or more expensive.