Meat, poultry, seafood and eggs are widely consumed in India. About eight out of ten people aged 15-49 eat some form of animal sourced protein (excluding dairy). The share of people who eat meat is higher among men, at 87% than among women (75%).Over the years, the share of Indian adults who eat meat has increased slightly, rising from 74% in 2006 to 80% in 2021.Data is for people aged 15-49. Meat refers to egg, fish, chicken or meat. Source: National Family Health Survey, International Institute for Population Sciences; National Sample Survey, National Statistics OfficeWho eats meat in India?The consumption of meat is more common among lower-income groups. Nearly nine out of ten people belonging to the poorest 20% of India’s population eat meat, compared to about seven out of ten among the wealthiest 20%.This difference is larger among women, especially in rural areas. Among women belonging to the wealthiest group in rural India, just over half eat meat, whereas three-quarters of men do.Data is for people aged 15-49. Meat refers to egg, fish, chicken or meat. “Poorest”, “poorer” etc are classifications made by the NFHS based on the wealth index, a composite measure of access to a range of goods and services. Source: National Family Health Survey, International Institute for Population SciencesConsumption patterns also vary by social and religious groups.Religion also plays a role in dietary habits. Nearly all of the Muslim (99%), Christian (99%) and Buddhists/neo-Buddhist (97%) populations eat meat. Among Hindus, a little over three-quarters consume meat, while Jains and Sikhs have the highest share of vegetarians. Only one-quarter of Jains and half of Sikhs have ever eaten meat.Among Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), 87% and 88% respectively consume meat, while the figure is lower at 72% for other groups.Only three states have a vegetarian majority – Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. Most coastal states have very few vegetarians, with less than 5% of the population reporting that they had never eaten meat, except in Gujarat, Karnataka and Maharashtra.Data is for people aged 15-49. The survey records food consumption separately for men and women. To calculate overall consumption, data from men (15-49) and women in state-module households were merged.Source: National Family Health Survey, International Institute for Population SciencesWhat kinds of meat are commonly consumed?The NFHS classifies different types of meat into 3 broad categories – eggs, fish, and chicken/meat. Eggs are the most widely eaten animal source protein with 78% of people having eaten them, followed by chicken/meat (75%) and fish (72%).Most people do not eat meat every day. Overall, one in ten people eat some form of meat daily, while six in ten do so weekly. Both the share of meat consumers and their frequency of consumption are higher in urban areas.Refers to people aged 15-49. Source: National Family Health Survey, International Institute for Population SciencesThe frequency of consumption across all categories has also increased over time.For instance, in 2006, nearly half of those who ate eggs consumed them only occasionally. By 2021, this share had dropped to a third, while the share of weekly egg consumers rose to over half. In 2006, a third of consumers of chicken/ meat ate it weekly, but by 2021, this had increased to over half.Spending on meatOn an average an individual spends Rs. 216 per month on meat items, accounting for 10% of total food expenditure. In rural areas, the average spending is just over Rs. 200 per month, while in urban areas, it is close to Rs 250 per month.The share of total food expenditure spent on meat on an average has doubled from 5% in 1988 to 10% by 2023.Packaged food includes beverages and purchased cooked meals. Source: Household Consumption Expenditure Survey, National Statistics OfficeAmong rural households, the share of food expenditure on meat increases with income. However, in urban areas, this trend is reversed, with the wealthiest groups spending a smaller share of the net food expenditure on meat items. Not just in relative terms, even in terms of absolute spending on meat, the median amount rises with wealth, except among the richest households, where it declines. In fact, urban households in the highest wealth quintile spend less on meat than those in the third and fourth wealth quintiles.Meat refers to egg, fish, chicken and meat. The population is divided into five groups based on Monthly Per Capita Expenditure (MPCE). The poorest 20% fall in the bottom quintile, while the richest 20% are in the top quintile. The average is calculated across all households, including those that did not consume meat in the week prior to the survey. Source: Household Consumption Expenditure Survey, National Statistics OfficeIn some states, a significant share of the average food expenditure is on meat. The northeastern states, for instance, spend almost 20-25% of their food budget on eggs, fish, and meat-the highest in the country. In West Bengal and Kerala, more than 20% of the food budget goes toward meat. In fact, in Kerala, Goa and Nagaland, spending on meat is twice as high as spending on vegetables.Average calculated across all households, including those that did not consume meat in the week prior to the survey. Source: Household Consumption Expenditure Survey, National Statistics OfficeMeat consumption in India by Nileena Suresh, Data For India (February 2025), is republished from Data for India under a Creative Commons License.The data on adults in this article refers to people aged 15-49, reflecting data availability from the NFHS.