Taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages

Definition

The presence of a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages. This indicator only considers national taxes, though it is recognized that many cities and subregions have implemented local taxes. Taxes by sugar content (for example a tax per gram for every gram above 5 grams per 100 milliliter) and by volume (for example per liter) are included.

Relevance

These taxes are intended to disincentivize people from purchasing sugar-sweetened beverages, which may increase the risk of overweight and obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Revenues from these taxes may be used to fund nutrition and health programs, though this is not tracked in the Food Systems Dashboard.

Treatment of Missing Values

Countries with missing data do not have sugar taxes in place or are countries for which documentation indicating the presence of a tax could not be located.