oncentrated in a few countries, which together
account for some ninety percent of all the coffee that enters the
world's markets. These are, the United States, which now takes more than
one-half, and Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Holland, Belgium,
Switzerland, and Scandinavia.

The United Kingdom stands out conspicuously among the nations of western
Europe as a small consumer of coffee, the per capita consumption in that
country being only about two-thirds of a pound each year. France and
Germany are by far the biggest coffee buyers of Europe so far as actual
quantity is concerned; although some of the other countries mentioned
drink much more coffee in proportion to the population. The
Mediterranean countries and the Balkans are of only secondary
importance as coffee drinkers. Among the British dominions, the Union of
South Africa takes much the largest amount, doubtless because of the
Dutch element in its population; while Canada, Australia, and New
Zealand show the influence of the mother country, consumption per head
in the last two being no greater than in England.

[Illustration: No. 4--WORLD'S COFFEE CONSUMPTION, 1850-1920

Diagram showing the relationship between the leading coffee-consuming
countries]

In South America, Brazil, Bolivia, and all the countries to the north,
are coffee producers. Of the southern countries, Argentina is the chief
coffee buyer, with Chile second. In the western hemisphere, however, the
largest per capita coffee consumer is the island of Cuba, which raises
some coffee of its own and imports heavily from its neighbors.

The list of coffee-consuming countries includes practically all those
that do not raise coffee, and also a few that have some coffee
plantations, but do not grow enough for their own use. These countries
are listed on page 287. Consumption figures can be determined with fair
accuracy by the import figures; although in some countries, where there
is a considerable transit trade, it is necessary to deduct export from
import figures to obtain actual consumption figures. The import figures
given are the latest available for each country named.

[Illustration: No. 5--COFFEE IMPORTS, 1916-1920

In this diagram a comparison is drawn between the coffee imports of the
leading consuming countries over a critical 5-year period]

GENERAL COFFEE CONSUMPTION TABLE

_Country_ _Year_ _Imports_ _Exports_ _Consumption_
(pound