From the Roman world to the United States, pizza has been listed as UNESCO intangible heritage since 2017. Still one of the most consumed dishes in the world, facing growing orders and an increasingly demanding public.
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January 17 is World Pizza Day. Neapolitan, Roman, Margherita, diavola, with potatoes, the world famousa history of more than 2000 years.
In 2017, UNESCO recognized “the art of Neapolitan pizza makers” as the intangible heritage of humanity. Further proof of the importance of pizza in the world.
Coming back to World Pizza Day, the date was not chosen at random. It is celebrated today in honor of Saint Anthony Abbot, also known as Anthony the Great – patron of fire and all related professions : machinist, blacksmith and, of course, pizza maker.
Where is the most pizza eaten in the world? And in Europe?
In Italy, according to data from Coldiretti-Ixé, four out of ten families will prepare pizza at home in 2025. Global turnover in 2024 will reach a record value of 160 billion euros, including 15 billion for Italy alone.
Pizza generates one hundred thousand jobs in Belpaese, a figure that increases to two hundred thousand on weekends. Every year, Italy produces 2.7 billion pizzas (around 46 pizzas per inhabitant per year, a figure which includes young children and the elderly).
The needs of Italians are different from those of the rest of the world, again according to Coldiretti: in Italy there is a tendency to look for better quality products, even at the cost of a slightly higher expense.
The biggest consumers of pizza per capita in the world, however, are not the Italians, but the Americans: an American consumes on average 13 kilos of pizza per year.
-A Europe, a On the other hand, Italy occupies first place (7.8 kilos per year), followed by Spain (4.3), France and Germany (4.2) and the United Kingdom (4) .
The world of delivery has certainly grown an extremely vital sector: some applications speak of “an order every two seconds”. Others announce a 20% year-on-year revenue growth between 2024 and 2025 and constantly increasing social data.
The most and least popular pizzas in the world
According to data from the food web portal Tastatlas, The most popular pizza in the world is Margherita, followed by Montanara and calzone. The American pizza with cheese, vegetables and tomato sauce comes in sixth place. Next comes pepperoni pizza (a term designating a type of salami in the United States) and “New York-style” pizza, before returning to fried pizza.
In last position, surprisingly, we find an Italian pizza, “pizza mimosa”, with corn and cooked ham. Next come Cuban pizza, Scottish fried pizza, Quad City-style pizza (a kind of American grilled pizza) and Canadian ghetti pizza, of which spaghetti is the additional ingredient.
How much does pizza cost in Italy?
Pizza has always been a popular dish in its homeland, and that has never changed. On the other hand, inflation and the search for better quality ingredients have increased its price in Italy and Europe.
Altroconsumo carried out a survey to calculate the average price of a pizza, a soft drink and a service in different cities in Italy : the most expensive city is Sassari, in Sardinia(14,67 euros)followed by Bolzano, Milan and Venice. The cheapest cities are Livorno (8.67 euros), Pescara (9.18 euros), Naples (9.63 euros) and Bari (9.63 euros).
Whatever pizza you like, with or without pineapple, happy World Pizza Day! Would you like to have a small slice? (and maybe not that small, and never just one!)
