Fast Food Industry Statistics – By Demographics, Region, Product, Market Share, Body Type

Introduction
Fast Food industry statistics: Fast food is the most demanded food type around the world. People from children to old age enjoy eating fast food. The fast-food industry has become a billion-dollar industry and even small households are selling homemade burgers like food. As lifestyle is changing, the habit of eating ready-made food is increasing. Burgers and fries are already pre-cooked and are being sold at cheaper prices therefore, people tend to consume such food more than healthy food which needs time to cook. In this fast-food industry statistics, we will have a look at general statistics, and some statistics are divided by demographics, region, product, market share, body type, and by location.
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- Around the globe, there are around 7,96,769 businesses in the fast-food industry as of November 2022.
- Moreover, fast food industry statistics say that people from the age group of 20 years to 39 years eat fast food more than any other age group.
- The United States of America has the highest number of people consuming fast food every day resulting in 84 million people.
- The United States of America has over 2,00,000 fast food industry outlets as of today.
- Consumers eat around 50 billion burgers every year.
- North America has the largest market share for fast food as of 2021 resulting in 28%.
- 4% of people around the globe stated that they never consumed fast food.
- By the year 2029, the Asian/Latin American food segment is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 3.4%.
- In the year 2021, the market share of burgers/sandwiches was around 43%.
- As in the American segment, in the year 2021 burger was the highest fast-food sale by $92.2 billion.
What Refers To Fast-Food?
Fast food is a kind of food type which is mostly pre-cooked and can be served quickly. Various types of fast food include fried chicken, tacos, burgers, hamburgers, sandwiches, bakery products, milkshakes, noodles, and ice cream. Normally, consuming these items on a regular basis is not good for health. People who eat fast food on an occasional level are leading a fit and healthy life. Over the food since the lifestyle of people has changed, the market is growing speedily more specifically in the United States of America. Fast food is sometimes called takeaway food because it can be taken away from the outlets with ease.
General Fast Food Industry Statistics
- 21% of the millennials choose fast food items by seeing the post on social media or any other photos.
- $881.1 billion is the global fast-food restaurant market size as of 2022.
- According to the fast-food industry statistics, the growth of the fast-food industry in the year 2022 is 2.2%.
- The global fast-food industry ranks second in the list of global hotels and restaurants industry.
- Around the globe, there are around 7,96,769 businesses in the fast-food industry as of November 2022 as studied by the fast-food industry statistics.
- In the year 2021, quick-service restaurants captured 43% of the overall fast-food industry market.
- By the year 2029, the Asian/Latin American food segment is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 3.4%.
- Majority of the Americans eat fast food at least 1 to 3 times every week.
- Moreover, fast food industry statistics say that people from the age group of 20 years to 39 years eat fast food more than any other age group.
- On average American households spend around 10% of their income per year on fast food.
- Males are more fast-food consumers than females.
- People with regular income eat more fast food than those who earn less or no income at all.
- According to the Fast-food industry statistics, American households together eat fast food in restaurants at least once a week resulting in 83%.
- People tend to eat fast food more during noon time.
- Considering the individual person, the habit of eating fast food is studied to increase by 2.2% every year.
- 59% of young adults are regular consumers of fast-food restaurants.
- 20% of the population in the United States of America eats fast food in their cars.
- The market size of the quick service restaurant industry around the world in the year 2021 was $797.68 billion whereas it reached $826.89 billion in the year 2022.
- According to Fast food industry statistics, consumers eat around 50 billion burgers every year.
- As per the fast-food industry statistics, 4% of people around the globe stated that they never consumed fast food.
- 70% of people around the globe eat fast food once a week.
- The United States of America has over 2,00,000 fast food industry outlets as of today.
- On average the overall fast-food consumers spend around $200 billion on the fast-food industry every year in the United States of America.
- American on average as stated by Fast food industry statistics, spends around $70,500 on fast food in their lifetime.
- 80% of the fast food in McDonald’s is consumed by children.
- 30% of the population is more likely to eat advertised fast food on television.
- As per the Fast-food industry statistics, 20% of people say that consuming fast food is good for their health, whereas 76% of people say it is bad for their health.
- There are over 12 million employees who are working in the fast-food industry.
By Region
- The United States of America has the highest number of people consuming fast food every day resulting in 84 million. The top fast-food items preferred by these people are pizza, wings, ice cream, French fries, various beverages, and sandwiches.
- France ranks second in the list of top countries with the highest number of fast-food consumers around the world. Residents in France prefer to eat from Subway.
- Canada and United Kingdom rank third and fourth respectively.
- In Canada, people love Tim Horton’s, McDonald’s, and various bakery items.
- South Korea ranks fifth for having the maximum number of people consuming fast food.
As seen in the above chart, North America has the largest market share for fast food as of 2021 resulting in 28% as compared to Asia Pacific, Latin America, Europe, and Middle east, and Africa.
By Product
(Image Source: Brandongaille)
- People who eat fast food prefer fries by 37% being the highest of all.
- Whereas burgers are preferred by 34% of people around the globe.
- Soft drinks and coffee are preferred by 6% each.
- Whereas various types of Shakes have a preferred rate of 11%.
- In the year 2021, the market share of burgers/sandwiches was around 43%.
(Reference: Visual Capitalist)
- As in the American segment, in the year 2021 burger was the highest fast-food sale by $92.2 billion, followed by various snacks with $ 42.5 billion.
- Various chicken items and global fast-food items captured $36.7 billion and 27.0 billion respectively.
- Sandwich earned a cumulative sale of $25.9 billion, and Pizza captured $23.5 billion in the year 2021
By Company
- As of 2021, McDonald’s has ranked number one for maximum sale of burgers with $46.0 million in sales, followed by Starbucks’ snacks item with 24.3 million worldwide sales.
- Similarly, Chick-fil-A’s chicken, Taco Bell’s overall items, Wendy’s Burger, Dunkin’s snack, and burger king’s burger also captured $16.7 billion, $12.6 billion, $11.1 billion, $10.4 billion, and $10 billions of worldwide sale respectively.
- Accordingly, Sandwich from Subway, Pizza from Domino’s, and Global items from Chipotle made their way to $9.4 billion, $8.6 billion, and $7.5 billion accordingly.
- The highest market share in food by type is Hamburger resulting in 31% in the United States of America.
- Whereas Pizza parlors have 15% of the share in the food segments.
- Sandwich outlets are 12%, Chicken based food shops are 8% and Mexican cuisine shops are around 7% in the American market.
- Other fast-food articles are around 27% in the US market.
By Body Type
#1. Skinny
- 55% of People with skinny body types have eaten fast food 1 or 2 times in the past 3 months.
- Whereas 27% of the skinny people ate 3 to 4 times over the last 3 months.
- Similarly, 9% of the people ate 5 to 6 times in 3 months, 3% of the people ate more than 7 times and 6% of the skinny people haven’t at all eaten fast food over the last 3 months.
#2. Fit
- 47% of People with fit body type, prefer to eat fast to 1 to 2 times over the period of 3 months.
- 35% of the people ate 3 to 4 times in 3 months.
- Accordingly, 8% of the people preferred to eat fast food 5 to 6 times, 5% ate more than 7 times, and 6% of the people did not eat fast food.
#3. Overweight
- On the other hand, 53% of overweight people ate fast food 3 to 4 times in the past 3 months.
- 16% of the people preferred to eat 5 to 6 times in a similar period.
- 21% of the people chose to eat more than 7 times and 11% of people chose to eat fast food only 1 to 2 times in a quarter.
By Mealtime
- Fast food industry statistics say that 22.7% of people from around the globe, eat fast food during breakfast time.
- 7% of the consumers prefer to eat fast food during lunch.
- Whereas 22.6% and 42% of the people eat it during snack time and dinner time respectively.
By Demographic
- 38% of the male and 35.4% of the female are fast food consumers according to Fast food industry statistics.
- 6% of white people eat fast food whereas the highest percentage of fast-food consumers is the black population resulting in 42.4% from around the globe.
- Asian population consuming fast food resulted in 30.6% whereas, the Hispanic population recorded 35.5% in overall fast-food consumers.
- Considering the age group, 44.9% of the people from the age group of 20 years to 39 years have recorded the highest percentage of fast food consumers.
- There is 37.7% population from the age group of 40 years to 59 years.
- Moreover, people aged 60 years and above have contributed around 24.1% to the list of fast-food consumers.
- 7% of the people consume fast food from the lower class population.
- Middle-class and upper-class populations contribute fast food consumption by 36.4% and 42% respectively.
By Market Share
- As seen in the above chart, the global fast-food industry statistics show the overall increasing growth in the global market.
- As of the year 2021, the market size was valued at $702.80 billion, which increased to $727.96 billion in the year 2022.
- It is expected that it will reach $754.03 billion in the year 2023, to $781.03 billion by the year 2024.
- In the coming six years (2025, 2026, 2027, 2028, 2029, and 2030) the industry will see a growing market size of $809 billion, $837.97 billion,$867.98 billion, $899.06 billion, $931.25 billion and $964.6 billion with respective years.
By Number Of Fast-Food Companies Locations
Company | Total Locations |
---|---|
Subway | 24,798 |
Starbucks | 14,825 |
McDonald’s | 13,914 |
Dunkin’ | 9,419 |
Pizza Hut | 7,456 |
Burger King | 7,327 |
Wendy’s | 6,711 |
Taco Bell | 6,588 |
Domino’s | 5,876 |
Dairy Queen | 4,406 |
(source: ZIPPIA)
- As per the above chart, in the United States of America, there are 24,798 outlets of Subway, whereas Starbucks has 14,825.
- Similarly, various fast food companies have a different number of outlets as follows, Macdonald’s (13,914), Dunkin’ (9,419), Pizza hut (7,456), Burger King (7,327), Wendy’s (6,711), Taco Bell (6,588), Domino’s (5,876), and Daily queen (4,406).
Conclusion
All of the love fast food, and we usually eat such food once a month. Change in the pattern of food is good for health unless the eating habit is in the control. Fast food is increasing its trend because of the fast-paced generation. These types of food are easily eatable with one hand, so another hand is used for multi-tasking, just like working in the office and eating a burger or fries simultaneously. This fast-food industry has become a billion-dollar industry.
But to be honest, habits of eating are changing, as well as lifestyle is changing with no exercise in daily life. This is the reason, the younger generation is becoming potato couches, with obscenity and low levels of flexibility in the body. It is always recommended to eat healthily and stay healthy for an improved lifestyle.
Sources
FAQ.
It is okay to eat fast food once a month with limited food items.
No. If you have any health conditions, you are not advised to eat any kind of fast food.
Yes, soft drinks include a high level of sugar, which can lead to diabetes and obesity followed by heath deceases.
No, eating fried food on a regular level also causes heart problems because such food is full of oil and excessive consumption of oil is not good for health.

Barry is a lover of everything technology. Figuring out how the software works and creating content to shed more light on the value it offers users is his favorite pastime. When not evaluating apps or programs, he's busy trying out new healthy recipes, doing yoga, meditating, or taking nature walks with his little one.