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Topics: US News
Greg Harris
Male hair loss is one of those life milestones that shows up for men around the world. But which countries see it most?
Let's unpack what it is first. Male pattern baldness is largely driven by a very specific biological process known as androgenetic alopecia (AGA).
When you strip back the complicated terms, it describes when certain hair follicles become genetically sensitive to a hormone called dihydrotestosterone (DHT).
Over time, these follicles gradually shrink, producing thinner and shorter hairs until they eventually stop producing visible hair altogether. It’s something most men don’t get much of a say in.
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Because hereditary factors influence around 80 percent of cases (and no, it’s not solely from the mother’s side) it shows up differently in men around the world.
That’s where things get interesting: when you zoom out and look at global patterns, male baldness isn’t evenly distributed. Some countries appear to have far higher proportions of bald or balding men.
An interactive map on World Population Review serves as a kind of league table showing the percentage of bald males by country in 2024.
Four of the top five countries with the most male pattern baldness are all in Europe. The highest ranking country is Spain, with 44.5 percent of males showing male pattern baldness. This is followed by Italy (44.37 percent) and France (44.25 percent).
The United States ranks fourth (42.68 percent) and Germany rounds out the top five with a score of 41.51 percent.
Balding can happen for a number of reasons and while it’s much more common in men, it can happen to just about anyone.
Losing hair can be hereditary, and hormonal changes can also influence hair loss. Some people may lose hair when experiencing stress in a condition called telogen effluvium, however Cleveland Clinic says the hair usually grows back in three to six months.
Medical conditions, such as alopecia, can cause people to lose hair.
The same research found that Asian countries tend to have lower percentages of male baldness when compared to other countries. Indonesia is the country with the lowest percentage on the list, with a score of 26.96 percent.
Around 28 percent of men in the Philippines are going or have gone bald, while in Malaysia the number is 29.24 percent, and China is the first Asian country with a score in the 30s, at 30.81 percent.
The study notes that outside of Asia, Colombia and Argentina have low male baldness percentages, at 27.04 percent and 29.35 percent respectively.