Which countries have completely banned asbestos use?
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Executive summary
Most authoritative trackers agree that a substantial but minority share of countries have imposed full national bans on all types and uses of asbestos, but there is no single, universally agreed tally: the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) maintains a running “ban list” used by many advocates, while academic and media sources report figures ranging roughly from the low 50s to the mid‑60s or higher depending on definitions and timing [1] [2] [3].
1. What “completely banned” means — definitions and why counts differ
A “complete” ban, as used by IBAS and many public‑health groups, requires prohibition of extraction, manufacture, import, sale and general use of all types of asbestos in construction, insulation, textiles and other mainstream applications, while allowing only narrow specialist exemptions (for example certain seals or emergency uses) in a few countries; because some country measures are partial, phased, or limited to particular asbestos fibers (e.g., chrysotile only) different organizations count different countries as having a “ban,” producing divergent totals [1] [4] [2].
2. What the major trackers report right now
The International Ban Asbestos Secretariat publishes a maintained list and mapping of countries that have implemented bans and—most recently—reports additions and caveats such as phased prohibitions in Taiwan and removal or reinstatement of countries when new government data emerge [1] [5] [6]. Advocacy groups and outlets cite numbers ranging from “about 52” (academic review) to “55” (EWG/Asbestos Nation) to figures in the mid‑60s or higher (Wikipedia and other compendia), reflecting different cutoffs for exemptions, territories included, and updates through 2024–2025 [2] [4] [3] [7].
3. Examples and notable national situations
Several high‑income democracies and regional blocs are commonly counted among those with comprehensive bans: many EU member states (through EU regulation and individual national measures), the United Kingdom, Australia and South Korea are explicitly cited as having comprehensive national approaches with strategic plans or phased removal programs; Poland and Korea are singled out for legally mandated national asbestos removal timelines (Poland: roofing by 2032; Korea: military/school/residential timelines through 2033) [1] [6]. Media coverage and policy summaries also list countries such as Japan, South Africa, Argentina and Brazil among nations that long ago moved to prohibit or severely restrict asbestos in all forms, though exact inclusion depends on the tracker [8] [9].
4. Places still using, exporting, or disputing bans — and why it matters
Major asbestos producers and consumers such as Russia, China, India and several former Soviet states have resisted universal prohibition or retain significant industrial use, and this geopolitical reality helps explain why global unanimity is lacking; some countries that have “banned” asbestos in law still allow narrow technical imports or retain legacy mining or exports, complicating simple tallies [2] [3]. The United States, long cited as an outlier among high‑income nations, was the subject of evolving policy and litigation in 2024–2025: reporting noted an EPA rule to ban asbestos in 2024 and ongoing legal and legislative activity through 2025, leaving the practical status contested in some sources [8] [10].
5. What reporting cannot deliver here: a definitive, current country list from these sources
The assembled sources document the problem—disagreement over counts, frequent updates, phased bans and narrow exemptions—but do not provide a single verified, contemporaneous roster of every country that today meets an exact, uniform definition of a “complete” ban; while IBAS’s list is the most frequently cited primary source for a country‑by‑country inventory, other compilations (academic reviews, EWG, media) produce different totals because of differing inclusion rules and newer national measures or court challenges [1] [4] [2] [3].
Conclusion — how to interpret the figures
Answering “which countries have completely banned asbestos” requires choosing a definition and a moment in time: using the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat’s working list yields the most detailed country‑by‑country entries cited by advocates and researchers (and is the basis for the common figure that some 50–60+ countries have bans), but independent tallies vary and high‑profile exceptions (notably several large producers/consumers) remain; researchers or policymakers seeking a definitive roster should consult IBAS’s live ban list alongside national legal texts and recent government notices because the situation continues to evolve [1] [6] [2].