South Koreans ranked number one in the world in terms of instant noodles consumption per year, government data showed Wednesday.
  

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, a South Korean on average consumes 76 packages of instant noodles, or ramyun, every year, outpacing runner-up Vietnam, whose citizens ate 55.1 packages.
  

Besides those two countries, Indonesia and Thailand came in third and fourth.
  

The processed food market report calculated that one package of instant noodles weighs 120 grams.
  

The ministry said the market size of instant noodles stood at 1.9 trillion won (US$1.64 billion) in 2014. Of all noodle products made in the country, ramyun accounted for 78.7 percent.
  

"The high consumption number is due to the rise in one-person households and people wanting to prepare simple and easy-to-eat meals," it said.
  

The data showed that domestic noodle production stood at 816,000 tons worth around 2.5 trillion won in 2014. Of the total, the country exported some $320 million, with ramyun accounting for 65.1 percent, or $208 million of all noodles shipped abroad.
  

The global noodle market has been growing steadily at 3.1 percent annually from 2007 onwards, although growth has slowed in the past three years, the ministry said. (Yonhap)