Breakfast, the first meal of the day eaten after waking from the night's sleep, varies in composition and tradition across the world.

Africa Breakfast in Africa varies greatly from region to region.

Algeria

Due to Algeria's history of having been a colony of France, breakfast in Algeria is heavily influenced by French cuisine and most commonly consists of café au lait or espresso along with a sweet pastry (some common examples are croissants, mille-feuilles, pain au chocolats known as "petits pains", etc.) or some kind of traditional bread with a date filling or jam (kesra, bradj, etc.)

Egypt Most Egyptians begin the day with a light breakfast. Ful medames (dish of cooked fava beans), one of Egypt's several national dishes, is typical. It is seasoned with salt and cumin, garnished with vegetable oil and optionally with tahini, chopped parsley, chopped tomato, garlic, onion, lemon juice and chili pepper, and often served topped with a boiled egg. It is scooped up and eaten with the staple whole wheat pita bread called Eish Masri or Eish Baladi (Egyptian Arabic: ; Modern Standard Arabic: ) and usually accompanied by taʿamiya () which is the local variant of falafel made with fava beans, fresh cut homemade French fries and various fresh or pickled vegetables (called torshi). Several kinds of cheeses are popular, including or Domyati cheese, (Roman cheese) which is similar to Pecorino Romano or Manchego, and Istanbuli cheese (a brined white cheese with peppers added to the brine which makes it spicy). Fried eggs with pastirma is also a common breakfast food in Egypt.

Malawi For breakfast, some children in Malawi eat porridge, cornbread, savory fritters, and boiled starchy vegetables, such as white potatoes, sweet potatoes, or pumpkin, and drink sweet black tea.

Morocco

For breakfast, many Moroccans eat bread, harcha (semolina griddle cakes), or msemen (oiled pancakes) with olive oil, tea, and different kinds of Moroccan crepes.

Nigeria Nigeria has over 250 different ethnic groups, with a corresponding variety of cuisines. For the Hausa of northern Nigeria, a typical breakfast consists of kosai (cakes made from ground beans which are then fried) or funkaso (wheat flour soaked for a day then fried and served with sugar). Both of these cakes can be served with porridge and sugar known as koko. For the southwestern Yoruba people (Ilé Yorùbá) one of the most common breakfasts is Ògì— a porridge made from corn, usually served with evaporated milk. Ògì is eaten with Acarajé (akara) or Moi moi. Both are made from ground bean paste; akara is fried in oil, and moi moi is wrapped in leaves or foil and then steamed. Ògì can also be steamed in leaves to harden it and eaten with akara or moi moi for breakfast. English tea or is served as a breakfast drink. Another popular option in southwest Nigeria is Gari, which is eaten like cereal. Gari, known in Brazil as farofa, is made from the root of cassava. For breakfast, it is soaked in water and sweetened with sugar.

Senegal Breakfast typically consists of café Touba,The World Bank wrote that a progressive elimination of imported coffee seems common in poorer areas of Senegal as a result of the global recession of 2009: a Senegalese restaurant owner stated, "We weren't used to the Tuba Coffee for breakfast, but since the crisis people drink it a lot, also children." spiced coffee with abundant sugar sometimes consumed with dried milk,Cherruau, Pierre. Reportage: Le café Touba fait battre les coeurs, PressAfrik, Dakar, 25 November 2009. Retrieved on 21 November 2012. or kinkeliba tea.Mayer, Julie. "Breakfast in Ouakam, Dakar, Senegal" , 22 July 2011. Retrieved on 21 November 2012. Small beignets and fresh fruit, including mangoes and bananas, are often part of a simple breakfast, and are accompanied by baguette with various spreads: Chocoleca (a Nutella equivalent made from peanuts), butter, or processed mild cheese.

Somalia

Breakfast (quraac) is an important meal for Somalis, who often start the day with some style of tea (shaah). The main dish is typically pancake-like bread (canjeero, canjeelo). It might also be eaten with a stew or soup (maraq).Abdullahi, pp. 111–14. Lahoh is a pancake-like bread originating in Somalia, Djibouti and Yemen.Mohamed Diriye Abdullahi, Culture and Customs of Somalia, (Greenwood Press: 2001), p. 113. It is often eaten along with honey and ghee or beef jerky (muqmad) and washed down with a cup of tea.

Tunisia In Tunisia, Lablabi is a common and popular breakfast stew.

Tunisians also adopted a lot of habits from the French Breakfast during colonization such as having a slice of Baguette with Jam and butter as well as orange juice and coffee with milk.

Uganda In Uganda, most tribes have different cuisines but the most popular breakfast dishes are porridge and katogo. Porridge is made by mixing maize flour or millet flour with water and bringing the mixture to a boil. While katogo is made from matoke (green bananas), peeled and cooked in the same pot with a sauce (beef, peanuts, beans, or greens), katogo is served with tea or juice. Both dishes are popular in all regions of Uganda.

Asia Breakfasts vary widely throughout Asia. In Arab countries, breakfast is often a quick meal, consisting of bread and dairy products, with tea and sometimes jam. Flat bread with olive oil and za'tar is also popular.

Bangladesh The typical Bangladeshi breakfast consists of flour-based flatbreads such as chapati, roti, or paratha, served with a curry. Usually, the curry can be mixed vegetable (sobji), home-fried potatoes (alu vaji), lentil (dal), scrambled eggs (dim vaji). Luxurious breakfast usually includes chicken rejala, beef or mutton paya and liver curry (gila-kolija). The breakfast varies according to location and the eater's income. In villages and rural areas, rice with curry (potato mash, dal) is mostly preferred by day laborers. In the city, sliced bread with jam, jelly, butter and omelette is chosen due to time efficiency. In Bangladesh tea is preferred to coffee and is an essential part of most breakfasts. Having toasted biscuits, bread or puffed rice with tea is also very popular.

China

As mainland China is made up of many distinct provinces, each with its own unique cuisine, breakfast in China can vary significantly from province to province. In general, basic choices include sweet or salty pancakes, soup, deep-fried bread sticks or doughnuts (youtiao), buns (mantou), porridge (congee), and fried or soup-based noodles. These options are often accompanied by tea or sweetened soybean milk. However, condiments for porridge and the soup base tend to vary between provinces and regions. The types of teas that are served and spices that are used can also differ significantly between the provinces.

Hong Kong Due to its nearly two centuries' history as a British colony and proximity to China's Canton region, both English and traditional Cantonese style breakfasts are of somewhat equal popularity in Hong Kong, as well as the hybrid form of breakfast commonly offered in Cha chaan teng. Cha Chaan Teng breakfasts often include Hong Kong-style milk tea, pan-fried egg, bread, Cantonese noodles, or Hong Kong-style macaroni in soup. Traditional Cantonese breakfast may include dim sum, which includes a variety of different ingredients and is prepared in numerous different forms from delicately wrapped baby shrimp steamed dumplings to sweet water chestnut cake. Each dish is designed to be sampled and diners can go through a large selection of dim sum quickly accompanied by a generous amount of good tea. Tieguanyin is the most common accompaniment, but other teas such as pu'er and oolong are also common. Fried and rice-based noodles and cakes are also popular. In modern times, dim sum is commonly prepared and served in Yum Cha restaurants rather than at home because of the skill and efforts involved in the preparation.

India

Indian breakfasts vary by region. A typical south Indian breakfast consists of idli, vada, or dosa coupled with chutney and sambar. Many variations of these dishes exist such as rava idli, thayir vadai (yogurt vada), sambar vada and masala dosa. Other popular south Indian breakfast items are pongal, bisibelebath, upma, and poori. The state of Kerala has some special breakfast items such as appam, parotta, puttu, idiyappam, and palappam.

The people of Bihar in eastern India eat litti chokha and dahi chura.

A typical north Indian breakfast may either be a type of paratha or roti served with a vegetable curry, curd, and pickles. There are several varieties of parathas available depending on the type of stuffing such as aloo paratha, paneer (cottage cheese) paratha, mooli paratha (radish paratha), etc. Other popular breakfast items in the north are poori bhaji, poha, and bhindi bhujia.

Among Bengals roti and curry are the general variants in breakfast. The menu may also include "Indian French toast" which is also known as "Bombay toast", chire bhaja (flaked rice fried in oil with salt added to taste),Chire Bhaja or Fried Flaked Rice (East Indian-vegetarian) and boiled eggs.

In Western India, a Gujarati household may serve dhoklas, khakhras, or theplas for breakfast, the most popular of which is methi thepla. In Mangalore, the breakfast dish oondees may be served. In Maharashtra, the typical breakfast (nashta) consists of kande pohe, upma, ukkad, and thalipeeth. Sometimes, chapati bhaji or a chapati roll with tea becomes breakfast. In South India, a Tamil household may serve idlis, dosas, or vadas for breakfast, the most popular of which is Idli.

In Kashmir, people prefer to have their authentic traditional food items like Noon Chai, Chhir Chot, Kahwa, Girda, Lavasa Masala Tchot and Bakarkhani for breakfast. Sometimes they also eat Chochwor and Roth in their morning meal.

Apart from traditional breakfast, factory produced bread is consumed throughout India with butter, jelly or jam or as French toast, where bread is fried with egg, onions and oil.

Indonesia

Indonesia is a great melting pot country and multiracial nation with more than 600 ethnic groups. In Indonesian, breakfast is known as sarapan or makan pagi, breakfast options are different in the different areas. Rice is a staple food in Indonesia"Indonesian food." Belindo.com . Accessed July 2011. and commonly served at breakfast. A typical Indonesian breakfast, bubur ayam is a rice congee with shredded chicken meat served with some condiments, such as chopped scallion, crispy fried shallot, celery, tongcai, fried soybean, cakwe, both salty and sweet soy sauce, and sometimes topped with yellow chicken broth and krupuk. Steamed rice in coconut milk known as nasi uduk is made by cooking rice soaked in coconut milk instead of water, along with clove, cassia bark, and lemongrass to add aroma. Sometimes knotted pandan leaves are thrown into the rice while steaming to give it more fragrance. The coconut milk and spices imparts an oily, rich taste to the rice. Nasi gurih, nasi lemak and nasi liwet are breakfast dishes that are similar to nasi uduk.

In eastern Indonesia, a sago congee papeda is a staple breakfast of native people in Maluku and Papua. Papeda is made up of sago starch and generally consumed with mackerel.

However, bread is also a popular choice for breakfast. Roti bakar is a sandwich toast filled with hagelslag or spreads. Kue may be eaten throughout the day for light breakfast, such as arem-arem, bagea, bahulu, gapit, kochi, nagasari, lemper and serabi.