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Nutrition

How Many Calories in a Mandarin?

How many calories are in a mandarin? A small mandarin is a light snack, with the exact number depending on size and variety.

By Mandarins.com.au Editorial Updated 1 June 2026

A medium mandarin contains around 45 to 50 calories (roughly 190 to 210 kJ). That figure applies to a fruit with approximately 100 grams of edible flesh after peeling. Smaller fruits and larger varieties differ considerably.

Calories per 100g and per fruit

According to the Australian Food Composition Database (FSANZ), mandarin flesh contains approximately 47 calories (197 kJ) per 100 grams of edible portion. The full nutrient breakdown per 100g is:

  • Protein: 0.8g
  • Fat: 0.2g
  • Carbohydrate: 9.8g
  • Sugars: 9.8g
  • Dietary fibre: 1.6g
  • Sodium: 3mg

Per fruit, typical counts by size:

  • Small Imperial (around 75g edible flesh): 35 to 40 calories
  • Medium mandarin (around 100g edible flesh): 45 to 50 calories
  • Large Honey Murcott or Afourer (around 130g edible flesh): 60 to 65 calories
  • Sumo or Dekopon (around 250 to 350g edible flesh): 115 to 165 calories

These figures assume the flesh is weighed after removing peel and seeds, not the whole fruit in hand.

Calories by Australian variety

Imperial is the most common early season variety. It is small to medium, easy to peel, and has few seeds. An Imperial typically contains 36 to 45 calories per fruit.

Honey Murcott is later in the season, sweeter, heavier, and juicier. Expect 55 to 70 calories depending on individual fruit size.

Afourer is similar in size to Imperial but usually seedless and darker in colour. Calorie count is similar, around 45 to 60 calories per fruit.

Sumo (Dekopon) is much larger and can weigh up to 365 grams. A full Sumo mandarin can have 120 to 165 calories.

Compared with other fruits

A single mandarin compared with other common snack fruits by energy:

  • Apple (medium, 150g edible): around 80 calories
  • Banana (medium, 120g): around 105 calories
  • Orange (medium, 130g edible): around 60 calories
  • Mandarin (medium, 100g): around 47 calories
  • Grapes (100g): around 69 calories

Mandarins sit at the lower end for calorie density among popular snack fruits, mainly because of their high water content (around 86 percent of the edible weight).

Sugar and carbs

The carbohydrate in mandarin is almost entirely natural sugar: sucrose, fructose, and glucose. Per 100g of edible flesh, total sugars are around 9.8g. The fibre (around 1.6g per 100g) slows digestion and moderates the speed at which sugars enter the bloodstream, which is why mandarins have a low glycaemic index.

There is no added sugar in whole mandarin flesh. Tinned mandarin in syrup is a different product and has additional sugar from the syrup.

Mandarin juice versus whole fruit

Juicing removes most of the fibre and concentrates the natural sugars in liquid form. A glass of mandarin juice (around 200ml) contains roughly the same calories as one to two whole mandarins, but without the fibre.

Eat for Health recommends choosing whole fruit over juice, and lists 125ml of fruit juice as only an occasional fruit serve rather than a regular one.

Weighing versus estimating

Fruit sizes vary considerably within the same variety depending on the season, grower, and growing region. If tracking kilojoule intake carefully, weighing the peeled flesh is more accurate than estimating by variety name.