What Country Drinks the Most?

Top: Portugal, Ireland, France and Britain

Who Drinks the Most?


From country to country around the world, people’s relationship with alcohol varies greatly. In some places it serves as a point of national identity, and in others it has become detrimental to a country's overall health. This data is presented by average annual per capita alcohol consumption (in liters of pure alcohol), drawing from both recorded sales figures and estimates of unrecorded usage, as well as further breaking it down by type of alcohol consumed. 

As far as alcohol consumption goes, the United States is middle-of-the-pack, consuming only 9.44 liters of alcohol per person, per year, which is approximately half of the most heavily drinking countries. One major trend: males consume more than females. This fact may not surprise most people, but there is only one county where this trend is reversed: Ecuador.

See the list...



The list is surprising:


  1.  Moldova (near Romania):  18.22  liters per capita alcohol consumption per year -Beer, Wine and Spirits (tie)
  2.  Czech Republic:  16.45 liter consumption-mostly beer
  3.  Hungary:  16.27  Wine then beer
  4.  Russia: 15.8   Spirits then beer
  5.  Ukraine:  15.6   Spirits then beer
  6.  Estonia:  15.5  Spirits then beer  
  7.  Andora: 15.48  Wine then spirits and beer tie
  8.  Romania: 15.30  Spirits and beer
  9.  Belarus: 15.13   Spirits then beer and almost no wine
10.  Croatia:  15.11  Beer and wine tie
11.  South Korea: 14.80  Spirits then beer and almost no wine
12.  Portugal:  14.55   Wine then beer
13.  Ireland:  14.41   Beer then wine
14.  France:  13.66   Mostly wine then beer
15.  UK:  13.37    Beer then wine


World Health Organization Statistics posted by CNBC

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