The alcohol consumption per capita ranking is led by Romania with ***** liters, while Georgia is following with ***** liters. In contrast, Bangladesh is at the bottom of the ranking with **** liters, showing a difference of ***** liters to Romania. Depicted is the estimated alcohol consumption in the country or region at hand.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in up to *** countries and regions worldwide. All indicators are sourced from international and national statistical offices, trade associations and the trade press and they are processed to generate comparable data sets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).

In 2022, Latvia consumed 11.9 liters of alcohol per capita, which was the highest among European countries. Spain had the second-highest alcohol consumption per capita, at 11.8 liters, with Turkey having the lowest at 1.6 liters.

Context

This dataset contains total per capita (15+ years) alcohol consumption (in liters of pure alcohol) collected by WHO for 2000-2019 (Indicator ID 465).

If you want to take a look at the more detailed consumption, aggregated by beverage type, I'd suggest taking a look either in one of other Kaggle datasets or WHO's alcohol, recorded per capita (15+) consumption indicator.

This dataset was necessary for my current project I'm working on which concerns suicide rates and different factors correlating with them.

Content

The data is broken up by geographic region, country, year and sex. The period covered is 2000-2019.

The total alcohol per capita consumption (APC) comprises both the recorded and the unrecorded APC, which together provide a more accurate estimate of the level of alcohol consumption in a country, and as a result, portray trends of alcohol consumption in the adult population (15 years of age and older) in a more precise way. Drinking alcohol can associated with developing alcohol use disorder or dependence and higher risk of mental and behavioral disorders. It is a major risk for liver cirrhosis, some cancers and cardiovascular diseases as well as injuries resulting from violence and accidents. Beyond health consequences, the harmful use of alcohol brings significant social and economic losses to individuals, their families and society at large.

Total APC is defined as the total (sum of three-year average recorded and three-year average unrecorded APC, adjusted for three-year average tourist consumption) amount of alcohol consumed per adult (15+ years) over a calendar year, in liters of pure alcohol. Recorded alcohol consumption refers to official statistics (production, import, export, and sales or taxation data), while the unrecorded alcohol consumption refers to alcohol which is not taxed and is outside the usual system of governmental control. Tourist consumption takes into account tourists visiting the country and inhabitants visiting other countries. Positive figures denote alcohol consumption of outbound tourists being greater than alcohol consumption by inbound tourists, negative numbers the opposite. Tourist consumption is based on UN tourist statistics.

Acknowledgements

The data is obtained from the World Health Organization Global Health Observatory that is issued under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Intergovernmental Organization (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO) licence. WHO collects and provides access to the huge amount of data that is used by analysts every day. The GHO data repository is WHO's gateway to health-related statistics for its 194 Member States. It provides access to over 1000 indicators on priority health topics.

Photo by Anastasia Zhenina on Unsplash

Inspiration

This dataset is better used with the combination with the other datasets that can help in getting additional insights. While detailed beverage type information is not present in this dataset, total alcohol consumption might be useful in analyzing alcohol consumption differences between countries and get interesting insights combining this data with mental health or tourist behavior, for example.

Alcohol consumption varies significantly across countries, with Romania leading the way at **** l per capita in 2022. This high level of consumption highlights the global prevalence of alcohol use, despite its well-documented health risks. While some nations consume more than others, alcohol remains one of the most widely used drugs worldwide, contributing to millions of deaths annually. Global alcohol consumption trends In 2023, the world consumed almost ***** billion l of alcoholic beverages. That year, the ************* consumed the most wine in the world in million hectoliters, even more than traditional wine drinking countries such as France and Italy. The United States is also one of the biggest consumers of beer; however, ***** consumes the most beer in kiloliters by far, likely due to its large population size. Health impacts and public awareness Alcohol abuse is a significant health concern globally. The health consequences are severe, with alcohol contributing to about ***** million deaths worldwide annually, or **** percent of all deaths. These fatalities stem from various causes, including alcohol poisoning, liver damage, heart failure, cancer, and car accidents. Despite these risks, alcohol consumption remains prevalent, highlighting the need for continued public health efforts and awareness campaigns.

The rating reflects how many liters of pure ethyl alcohol are drunk by residents of a particular country per year. Ethyl alcohol is accepted as the unit of assessment, but this is done for ease of comparison: in fact, any alcohol is taken into account in the rating, including beer, wine and others.

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Alcohol has historically, and continues to, hold an important role in social engagement and bonding for many. Social drinking or moderate alcohol consumption for many is pleasurable.

However, alcohol consumption – especially in excess – is linked to a number of negative outcomes: as a risk factor for diseases and health impacts, crime, road incidents, and, for some, alcohol dependence.

This topic page looks at the data on global patterns of alcohol consumption, patterns of drinking, beverage types, the prevalence of alcoholism, and consequences, including crime, mortality, and road incidents.

Related topics:

Data on other drug use can be found on our full topic page here.

Drug use disorders are often classified within the same category as mental health disorders — research and data on mental health can be found on our topic page here.

Support for alcohol dependency

At the end of this topic page, you will find additional resources and guidance if you, or someone you know, needs support in dealing with alcohol dependency.

Alcohol consumption across the world today This interactive map shows the annual average alcohol consumption of alcohol, expressed per person aged 15 years or older. To account for the differences in alcohol content of different alcoholic drinks (e.g., beer, wine, spirits), this is reported in liters of pure alcohol per year.

To make this average more understandable, we can express it in bottles of wine. Wine contains around 12% pure alcohol per volume1 so that one liter of wine contains 0.12 liters of pure alcohol. So, a value of 6 liters of pure alcohol per person per year is equivalent to 50 bottles of wine per year.

As the map shows, the average per capita alcohol consumption varies widely globally.

We see large geographical differences: Alcohol consumption across North Africa and the Middle East is particularly low — in many countries, close to zero. At the upper end of the scale, alcohol intake across Europe is higher.

Share of adults who drink alcohol This interactive map shows the share of adults who drink alcohol. This is given as the share of adults aged 15 years and older who have drunk alcohol within the previous year.

In many countries, the majority of adults drink some alcohol. Across Europe, for example, more than two-thirds do in most countries.

Again, the prevalence of drinking across North Africa and the Middle East is notably lower than elsewhere. Typically, 5 to 10 percent of adults across these regions drank in the preceding year, and in a number of countries, this was below 5 percent.

Alcohol consumption by sex When we look at gender differences, we see that in all countries, men are more likely to drink than women.

Data on the share who drink alcohol by gender and age group in the UK is available here.

Heavy drinking sessions Alcohol consumption – whilst a risk factor for a number of health outcomes – typically has the greatest negative impacts when consumed within heavy sessions.

This pattern of drinking is often termed 'binging,' where individuals consume large amounts of alcohol within a single session versus small quantities more frequently.

Heavy episodic drinking is defined as the proportion of adult drinkers who have had at least 60 grams or more of pure alcohol on at least one occasion in the past 30 days. An intake of 60 grams of pure alcohol is approximately equal to 6 standard alcoholic drinks.

The map shows heavy drinkers – those who had an episode of heavy drinking in the previous 30 days – as a share of total drinkers (i.e., those who have drunk less than one alcoholic drink in the last 12 months are excluded).

The comparison of this map with the previous maps makes clear that heavy drinking is not necessarily most common in the same countries where alcohol consumption is most common.

Data on the prevalence of binge drinking by age and gender in the UK can be found here, and trends in heavy and binge drinking in the USA can be found here.

Share of adults who don't drink alcohol Global trends on alcohol abstinence show a mirror image of drinking prevalence data. This is shown in the charts as the share of adults who had not drunk in the prior year and those who have never drunk alcohol.

Here, we see particularly high levels of alcohol abstinence across North Africa and the Middle East. In most countries in this region, the majority of adults have never drunk alcohol.

Global beer co...

In 2022, among the Nordic countries, Norway had the lowest alcohol consumption of *** liters per capita. That same year, the per capita consumption volume of alcohol amounted to *** liters in Sweden. In Finland, the corresponding volume was even higher. By comparison, Denmark had the highest per capita alcohol consumption of *** liters. In general, all Nordic countries except Denmark have strong restrictions on the sales of alcohol. This applies to all beverages with higher alcohol content; low alcohol drinks are thus available in regular supermarkets and convenience stores.  Norway and Sweden In Norway, beverages with an alcohol content higher than 4.75 percent are only allowed to be sold by Vinmonopolet, the government-owned alcoholic beverage retailer. In Sweden, even beverages with an alcohol content higher than 3.5 percent are only allowed to be sold by Systembolaget, which is the country’s government-owned chain of liquor stores.    Comparison: Denmark  Danish supermarkets, kiosks and other shops are allowed to sell all kinds of alcohol. The average annual sales volume of pure alcohol per person in the country declined overall since 2010 and amounted to *** liters sold in 2023.

Japan JP: Alcohol Consumption Rate: Projected Estimates: Aged 15+: Male data was reported at 13.500 NA in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 12.000 NA for 2010. Japan JP: Alcohol Consumption Rate: Projected Estimates: Aged 15+: Male data is updated yearly, averaging 12.750 NA from Dec 2010 (Median) to 2016, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 13.500 NA in 2016 and a record low of 12.000 NA in 2010. Japan JP: Alcohol Consumption Rate: Projected Estimates: Aged 15+: Male data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Japan – Table JP.World Bank.WDI: Health Statistics. Total alcohol per capita consumption is defined as the total (sum of recorded and unrecorded alcohol) amount of alcohol consumed per person (15 years of age or older) over a calendar year, in litres of pure alcohol, adjusted for tourist consumption.; ; World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/).; Weighted average;

United States US: Total Alcohol Consumption per Capita: Liters of Pure Alcohol: Projected Estimates: Aged 15+ data was reported at 9.800 Number in 2016. United States US: Total Alcohol Consumption per Capita: Liters of Pure Alcohol: Projected Estimates: Aged 15+ data is updated yearly, averaging 9.800 Number from Dec 2016 (Median) to 2016, with 1 observations. United States US: Total Alcohol Consumption per Capita: Liters of Pure Alcohol: Projected Estimates: Aged 15+ data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Health Statistics. Total alcohol per capita consumption is defined as the total (sum of recorded and unrecorded alcohol) amount of alcohol consumed per person (15 years of age or older) over a calendar year, in litres of pure alcohol, adjusted for tourist consumption.; ; World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/).; Weighted Average;

Graph and download economic data for Expenditures: Alcoholic Beverages by Deciles of Income Before Taxes: Seventh 10 Percent (61st to 70th Percentile) (CXUALCBEVGLB1508M) from 2014 to 2023 about alcoholic beverages, percentile, tax, expenditures, income, and USA.

Tunisia TN: Alcohol Consumption Rate: Projected Estimates: Aged 15+: Male data was reported at 3.600 NA in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 2.700 NA for 2010. Tunisia TN: Alcohol Consumption Rate: Projected Estimates: Aged 15+: Male data is updated yearly, averaging 3.150 NA from Dec 2010 (Median) to 2016, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.600 NA in 2016 and a record low of 2.700 NA in 2010. Tunisia TN: Alcohol Consumption Rate: Projected Estimates: Aged 15+: Male data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Tunisia – Table TN.World Bank.WDI: Health Statistics. Total alcohol per capita consumption is defined as the total (sum of recorded and unrecorded alcohol) amount of alcohol consumed per person (15 years of age or older) over a calendar year, in litres of pure alcohol, adjusted for tourist consumption.; ; World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/).; Weighted average;

Germany DE: Alcohol Consumption Rate: Projected Estimates: Aged 15+: Female data was reported at 5.900 NA in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 5.700 NA for 2010. Germany DE: Alcohol Consumption Rate: Projected Estimates: Aged 15+: Female data is updated yearly, averaging 5.800 NA from Dec 2010 (Median) to 2016, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 5.900 NA in 2016 and a record low of 5.700 NA in 2010. Germany DE: Alcohol Consumption Rate: Projected Estimates: Aged 15+: Female data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Germany – Table DE.World Bank.WDI: Health Statistics. Total alcohol per capita consumption is defined as the total (sum of recorded and unrecorded alcohol) amount of alcohol consumed per person (15 years of age or older) over a calendar year, in litres of pure alcohol, adjusted for tourist consumption.; ; World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/).; Weighted average;

Montenegro ME: Alcohol Consumption Rate: Projected Estimates: Aged 15+: Male data was reported at 13.500 NA in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 18.000 NA for 2010. Montenegro ME: Alcohol Consumption Rate: Projected Estimates: Aged 15+: Male data is updated yearly, averaging 15.750 NA from Dec 2010 (Median) to 2016, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 18.000 NA in 2010 and a record low of 13.500 NA in 2016. Montenegro ME: Alcohol Consumption Rate: Projected Estimates: Aged 15+: Male data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Montenegro – Table ME.World Bank.WDI: Health Statistics. Total alcohol per capita consumption is defined as the total (sum of recorded and unrecorded alcohol) amount of alcohol consumed per person (15 years of age or older) over a calendar year, in litres of pure alcohol, adjusted for tourist consumption.; ; World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/).; Weighted average;

Jordan JO: Alcohol Consumption Rate: Projected Estimates: Aged 15+: Male data was reported at 1.300 NA in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 1.200 NA for 2010. Jordan JO: Alcohol Consumption Rate: Projected Estimates: Aged 15+: Male data is updated yearly, averaging 1.250 NA from Dec 2010 (Median) to 2016, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.300 NA in 2016 and a record low of 1.200 NA in 2010. Jordan JO: Alcohol Consumption Rate: Projected Estimates: Aged 15+: Male data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Jordan – Table JO.World Bank.WDI: Health Statistics. Total alcohol per capita consumption is defined as the total (sum of recorded and unrecorded alcohol) amount of alcohol consumed per person (15 years of age or older) over a calendar year, in litres of pure alcohol, adjusted for tourist consumption.; ; World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/).; Weighted average;

The European Health Interview Survey (EHIS) aims at measuring on a harmonised basis and with a high degree of comparability among Member States (MS) the health status (including disability), health determinants (lifestyle) of the EU citizens and use of health care services and limitations in accessing it.

The general coverage of the survey is the population aged 15 or over living in private households residing in the territory of the country.

EHIS was developed between 2003 and 2006. It consists of four modules on health status, health determinants, health care, and background variables (socio-demographic characteristics of the population).

Three waves of EHIS have currently been implemented. The first wave of EHIS (EHIS wave 1 or EHIS round 2008) was conducted between 2006 and 2009 in 17 EU Member States as well as Switzerland and Turkey.

The second wave (EHIS wave 2 or EHIS round 2014) was conducted between 2013 and 2015 in all EU Member States, Iceland, Norway and Turkey according to the Commission Regulation 141/2013.

The third wave of EHIS was conducted in 2019. All Member States participated in the EHIS wave 3 in accordance with the Commission Regulation (EU) No. 2018/255. A derogation regarding the data collection period was granted for some countries: the data collection period was 2018 for Belgium, 2018-2020 for Austria and Germany, and 2019-2020 for Malta.

The questionnaire consists of the same four modules for all the EHIS waves and over the years, some changes to the questionnaire have been implemented to satisfy specific users’ needs. Also, countries are allowed to include additional questions in the specific submodules or even specific sub-modules in the survey if this does not have an impact on the results of the compulsory variable

EHIS includes the following topics:

Health status
This topic includes different dimensions of health status and health-related activity limitations:

• General health status (Minimum European health module): self-perceived health, chronic morbidity and disability (activity limitation)
• Disease-specific morbidity
• Accidents and injuries
• Health-related absenteeism from work
• Physical and sensory functional limitations (also cognitive limitations in wave 3)
• Difficulties in personal care activities / activities of daily living (such as eating and washing) and help received/needed
• Household activities / Instrumental activities of daily living (such as preparing meals and shopping) and help received/needed
• Pain
• Aspect of mental health (psychological distress and mental well-being in the first wave, depressive symptoms in the second and third waves)
• Work-related health problems (only in the first wave).

Health care
This topic covers the use of different types of medicines and formal and informal health and social care services, which are complemented by data on health-related expenditure, and limitations in access to and satisfaction with health care services:

• Hospitalisation (in-patient and day care)
• Consultations with doctors and dentists
• Visits to specific health professionals (such as physiotherapists or psychologists)
• Use of home care services
• Use of medicines (prescribed and non-prescribed)
• Healthcare preventive actions (such as influenza vaccination, breast examination, cervical smear test and blood tests)
• Unmet needs for health care
• Out-of-pocket payments for medical care (only in the first wave)
• Satisfaction with services provided by healthcare providers (only in the first wave)
• Visits to specific categories of alternative medicine practitioners (only in the first wave).

Health determinants
This topic includes various individual and environmental health determinants:

• Height and weight
• Physical activity/exercise
• Consumption of fruits, vegetables and juice
• Drinking sugar-sweetened soft drinks (only in the third wave)
• Tobacco smoking behaviour and exposure to tobacco smoke
• Use of e-cigarettes or similar electronic devices (only in the third wave)
• Alcohol consumption
• Social support
• Provision of informal care or assistance (only in the second and third waves)
• Illicit drug use (only in the first wave)
• Environment (home and workplace exposures, criminality exposure) (only in the first wave).

Background variables on demography and socio-economic characteristics.

All indicators are expressed as percentages within the population and statistics are broken down by age and sex and one other dimension such as educational attainment level, income quintile group, degree of urbanization, country of birth, country of citizenship, level of disability (activity limitation).

Russia RU: Alcohol Consumption Rate: Projected Estimates: Aged 15+: Male data was reported at 18.700 NA in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 26.100 NA for 2010. Russia RU: Alcohol Consumption Rate: Projected Estimates: Aged 15+: Male data is updated yearly, averaging 22.400 NA from Dec 2010 (Median) to 2016, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 26.100 NA in 2010 and a record low of 18.700 NA in 2016. Russia RU: Alcohol Consumption Rate: Projected Estimates: Aged 15+: Male data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Russian Federation – Table RU.World Bank.WDI: Health Statistics. Total alcohol per capita consumption is defined as the total (sum of recorded and unrecorded alcohol) amount of alcohol consumed per person (15 years of age or older) over a calendar year, in litres of pure alcohol, adjusted for tourist consumption.; ; World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/).; Weighted average;

Finland FI: Alcohol Consumption Rate: Projected Estimates: Aged 15+: Male data was reported at 17.200 NA in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 20.000 NA for 2010. Finland FI: Alcohol Consumption Rate: Projected Estimates: Aged 15+: Male data is updated yearly, averaging 18.600 NA from Dec 2010 (Median) to 2016, with 2 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 20.000 NA in 2010 and a record low of 17.200 NA in 2016. Finland FI: Alcohol Consumption Rate: Projected Estimates: Aged 15+: Male data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Finland – Table FI.World Bank.WDI: Health Statistics. Total alcohol per capita consumption is defined as the total (sum of recorded and unrecorded alcohol) amount of alcohol consumed per person (15 years of age or older) over a calendar year, in litres of pure alcohol, adjusted for tourist consumption.; ; World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/).; Weighted average;

It is estimated that alcohol contributed to around 2.6 million deaths worldwide in 2019. The major causes of alcohol-related death include alcohol poisoning, liver damage, heart failure, cancer, and car accidents. Alcohol abuse worldwide Despite the widespread use of alcohol around the world, a global survey from 2024 of people from 31 different countries found that around 16 percent of respondents stated alcohol abuse was the biggest health problem facing people in their country. The countries with the highest per capita consumption of alcohol include Romania, Georgia, and Latvia. Alcohol consumption in the United States It is estimated that over half of adults in the United States aged 21 to 49 currently use alcohol. Binge drinking (four or more drinks for women and five or more drinks for men on a single occasion) is most common among those aged 21 to 29 years, but still around 25 percent of those aged 40 to 44 report binge drinking. The states with the highest share of the population who binge drink are North Dakota, Iowa, and South Dakota. The death rate due to alcohol in the United States was around 13.5 per 100,000 population in 2022, an increase from a rate of 10.4 per 100,000 recorded in 2019.

Graph and download economic data for Expenditures: Alcoholic Beverages by Age: from Age 65 to 74 (CXUALCBEVGLB0408M) from 1984 to 2023 about alcoholic beverages, 65-years +, age, expenditures, and USA.

China was the global leader in alcohol consumption by volume in 2018. The nation consumed ***** billion liters of alcohol, nearly ****** the United States, the second ranked country. This consumption translates to a market value of ***** billion U.S. dollars for China. The landscape changes entirely when sales are looked at on a per capita basis; China’s ranking plummets to ** with the average person buying ***** liters of alcohol in the year. In comparison, consumers in Czechia, ranked first, bought ****** liters during the year. The Chinese marketChina’s alcohol market is primarily driven by beer and spirits sales, with spirits sales consisting almost entirely of domestic brands. Chinese produced spirits occupied ** percent of the overall alcohol market compared to just * percent of imported spirits. The overwhelmingly preferred variety of spirits is baijiu, a clear liquor, usually distilled from sorghum. In 2016, it accounted for ** percent of China’s spirits market.