Americans love their alcohol. According to data published by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, U.S. residents’ consumption of alcoholic beverages has been on a steady incline since 1995, with a whopping 7.9 billion gallons consumed in 2020.
- That marks a 1 million-plus increase in gallons drunk from the previous year, likely thanks to the onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Of the 7.9 billion gallons consumed by Americans in 2020, beer was the overwhelming favorite — with an estimated 6.4 billion gallons drunk — followed by wine and spirits, of which Americans enjoyed 931 million and 635 million gallons, respectively.
While it’s clear the pandemic had an impact on the volume of alcohol consumed by Americans, it also had an impact on what kinds of alcohol Americans reached for. In 2020, domestic consumption of spirits increased by almost 46 million gallons from 2019,
- In comparison, wine consumption increased by 22 million gallons, while beer consumption saw little to no change.
- When broken down by region, the West Coast takes the crown as the booziest in the United States with an annual per capita consumption of 2.56 gallons.
- On the other hand, while the South may consume the most alcohol by volume — 245.1 million gallons in 2020 — it is actually the region that drinks the least per capita (2.34 gallons per year).
Both the Northeast and the Midwest drink roughly the same amount per capita, drinking 2.48 and 2.49 gallons per year, respectively.
Contents
- 1 Which state people drink the most alcohol?
- 2 Who drinks most in Europe?
- 3 What country is the biggest drinkers?
- 4 Do Europeans have better alcohol tolerance?
- 5 Why can Europeans drink so much?
- 6 Which country drank the most alcohol?
Which state people drink the most alcohol?
Statewise Alcohol Consumption in India – As per NFHS-5, On average, only 1.3% of women in India consume alcohol, whereas the national average for men is 18.8%. Alcohol consumption by both men and women is high in North East and Eastern states of India.
In men, high-consuming alcohol states are Arunachal, Telangana, Sikkim, Manipur, Goa, and Jharkhand. Alcohol prevalence among women is high in all North Easter states and Telangana. Of all states, Arunachal Pradesh has the highest proportion of both men (52.7%) and women (24.2%) who drink alcohol. Among women, Arunachal Pradesh is followed by Sikkim (16%); among men, it is followed by Telangana (43%).
Besides Arunachal and Telangana, alcohol consumption among men is higher (40% and above) in the upper Brahmaputra region of Assam, districts in Jharkhand and Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, and the Chhota Nagpur region of Jharkhand and Odisha.
| # | States & Uts | Women % ( 15 yrs+) | Men % ( 15 yrs+) |
| 1 | Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 5 | 39.1 |
| 2 | Andhra Pradesh | 0.5 | 23.3 |
| 3 | Arunachal | 24.2 | 52.7 |
| 4 | Assam | 7.3 | 25.1 |
| 5 | Bihar | 0.4 | 15.5 |
| 6 | Chandigarh | 0.3 | 18.6 |
| 7 | Chattishgarh | 5 | 34.8 |
| 8 | D&N | 1.1 | 27.8 |
| 9 | Delhi | 0.5 | 21.6 |
| 10 | Goa | 5.5 | 36.9 |
| 11 | Gujarat | 0.6 | 5.8 |
| 12 | Haryana | 0.3 | 16.1 |
| 13 | Himachal Pradesh | 0.6 | 31.9 |
| 14 | Jammu and Kashmir | 0.2 | 8.8 |
| 15 | Jharkhand | 6.1 | 35 |
| 16 | Karnataka | 0.9 | 16.5 |
| 17 | Kerala | 0.2 | 19.9 |
| 18 | Ladakh | 3.8 | 23.6 |
| 19 | Lakshadweep | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| 20 | Maharashtra | 0.4 | 13.9 |
| 21 | Manipur | 0.9 | 37.5 |
| 22 | Meghalaya | 1.5 | 32.4 |
| 23 | Mizoram | 0.9 | 23.8 |
| 24 | Madhya Pradesh | 1 | 17.1 |
| 25 | Nagaland | 0.9 | 24 |
| 26 | Odisha | 4.3 | 28.8 |
| 27 | Puducherry | 0.3 | 27.7 |
| 28 | Punjab | 0.3 | 22.8 |
| 29 | Rajasthan | 0.3 | 11 |
| 30 | Sikkim | 16.2 | 39.8 |
| 31 | Tamil Nadu | 0.3 | 25.4 |
| 32 | Telangana | 6.7 | 43.3 |
| 33 | Tripura | 6.2 | 33.1 |
| 34 | Uttar Pradesh | 0.3 | 14.6 |
| 35 | Uttarakhand | 0.3 | 25.5 |
| 36 | West Bengal | 1.1 | 18.1 |
| India | 1.3 % | 18.8 % |
Source : Data from National Family Health Survey-5 carried out from 2019 to 2021
What are the top 3 states in regards to binge drinking?
Story at a glance –
Rates of alcohol consumption have historically been higher in the Midwest region of the United States.
Data from NiceRx details which states have the highest and lowest rates of excessive alcohol intake.
Binge drinking is a leading cause of preventable death in the country and costs the nation billions of dollars each year.
Excessive alcohol use takes the lives of about 380 Americans each day, and some in the Midwest are particularly vulnerable, according to new research. Wisconsin, Iowa and North Dakota have the highest binge drinking rates in the country according to data from medication access company NiceRx, at 25.8 percent, 24.5 percent and 22.7 percent, respectively.
- These top three are followed by Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Illinois and Colorado.
- In 2010, the most recent year for which data are available, excessive drinking cost the country $249 billion, due in part to treatment costs for cancer, liver disease and heart disease.
- Furthermore, excessive drinking shortens average life expectancy by 26 years, accounting for nearly 3.6 million years of potential life lost annually.
America is changing faster than ever! Add Changing America to your Facebook or Twitter feed to stay on top of the news. Although those aged 35 and older and males are more likely to engage in binge drinking, recent figures show around 1 in 3 young people report doing so recently.
- NiceRx data were collected from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), while the state of New Jersey was not included in the final analysis.
- In the study, binge drinking was defined as consuming five or more drinks on one occasion for males, and four or more drinks for females.
- One study conducted in 2016 suggested a root cause for the high rates of alcohol consumption seen in the Midwest could be the number of colleges and universities in the region.
Cold weather could also contribute to high rates of alcohol consumption, along with regional social norms. On the flipside, researchers found Utah, Oklahoma, Alabama, Mississippi and West Virginia had the lowest rates of binge drinking recorded. Utah also had the lowest number of cigarette smokers.
More than 60 percent of the state’s population is Mormon, a religion that prohibits consumption of both alcohol and tobacco and likely accounts for the low rates reported. Both Oklahoma and Alabama had the same low proportion of binge drinkers at 13.6 percent. Researchers hypothesize this could be due to the states’ situation in the deeply religious Bible Belt and prevalence of conservative social values.
Four of the top five states with the lowest binge-drinking rates are part of the Bible Belt. Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Who drinks most in Europe?
Europeans drink a lot, but how often? – Data shows that as people get older, their daily intake of alcohol also increases. People aged between 15 and 24 are the smallest group in the daily drinker statistics (representing only 1 per cent), while those 75 or older are more likely to have a drink every day (16 per cent).
However, the senior group also has the biggest share of people who do not consume alcohol at all or have not consumed it in the past 12 months (40.3 per cent). In the EU, drinking every day is most frequent in Portugal, with a fifth (20.7 per cent) of the population consuming alcohol daily, followed by Spain (13.0 per cent) and Italy (12.1 per cent).
The lowest share of daily drinkers is around 1 per cent in Latvia and Lithuania. The EU country with the biggest share of its population drinking alcohol on a weekly basis is the Netherlands (47.3 per cent), Luxembourg (43.1 per cent), and Belgium (40.8 per cent).
- Croatia has the highest share of the population (38.3 per cent) saying it never consumed alcohol or has not consumed any in the last 12 months.
- Across all European countries, there are clearly many more women than men staying away from alcohol.
- Women are the most sober in Italy, where 46.7 per cent say they never consume alcohol or have not consumed any in the last 12 months (compared to 21.5 per cent of men).
In Cyprus, that figure stands at 44.2 per cent of women vs.12.8 per cent of men, and in Bulgaria at 42.0 per cent of women vs.16.2 per cent of men.
What are the top 5 most drunk states?
The States That Drink the Most Alcohol in Ethanol – Unsurprisingly, the most densely populated states in the U.S. consume the most alcohol by volume. California leads the pack with 85.7 million gallons consumed in 2020. Texas, Florida, New York, and Illinois round out the remainder of the top five. Conversely, Wyoming, Alaska, and South Dakota consume the least. 
What country is the biggest drinkers?
Riskiest Regions – 
Russia was the only country to be labeled the riskiest, in terms of patterns of drinking. Russians also consumed more spirits than any of the other top GDP countries: an average of 326 servings per person in a single year. Belarus, a country that drinks the most liters of pure alcohol than any other country in the world, was also classified as having one the riskiest pattern of drinking,
These countries, along with Kazakhstan and Moldova, were also classified as countries with the most years of life lost to alcohol, showing that there may be a strong link between risky behavior patterns like days-long binge drinking which have been linked to early death in men. However, Namibia and Guatemala consumed less alcohol than the U.S.
and had some of the riskiest drinking patterns, but didn’t have the most years of life lost.
What state drinks the least?
Lowest Alcohol Consumption by State – The 10 states with the lowest alcohol consumption levels are Utah, Maryland, Idaho, Arkansas, Kentucky, Connecticut, Georgia, New York, Oklahoma, and Washington. In terms of alcohol consumption per capita, Utah has the lowest rate of only 17.7 gallons consumed per person.
This is followed closely by Maryland at 25.4 gallons and Idaho at 26.5 gallons per capita. Arkansas had the fourth-lowest rate of 27.1 gallons while New York and Kentucky tied for fifth place with 27.4 gallons consumed per capita each. Georgia had a slightly higher rate than New York and Kentucky with 27.6 gallons, while Connecticut was ranked eighth with 28 gallons per person consumed in 2019.
Oklahoma and Washington round out the top 10 states with the lowest alcohol consumption levels at 28.2 and 28.4 respectively. The 10 states with the lowest alcohol consumption :
Utah – 17.7Maryland – 25.4Idaho – 26.5Arkansas – 27.1New York – 27.4Kentucky – 27.4Georgia – 27.6Connecticut – 28Oklahoma – 28.2Washington – 28.4
Which state drinks most beer?
American Beer Consumption By State – So which states drank the most beer, and what was their preferred brand? The annual consumption stats come from the Beer Institute’s, while the preferred beer of choice was compiled by Data Agency’s report, which is based on a combination of surveys combined with Google search analysis from all over the country.
| Beer Consumption By State (2020) | Annual Gallons Per Capita | Preferred Beer |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 29.1 | Budweiser |
| Alaska | 26.1 | |
| Arizona | 27.0 | Dos Equis |
| Arkansas | 23.9 | Budweiser |
| California | 24.5 | Budweiser |
| Colorado | 28.1 | Denver Beer Co |
| Connecticut | 19.8 | Bud Light |
| Delaware | 27.9 | Dogfish Head |
| District of Columbia | 18.2 | |
| Florida | 25.4 | Stella |
| Georgia | 23.0 | Terrapin |
| Hawaii | 26.7 | |
| Idaho | 25.0 | Budweiser |
| Illinois | 25.9 | Goose Island |
| Indiana | 23.6 | Miller Light |
| Iowa | 31.0 | Budweiser |
| Kansas | 27.8 | Coors Light |
| Kentucky | 23.1 | Budweiser |
| Louisiana | 28.4 | Abita |
| Maine | 32.5 | Budweiser |
| Maryland | 19.7 | Budweiser |
| Massachusetts | 21.1 | Budweiser |
| Michigan | 23.6 | Budweiser |
| Minnesota | 27.1 | Budweiser |
| Mississippi | 31.6 | Lazy Magnolia |
| Missouri | 26.9 | Budweiser |
| Montana | 41.1 | Budweiser |
| Nebraska | 31.6 | Nebraska Black Betty |
| Nevada | 29.0 | Coors Light |
| New Hampshire | 41.5 | Budweiser |
| New Jersey | 20.0 | Miller Light |
| New Mexico | 27.7 | La Cumbre |
| New York | 20.2 | Budweiser |
| North Carolina | 25.8 | Bud Light |
| North Dakota | 37.5 | Fargo |
| Ohio | 25.5 | Heineken |
| Oklahoma | 26.8 | Budweiser |
| Oregon | 27.7 | Budweiser |
| Pennsylvania | 24.9 | Bud Light |
| Rhode Island | 20.1 | Narragansett |
| South Carolina | 32.5 | Budweiser |
| South Dakota | 37.3 | Budweiser |
| Tennessee | 24.2 | Budweiser |
| Texas | 31.9 | Lone Star |
| Utah | 20.0 | Budweiser |
| Vermont | 34.0 | Bud Light |
| Virginia | 24.2 | Budweiser |
| Washington | 23.7 | Bud Light |
| West Virginia | 27.8 | Budweiser |
| Wisconsin | 33.7 | Spotted Cow |
| Wyoming | 29.8 | Snake River |
New Hampshire took the top spot in 2020, outdrinking other states with 41.5 gallons of beer consumed annually per capita. In contrast, the lowest consuming state was Maryland which only consumed 19.7 gallons per capita, about half as much. The most popular beer? Despite the growing trend of craft breweries in some states, the most popular beer across the country was Budweiser of Anheuser-Busch, which took the top spot in 23 states.
Which state has the most bars?
The Number of Bars By State
| State | # of Bars |
|---|---|
| New York | 3,389 |
| North Carolina | 765 |
| North Dakota | 379 |
| Ohio | 1,784 |
Is binge drinking a problem in Europe?
Abstract – Binge drinking is a pattern of heavy drinking which is observed all over Europe. The term Binge drinking implies a lot of different meanings to different people. The most popular definition used for this term is five or more ‘standard drinks’ in a single occasion.
- Binge drinking is different from intoxication, although this kind of heavy alcohol consumption can be lead to intoxication.
- This condition is manifested by different signs, for example slurred speech.
- Binge drinking is very common among the European population.
- In 2006 some 80 million Europeans aged 15 plus reported this kind of alcohol consumption patterns.
European surveys showed that there is an increase of binge drinking across Europe amongst young people (15-16 years) old since 1995. The consequences of binge drinking contain acute and chronic effects, which are caused by long term alcohol use. The individual risks are brain damage, suicide, sexually transmitted diseases, etc.
What country has the lowest alcoholism rate?
Alcohol use by sex – If you take a look at the gender differences, you will see that in all regions, men were reported to drink alcohol more than women. The gender difference appears to be lowest in regions where the entire prevalence of consuming alcohol is high.
- While the consumed alcohol was mid-range, the occurrence of consuming alcohol in women is likely to considerably lower most, or often it is less than half the percentage of men.
- The world health organization statistic regarding alcohol consumption by age group and gender in the United Kingdom is available by clicking here.
The top ten countries with high rates of alcoholism in females Leading countries with the highest rates of alcoholism in females take account of the following:
Australia 2.61%Russia 2.58%Norway 2.55%Colombia 2.55%Hungary 2.27%Sweden 2.27%New Zealand 2.20%Republic of Moldova 2.15%Lithuania 1.98%The United States 1.92%
Russia and Australia have the highest prevalence of alcoholism dependence overall, with 2.61 per cent and 2.58 per cent, respectively. According to the World Health Organization, US has the lowest rate of alcohol dependence with only 1.93 per cent. Below are the top countries in the world with the high rate of alcohol use disorder in males:
Russia (16.29%)Hungary (15.29%)Lithuania (13.35%)South Korea (13.10%)Latvia (11.54%)Belarus (11.43%)Estonia (11.09%)Niue (10.58%)Colombia (10.33%)Thailand (10.18%)
Russia and Hungary have the highest rate of alcohol consumption in the male category, and Thailand has the lowest rating with only 10.18 per cent. These countries also reported the highest levels of alcohol use disorders. The global status also included the leading alcohol-related conditions such as mental health disorders, fetal alcohol syndrome, liver cirrhosis, premature death, and transmission of infectious diseases.
Who are the biggest binge drinkers?
Which countries tend to drink the most on average? According to the World Health Organisation, Austria, Ireland and the Czech Republic are the world’s biggest binge-drinkers, That term is defined as consuming more than six units or three pints of lager on one occasion over the past 30 days. Read more on the indy100. Description This chart shows the percentage who have had an episode of heavy drinking in the past 30 days. Report URL to be used as reference link :
Do Dutch people drink a lot?
Hoe nuchter is Nederland ten opzichte van de rest van Europa? Some time ago, the European statistical office, Eurostat, published research figures on alcohol consumption among adults in the European Union. This shows that we may have to adjust our image of a sober people: almost half of the Dutch drink alcohol every week.
One in twelve Europeans drinks alcohol on a daily basis, almost 29% drinks weekly, just under 23% monthly and more than a quarter never drink (not all of 2019). The size of the group of daily drinkers is increasing by age category. Where in the 15 to 24 age group only 1% drinks daily, the over-75s take the cake with 16%. On the other hand, the group of non-drinkers is also largest among the oldest age group: more than 40% do not drink alcohol. Men are more likely to drink daily than women (13% versus 4%).
Day winner: Portugal As far as daily drinking is concerned, Portugal appears to be the leader: one in five Portuguese drinks alcohol every day. Numbers two and three are Spain (13%) and Italy (12.1%). The least daily drinking is in Latvia and Lithuania (1%).
It is striking that Portugal and Spain also have the largest difference between men and women in terms of drinking frequency (in Portugal 33.5% men versus 9.7% women and in Spain 20.2% versus 6.1%). In short, it is mainly the men who drink daily. The Netherlands leads the way every week It is not a crazy conclusion that our southern neighbors lead the ranking in terms of daily drinking.
Each of these countries has a food culture where a glass of wine completes the meal. That is why the top three in terms of weekly alcohol consumption is all the more surprising: it consists of the Netherlands (47.3%), Luxembourg (43.1%) and Belgium (40.8%).
- Almost half of the Dutch drink alcohol every week.
- This makes the Netherlands one of the countries with the most regular drinkers.
- Constant, no peaks Although we are the most regular drinkers, we are not known as binge drinkers.
- In the category of alcoholic indulgences where more than 60 grams of pure alcohol is consumed per occasion, the ‘honour’ of first place goes to Denmark.
Nearly 38% of the Danes drops sharply at least once a month. Other facts about alcohol use in Europe:
The percentage of monthly drinkers is highest in Lithuania (31.3%), Latvia (31.1%) and Cyprus (30.4%). The group of abstainers is largest in Croatia: over 38% of adults here never drink. In all European countries, the non-drinkers are mainly women. This difference is greatest in Cyprus where 12.8% of the men do not drink versus 44.2% of the women, Bulgaria (16.2% versus 42%) and Italy (21.5% versus 46.7%).
This article is based on research information published on, : Hoe nuchter is Nederland ten opzichte van de rest van Europa?
Do Americans drink more than Europeans?
Drinking Facts: Alcohol Problems Around the World 1. Nearly Half of Us Have Never Had a Drink In 2005, annual global alcohol consumption reached 6.13 liters per person over 15 years old. (That’s 6.13 liters of pure alcohol, not alcoholic beverages.) But we weren’t all imbibing equally: Only about 50 percent of the world’s people consume all of its alcohol, and most of them are in the wealthier Northern hemisphere. 2. We Love Beer and Liquor, But Wine Not So Much For all the buzz about wine’s pleasures, its artistry and health benefits, very few people actually drink it. A few scattered nations with vibrant wine-production—including France, Italy, Argentina, and Chile—consume mostly wine.
But an overwhelming majority of the world prefers beer (North America, most of Europe, most of South America) or spirits (Russia and much of Asia). About 45 percent of the alcohol consumed in the world is in the form of liquor, while beer has been growing in popularity in traditionally wine-loving southern European countries like Spain.3.
Europeans Are Earth’s Biggest Drinkers Europeans drink more than the inhabitants of any other continent on the planet. In 2005, they consumed 12.18 pure liters of alcohol per capita, compared to the 8.67 liters per capita consumed in the Americas, 6.23 liters in southwestern Asia, and 6.15 liters in Africa.
- Thanks to vodka-loving Russians, spirits slightly edge out beer as the European drink of choice, with wine placing a distant third.4.
- Ireland Is the World’s Drunkest Country After a financial crash that pushed their government into bankruptcy, the Irish may at last have a good excuse for imbibing like crazy.
And they’ll need it: In the years measured by the World Health Organization, the Irish consumed a staggering 14.1 liters of pure alcohol per capita, putting them well ahead of the boozy Russians. Not surprisingly, beer is their drink of choice.5. Americans Are Drinking Less Than Europeans, But Dying More Often From It Americans aged 15 and up drink only three-quarters as much alcohol as Europeans, but are far more likely to be involved in fatal alcohol-related accidents or die from other alcohol-related causes.
- There’s no single reason Americans are less responsible with alcohol, but some speculate that a higher legal drinking age in the U.S.
- Leads to more destructive underage drinking habits.
- Another explanation: Far more Europeans take public transportation home from the bar.6.
- Russians Are the World’s Most Hazardous Drinkers Despite having some of the world’s toughest drunk-driving laws, Russia leads the planet in alcohol-related deaths and other negative effects of excessive drinking.
Only half as many Americans die from alcohol, and only a fifth as many Europeans. This could be explained by Russia’s rates of binge drinking, which leave the rest of the world in the dust. Astoundingly, alcohol is a factor in one in five deaths among Russian men.
Alcoholism is so epidemic in Russia that it ranks as the country’s No.1 killer, and last year, the government in Moscow banned sales of vodka after 10 p.m.7. We’re Not Drinking Any More or Less Than We Used To. Global drinking levels stabilized in the early 1990s, and despite a few minor bumps on the graph, they’ve remained relatively constant over the past two decades.
What we drink did change, however: beer consumption shot up, and now shares the top spot with spirits, which had previously dominated as the world’s most-consumed form of alcohol.8.But Our Kids Are Drinking a Lot More The major change in drinking rates that occurred since the 1990s wasn’t for the better.
- A 2008 WHO survey found that 71 percent of the countries measured had seen an increase in drinking among teenagers aged 13 to 15, and 80 percent had seen an increase among young adults aged 18 to 25.
- Binge drinking is also on the rise worldwide, which the WHO attributed in part to the rise of “alcopops”—sugary, caffeinated alcoholic drinks like Four Loko.9.
More of Us Are Dying From Alcohol Than From AIDS Over 2 million people died in 2004 of causes that can be attributed to alcohol consumption, including everything from accidents to diseases. That’s nearly 4 percent of global deaths, far more than were caused by AIDS or tuberculosis.The leading causes of alcohol-related death were cirrhosis of the liver (373,900), traffic accidents (268,000) and other unintentional injuries (223,000).10.
Women Are Abstaining More Than Men Women who drink rival men in amount of alcohol consumed, and trail men only slightly in incidents of binge drinking. But far more women than men abstain from alcohol altogether: 55 percent of women on Earth have never had a drink, compared with only 35 percent of men.
Though higher-income regions have fewer total abstainers, female teetotalers outnumber male ones in every region on the planet.11. Men Are at Highest Risk for Alcohol-Related Death In every region of the world, nothing helps send men aged 15 to 59 to the grave more than alcohol does.
Drinking contributes to 6.2 percent of global male deaths. Women are much less likely to die of an alcohol-related cause: only 1.1 percent of female deaths are fueled by alcohol. This finding that show men drinking twice as much as women.12. Nearly a Third of What We Drink Is Black Market A fact that will probably stun most Americans: Just under 30 percent of all alcohol consumed in the world is “unrecorded”—i.e., not produced or sold through official channels.
This could mean anything from booze that’s homemade or smuggled, to alcohol that was intended for industrial or medical purposes. David Sessions is an editorial assistant at The Daily Beast. He has written for Slate, New York, Politics Daily and others.
What is Europe favorite drink?
What is the most popular drink in Europe? – The most popular alcoholic drink in Europe is beer. The most popular non-alcoholic drink is coffee.
Do Europeans have better alcohol tolerance?
Top countries that can handle their liquor Europe: Home of much natural beauty, old traditions and booze. Lots and lots of booze. Yes, all but one of the World’s 15 Heaviest-Drinking Countries are in Europe, a continent where cultural traditions — and tax policies on alcohol — die hard.
- Our top 15 listing comes from a 2006 survey by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development, which tracks per capita alcohol consumption around the globe.
- Rankings are based on the number of liters of pure alcohol consumed per person per year, from beer, wine and spirits combined (the three have progressively higher percentages of alcohol content).
Luxembourg, where residents pound down 15.5 liters of alcohol in a year, on average, ranks first. Close behind are France (14.2 liters), Ireland (also 14.2 liters, a lot more of it from beer), Hungary (12 liters) and the Czech Republic (11.8 liters). A 2006 study by the Weinberg Group, a consulting firm that reported findings of several published health officials on alcohol use in Europe, showed that Europe generally has greater tolerance and acceptance for drinking than the rest of the world does, with alcohol used more in social settings and at family meals.
“A number of social, political and cultural factors have been reported to influence drinking behavior,” the report concluded. Among them: traditions that have young and old imbibing around the dinner table and at social events, and varying levels of alcohol taxes in different countries. Luxembourg taxes beer at just,02 euros per pint, lower than any European country other than Cyprus and Latvia.
It has no excise tax on wine. The European Union is generally very friendly to the continent’s vintners, supporting minuscule taxes in order to support consumer purchases. According to reports, the E.U. deemed illegal a recent attempt by Sweden to impose a higher tax, asserting levies on wine cannot exceed those on beer, lest they hurt the domestic wine businesses while, in this case, benefiting Sweden’s brewers.
- But taxes are apparently just a small piece of the picture.
- When Denmark turned to higher alcohol taxes a decade ago, the result was only a limited drop in demand.
- The country still ranks seventh in per capita alcohol consumption worldwide, at 11.5 liters per year.
- Meanwhile, a survey in the publication Alcohol Research & Health shows that 94 percent of 15-year-olds in the Czech Republic identify themselves as drinkers, with almost half saying they’ve drank beer at least three times over the past month.
Drinking figures are similar elsewhere in Europe — 96 percent in Denmark, 89 percent in Ireland and 91 percent in the U.K. The Czechs, who after all invented Pilsner, lead the world in annual beer consumption with over 150 liters per person. That’s about twice the U.S.
- Rate. A potential reason for the extra drinking on the east side of the Atlantic: No country making the list has a legal drinking age over 18; with some as low as 16 for beer.
- The minimum legal age in the U.S. is 21.
- Not all surveys on drinking frequency over the years necessarily match each other’s findings.
A 2004 study commissioned by the World Health Organization, for example, had countries like Russia and Switzerland sneaking past some on the OECD list, like Belgium and Australia. But the results were mostly similar. Worldwide, the W.H.O. asserts that some 2 billion people use alcohol at one time or another, with approximately 76 million deemed to have a problem.
Why can Europeans drink so much?
Europeans ‘evolved’ to drink more
Westerners may be genetically programmed to eat more fatty foods and drink more alcohol than those in the east, researchers claimed today.Scientists at the University of Aberdeen said people in Europe could have evolved to make them more likely to opt for high-fat food and alcohol than those in Asia.They found a genetic “switch” – a piece of DNA which turns genes on or off within cells – which controls the galanin gene.The gene is switched on in the part of the brain called the hypothalamus and regulates appetite and thirst.The study discovered that the switch was weaker in Asian people compared to Europeans.The researchers said historically people who ate fatty food and drank alcohol were more likely to survive long, cold winters, as they provided important sources of calories.Doctor Alasdair MacKenzie, who led the research, said: “The switch controls the areas of the brain which allows us to select which foods we would like to eat and if it is turned on too strongly we are more likely to crave fatty foods and alcohol.”The fact that the weaker switch is found more frequently in Asians compared to Europeans suggests they are less inclined to select such options.
“Thus, a preference for food with a higher fat and alcohol content would have been important for survival. The negative effects of fat and alcohol we see today would not have mattered so much then as life expectancies were between 30 and 40 years. “It is possible that during the winter individuals with the weaker switch may not have survived as well in Europe as those with the stronger switch and as a result those in the west have evolved to favour a high fat and alcohol-rich diet.” The study was published in the Journal of Neuropsychopharmocology.
Which country drank the most alcohol?
Alcohol has played a significant role in the leisure time of many in today’s society, and its usage dates back centuries. For many, it plays a crucial part in their social engagement, allowing individuals to bond more easily. Alcohol consumption, however, holds many risks regarding health, both physical and mental, and can also play a part in society’s ills, such as crime.
In various countries across the world, alcohol has a different meaning and placement in society; basically, it is more common for people to drink regularly in some countries than in others. Looking at the a mount of alcohol consumed per person aged 15 years or older, the Seychelles is in first place with around 20.5 litres of alcohol drunk per person per year, according to Our World in Data ; studies show that young male peer groups primarily drink high amounts of alcohol in the Seychelles.
Second place on the rankings list is Uganda with about 15 litres per year, followed by the Czech Republic with 14.45 litres, and Lithuania with 13.22 litres per year. To account for the differences in alcohol content of various drinks (e.g. wine or beer), the values are reported in litres of pure alcohol per year,
Which country has the most alcohol drinkers?
Riskiest Regions – Russia was the only country to be labeled the riskiest, in terms of patterns of drinking. Russians also consumed more spirits than any of the other top GDP countries: an average of 326 servings per person in a single year. Belarus, a country that drinks the most liters of pure alcohol than any other country in the world, was also classified as having one the riskiest pattern of drinking,
- These countries, along with Kazakhstan and Moldova, were also classified as countries with the most years of life lost to alcohol, showing that there may be a strong link between risky behavior patterns like days-long binge drinking which have been linked to early death in men.
- However, Namibia and Guatemala consumed less alcohol than the U.S.
and had some of the riskiest drinking patterns, but didn’t have the most years of life lost.
