Highest Alcohol Consumption by Country (2019)

Data

Note: The World's Highest Alcohol Consumption, 2019

What the data shows

This ranking uses World Health Organization data for 2019, measuring litres of pure alcohol consumed per person aged 15 and older each year. Romania tops the world with 17.0 litres per capita, and European countries dominate nearly the entire list.

• Romania leads with 17.0 litres per capita, the only country above 15.
• Georgia follows at 14.3 litres, and the Czech Republic is third at 13.3.
• Latvia (13.1), Germany (12.2), and Uganda (12.2) are next, with Uganda the only African entry near the top.
• Austria and Seychelles are tied at 12.0, followed by Bulgaria (11.9) and Lithuania (11.8).
• Ireland (11.7), Poland (11.6), Laos (11.5), and Luxembourg (11.5) keep the list crowded above 11 litres.
• Moldova, Estonia, France, Andorra, Slovenia, Belarus, and Spain round out a tight cluster between 11.4 and 10.9.

Why Europe dominates

The data reflects deep cultural drinking traditions: wine with meals in the south, beer culture in the center and north, and strong spirits culture in Eastern Europe and the Baltics. These habits are centuries old and strongly embedded in social life.

• Nine of the top ten countries are in Europe, and the Czech Republic has the world's highest beer consumption per capita.
• Eastern European countries such as Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, and Moldova have historically high spirits consumption.
• France, Spain, and Italy drink heavily in the form of wine as part of daily meals.
• Uganda stands out as the only African country cracking the top ten, reflecting local beer and banana-wine traditions.
• The Cook Islands (10.6) shows that small island nations can also rank high on this scale.

Health context

High per-capita consumption usually comes with a health cost. WHO estimates link alcohol to millions of deaths per year worldwide, and rates of liver disease, some cancers, and accidents rise steeply in heavy-drinking countries.

• Alcohol is a Group 1 carcinogen, and no level of consumption is completely risk-free.
• Eastern Europe has some of the highest rates of alcohol-attributable deaths globally.
• Global average consumption is around 6.4 litres per capita, so these top countries drink roughly double the world average.

Fun Facts

• 17.0 litres of pure alcohol per adult is equivalent to roughly 120 bottles of wine per person per year.
• Romania's consumption has been among the highest in Europe for years, driven largely by spirits and beer.
• The Czech Republic drinks more beer per head than any other country, with annual consumption near 140 litres of beer per person.
• Georgia, famous as a birthplace of wine, has a wine heritage that goes back over 8,000 years.
• France's ranking may surprise people, since French wine consumption has actually fallen sharply since the 1960s.
• Per capita measures ignore abstainers, so in countries with many non-drinkers, the drinkers themselves consume far more on average.
• Eastern European and Baltic countries have cut consumption over the last decade through minimum pricing and stronger alcohol policy, but still rank high.