Annual Alcohol Consumption per Capita
Annual Alcohol Consumption per Capita by country
Commentary
Notable countries
Romania records the highest annual alcohol consumption per capita at 16.8 liters of pure alcohol among people aged 15+, well ahead of the global mean of 5.151. Europe dominates the top 10, taking nine of the 10 spots, while Georgia is the only non-European country there. At the other end, Kuwait, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, and Somalia are recorded at 0, and several other Asian and African countries cluster near zero, including Afghanistan, Libya, and Sudan at 0.01.
Regional trends
Europe stands out clearly, with an average of 9.652 liters per person aged 15+, far above every other continent. South America (5.36) and North America (5.319) sit close to the world mean, while Africa (3.815), Oceania (3.008), and Asia (2.929) are notably lower. The regional pattern shows a strong European concentration of higher consumption and generally lower averages across Asia and Africa.
Data source
The data come from the World Bank/WHO for 2020 and are measured in liters of pure alcohol per person aged 15 and over. Coverage includes 196 countries. A key caveat is that this is a per-capita average for the 15+ population, so it does not show how drinking is distributed within countries.
Interpretation
Higher values mean more alcohol consumed on average per person aged 15+, while lower values indicate lower average consumption. Because the stated direction is 'higher is better,' the ranking treats greater consumption as a stronger outcome for this metric, but the figures themselves are descriptive rather than a judgment about health or social impact. Overall, the data show very large cross-country differences, with Europe far above other regions and several countries reporting almost no recorded consumption.