Editor’s note: This article was first published in May 2014; the per-capita alcohol consumption figures come from the World Health Organization’s 2014 global status report, which covers 2010 data. Newer WHO data have been published since.
Alcohol consumption varies considerably depending on the country we look at. According to the map produced by the World Health Organization, Russians and their neighbours drink much more than the rest of the world.
The countries with the highest alcohol consumption (12.5 litres per person) also include Portugal, Andorra and Grenada (in the Caribbean).
In general, alcohol consumption in European countries is high, very similar to that of Canada and Australia, while in North Africa it is considerably lower.
Russia is starting to face a serious problem with the large number of premature deaths that appear to be caused by heavy drinking, which has led to a considerable rise in liver disease and alcohol poisoning. Countries such as Ukraine and Belarus have similar levels of consumption.
Meanwhile, the United States, Central America and South America are within acceptable levels of consumption.
Featured image: Our World In Data, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
