Beer has enjoyed a long run as the world’s most popular alcoholic beverage — especially in the United States, where we guzzle a whopping 6.5 billion gallons of the stuff every year. But according to recent data from the Global Health Observatory (GHO) branch of the World Health Organization (WHO) — which recorded per capita consumption of ethanol in liters from people over the age of 15 in a single calendar year — there are nations all over the globe giving the U.S. a run for its money. In fact, when it comes to who consumes the most ethanol from beer per capita, the U.S. doesn’t even rank in the global top 15.
The country that nabs that top spot is Gabon. In the Central African country, citizens drink an average of 6.37 liters of ethanol from beer per capita. Coming in second place is, unsurprisingly, the Czech Republic, where drinkers down 6.3 liters of ethanol from their brews each year. Austria rounds out the top three at 5.88 liters.
On the flip side, several countries including Afghanistan, Kuwait, Libya, Mauritania, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and Sudan do not report any consumption at all. For that reason, VinePair only considered countries reporting at least 0.01 liters of ethanol from beer consumed on our list of those that drink the least.
To that end, tied in first place for the least ethanol from beer consumed per capita are Tuvalu, Tonga, Bangladesh, and Syria, all of which report consumption of just 0.01 liters each year. The second-place slot is claimed by Bhutan, reporting 0.02 liters, while Yemen and Niger share the third-place ranking at 0.03 liters.
Keep reading to discover the top 10 countries that drink the most — and least — ethanol from beer per capita.
The Countries That Drink the Most Ethanol From Beer Per Capita in Liters:
- Gabon: 6.37
- Czech Republic: 6.30
- Austria: 5.88
- Poland: 5.52
- Germany: 5.28
- Romania: 5.11
- Seychelles: 4.90
- Lithuania: 4.83
- Congo: 4.65
- Latvia: 4.57
The Countries That Drink the Least Ethanol From Beer Per Capita in Liters:
- Tuvalu: 0.01
- Tonga: 0.01
- Bangladesh: 0.01
- Syria: 0.01
- Bhutan: 0.02
- Yemen: 0.03
- Niger: 0.03
- Indonesia: 0.04
- Comoros: 0.04
- Jordan: 0.05
*Recorded alcohol per capita (15+) consumption of pure alcohol is calculated as the sum of beverage-specific alcohol consumption of pure alcohol (beer, wine, spirits, other). In order to make the conversion into litres of pure alcohol, if beverage volumes are not available in litres of pure alcohol, the alcohol content (% alcohol by volume) is considered to be as follows: Beer (barley beer 5%), Wine (grape wine 12%; must of grape 9%, vermouth 16%), Spirits (distilled spirits 40%; spirit-like 30%), and Other (sorghum, millet, maize beers 5%; cider 5%; fortified wine 17% and 18%; fermented wheat and fermented rice 9%; other fermented beverages 9%).
*Image retrieved from dimbar76 via stock.adobe.com