The European continent as a whole experienced a gradual decrease between 2010 and 2020 in alcohol consumption – defined as the annual sales of pure alcohol in litres per person aged 15 and over.
However, several individual nations have seen their population drinking more over the past decade.
Among them is Latvia, where the amount of litres of pure alcohol consumed spiked from 9.8 in 2010 to 12.1 in 2020.
The Baltic country topped the chart of the 36 countries considered by the analysis – members of the European Union, the UK, European Free Trade Association (EFTA) nations and EU candidate countries.
Czechia came in second in the chart, having slightly increased its alcohol consumption from 11.4 to 11.6 over the past decade.
Lithuania came in third, despite its population reducing by more than two litres per person their alcohol consumption. While the eastern European nation recorded 13.5 litres of pure alcohol consumed per person in 2010, it was 11.4 in 2020
Austria also reduced its consumption from 12.1 to 11.3, and was followed in the chart by Bulgaria, where instead the litres of pure alcohol drank by individuals over the past decade grew from 9.8 to 11.2 in 2019 – year of the last available data.
Germany, a country with a worldwide reputation for its heavy drinkers, came in ninth in the overall chart and managed to reduce its alcohol consumption over the years, going from 11.6 in 2010 to 10.6 litres 2019.
The analysis showed that Britons drink even less than Germans and French nationals, as the UK recorded 9.7 litres of pure alcohol drank per person in 2020 – down from 10.1 in 2010.
For context, 9.5 litres of pure alcohol equal to 190 litres of beer, 80 litres of wine or 24 litres of spirits
The country drinking the least across the European continent has remained Turkey between 2010 and 2020, where consumption fell from 1.5 to 1.2 litres per person.
When considering data for individual nations shared by the OECD Health Statistics 2022 and WHO Global Information System on Alcohol and Health, alcohol consumption fell in 25 countries and increased in 11 others.
The gradual decrease in alcohol consumption in most European countries can likely be attributed to policies from government trying to discourage people from drinking alcohol.
Top 10 heavy drinkers in Europe:
1. Latvia – 12.1 litres (2020 data)
2. Czechia – 11.6 litres (2020 data)
3. Lithuania – 11.4 litres (2020 data)
4. Austria – 11.3 litres (2020 data)
5. Bulgaria – 11.2 litres (2019 data)
6. Romania – 11 litres (2019 data)
7. Poland – 11 litres (2019 data)
8. Luxembourg – 11 litres (2019 data)
9. Germany – 10.6 litres (2019 data)
10. Estonia – 10.5 litres (2020 data)
Peoplesmind
