Here in the United States, Americans have a particular affinity for alcohol: we consume over 8 billion gallons of beer, wine, and spirits per annum, an amount that has steadily been increasing year-over-year. But it turns out that the United States doesn’t even crack the top 30 countries when it comes to per capita consumption.
According to data collected by the Global Health Observatory (GHO) branch of the World Health Organization (WHO), which recorded per capita consumption from adults over the age of 15 in a single calendar year, the Cook Islands — located in the South Pacific — consume the most alcohol, with 12.97 liters consumed per capita. Latvia isn’t far behind, coming in second place with a per capita consumption of 12.90 liters, and the Czech Republic rounds out the top three, reporting 12.73 liters consumed per capita.
Many countries — such as Bangladesh, Kuwait, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, and Somalia — don’t not report any alcohol consumption at all. For that reason, VinePair only considered countries reporting at least 0.01 liters per capita for our list of nations that consume the least. With that in mind, countries where alcohol is illegal or strictly policed where consumption is predictably at its lowest. Tied for first place for least amount of alcohol consumed are Libya and Afghanistan, which each reported a per capita consumption of 0.01 liters. Tied for second are Yemen and Iran with 0.02 liters consumed each. In third place is Pakistan, with 0.04 liters of alcohol consumed per capita.
The Countries That Drink the Most Alcohol Per Capita in Liters:
- Cook Islands: 12.97
- Latvia: 12.90
- Czech Republic: 12.73
- Lithuania: 11.93
- Austria: 11.90
- Antigua and Barbuda: 11.88
- Estonia: 11.65
- France: 11.44
- Bulgaria: 11.18
- Slovenia: 11.05
The Countries That Drink the Least Alcohol
- Libya: 0.01
- Afghanistan: 0.01
- Yemen: 0.02
- Iran: 0.02
- Pakistan: 0.04
- Bhutan: 0.07
- Indonesia: 0.08
- Niger: 0.11
- Syria: 0.13
- Egypt: 0.14
