Approximately 40% of the population (aged 14 years and over) drink alcohol at least once per week, including 5% of the population who drink daily. Twenty-three percent of Australians do not drink alcohol at all.
Alcohol is an intrinsic part of Australian culture and it plays a central role in most people's social lives. Heavy drinking is seen as acceptable in almost all social situations, from weddings to sports matches, and even at funerals or baby showers.
On average, Australians drank alcohol in line with the global average of two nights a week, and became heavily drunk about once every two weeks. The French topped that metric, drinking around three times a week.
Ten per cent of America's population guzzled about 55 per cent of all the boozy beverages. But it looked even more diabolical for the Brits - just four per cent of its population glugged a whopping 30 per cent of all its alcohol and they easily outpace Aussies and Americans.
The figures released by the World Health Organisation show Australians drink more pure alcohol per year than Americans, Canadians and the Japanese. “Australians drink 10.6 litres of pure alcohol each year, much higher than the global average of 6.4 litres,” according to the authors of the report.
People from Australia are getting wasted at a much higher frequency than the rest of the world, according to a global drug survey. The world's largest annual drug survey has ranked Australia as the drunkest country on the planet, with Australians getting shitfaced almost twice as frequently as the global average.
Belarus, a country that drinks the most liters of pure alcohol than any other country in the world, was also classified as having one the riskiest pattern of drinking.
Men are far more likely to drink heavily than women, with 42% of men reporting heavy drinking levels compared to 25% of women.
Australia's annual alcohol consumption is relatively high compared to other developed countries. The most recent data by country for 18 selected developed countries, indicated that annual alcohol consumption was in the range of 6 to 12 litres per capita.
It's official – Australians love their vino. According to new research, the most consumed drink in the country is wine, and the vast majority of those drinking it are female.
The percentage of Australians who drink alcohol on a daily basis decreased significantly from 6% in 2016 to 5.4% in 2019.
"While there are a number of variables, typically having a drink every night does not necessarily equate to alcohol use disorder, but it can increase the risk of developing alcohol-related health problems," Lawrence Weinstein, MD, Chief Medical Officer at American Addiction Centers tells WebMD Connect to Care.
According to an Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) triennial survey, the number of people who had ditched the drink rose from 1.5 million to 1.9 million between 2016 and 2019.
FARE chief executive Michael Thorn said one in five Australian children, or about a million each year, are harmed as a result of someone else's drinking.
Examining Alcoholism Statistics by Race
American Indian and Alaska Native: 14.9% Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 11.3% Hispanic: 8.6% Caucasian: 8.4%
The youngest legal drinking age in the world is 15, with both Mali and the Central African Republic allowing folks to drink at that time. Seven countries do not have a government-mandated drinking age, while 11 countries ban the consumption of booze entirely.
Legal drinking age – you must be 18 or older to buy alcohol or to drink alcohol in a licensed venue. Selling alcohol – it's illegal to sell alcohol to anyone under 18 or to someone who is already drunk.
Australia and drinks have had a close connection ever since ancient times. Some of the traditional drinks that shouts Australia and that one should definitely try are Root Beer, Blood Orange, Lemon Lime and Bitters, Peach, Guava Soda, and more.
Australia: An ABC News article published in 2018 described lemon, lime, and bitters (LLB) as "Australia's national drink". Lemon, lime, and bitters is a mixed drink made with (clear) lemonade, lime cordial, and Angostura bitters. The lemonade is sometimes substituted with soda water or lemon squash.