Looking at the amount of alcohol consumed per person aged 15 years or older, the Seychelles is in first place with around 20.5 litres of alcohol drunk per person per year, according to Our World in Data; studies show that young male peer groups primarily drink high amounts of alcohol in the Seychelles.
Native Americans have the highest prevalence (12.1 percent) of heavy drinking (i.e., five or more drinks on the same occasion for 5 or more of the past 30 days; followed by Whites (8.3 percent) and Hispanics (6.1 percent).
The 2021 Global Drugs Survey, which accepts submissions via an anonymous online survey, found that Australians got drunk 26.7 times a year, far higher than the second-ranking country, Denmark, on 23.8 times. The global average for getting drunk was 14.6 times per year.
Key statistics
191.2 million litres of pure alcohol was available for consumption. This equates to 9.51 litres of pure alcohol available per person. 12.43 litres per person was consumed by the 77% of persons who consumed alcohol last year.
There is perhaps no religion that loves alcohol as much as the Japanese Shinto religion, which reveres sake as the most sacred of drinks—the “liquor of the gods.” The god of sake is also the god of rice and the harvest, so drinking sake is associated with a bountiful and blessed harvest.
The top 10 countries that consume the least alcohol across the WHO European Region are Tajikistan (0.9 litres), Azerbaijan (1.0), Turkey (1.8), Uzbekistan (2.6), Turkmenistan (3.1), Israel (4.4), Armenia (4.7), Kazakhstan (5.0), Albania (6.8), and North Macedonia (6.4).
In 2019, Mexico was the country with the highest carbonated soft drink consumption, namely over 630 8-ounce servings per capita per year. The United States stood in second place, with almost the same quantity, while Brazil, which ranked third, consumed less than half the soft drinks Mexicans drank that year.
Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Other Pacific Islander
Asian Americans tend to abuse substances and struggle with alcohol- and drug-related issues at very low rates, much lower than the national averages.
We observed ethnic, gender and age-specific differences in the alcohol consumption patterns. Asian respondents were consistently the least likely to engage in drinking behavior, and non-Hispanic white respondents the most likely.
Similarly, two studies using the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) found higher rates of self-reported DUI among Whites, with Blacks consistently reporting the lowest rates [9, 10]. In a trauma center sample, Blacks reported lower rates of drinking and driving when compared with whites [11].
The report ranks consumption volume by country and region. China tops the list, reporting over 38 million kiloliters (some 10 billion gallons) drank in 2021. That's a little over 20 percent of the global market share and more than a 5 percent increase year-over-year.
Turkey, the largest consumer of tea in the world, on per capita basis, consumes an average of 1,300 per person every year. As the demand for organic and sustainable tea products continues to rise, businesses have a significant opportunity to tap into this growing market trend.
Water is the world's most consumed drink, however, 97% of water on Earth is non-drinkable salt water.
Pakistan, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Mauritania, Libya, the Maldives, Iran, Kuwait, Brunei, and Bangladesh also have alcohol bans, as do some states in India (India is a Hindu-majority country but has a sizeable Muslim population).
Buddhism and Islam condemn alcohol because it induces a loss of self-control. In the Sunni tradition, “alcohol is the mother of all vices and it is the most shameful vice” (Sounan Ibn-Majah, Hadith 3371).
While the prohibition on alcohol in Islam is believed to be widely heeded, not all Muslims abstain from drinking. Some drink, whether privately or publicly. In a Pew Research Center survey of Muslims around the globe, most people surveyed said that drinking alcohol was morally wrong.
Jainism. In Jainism, no alcohol consumption of any kind is allowed, neither are there any exceptions like occasional or social drinking. The most important reason against alcohol consumption is the effect of alcohol on the mind and soul.
Australians have been named the heaviest drinkers in the world in a survey after spending more time drunk in 2020 than any other nation. The international survey found Australians drank to the point of drunkenness an average of 27 times a year, almost double the global average of 15.
Local government areas in Western Australia's (WA) beachside are consuming the most alcohol, with rates almost double the national average. Byron Shire Council in New South Wales (NSW) had the nation's highest rate of risky drinking, but some areas of NSW also had some of the lowest rates in the country.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics defines binge drinking as more than 7 drinks a night for men, and more than 5 for women. A newer definition of binge drinking, supported by the NHMRC Australian Alcohol Guidelines, is more than 4 standard drinks per night.