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.
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.
Vodka is native to Russia, even though there are lots of countries on Earth that make vodka, so it should come as no surprise that Russia consumes more vodka than any other country on Earth.
Primarily, they were Eastern and Central European countries, including #2 Latvia, #3 Czech Republic, #4 Lithuania, and #5 Austria. But the crown of alcohol consumption per capita goes to the Cook Islands, which leads the world with an annual per capita consumption of 13L (3.4 gallons) of alcohol.
The National Council for Science and Technology (Conacyt) reported that the world record for Coca Cola consumption is held by the state of Chiapas, in the south of the Mexican Republic.
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).
More than one in three people with East Asian heritage (Chinese, Japanese and Korean) experience facial flushing when drinking beer, wine or spirits. In Asian populations, it is due to an inherited deficiency in one of the enzymes involved in the breakdown of alcohol: aldehyde dehydrogenase.
However, Angola (except Luanda Province), Central African Republic, Comoros, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, and Togo have no laws on the books restricting the sale of alcohol to minors. In Libya, Somalia and Sudan the sale, production and consumption of alcohol is completely prohibited.
Australia has been named the world's “drunkest” country in an international survey.
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.
1. Finland — 12 kg/26 lbs — Finland is the world's biggest consumer of coffee on a per-person basis. The average Finn drinks nearly four cups a day. Coffee is so popular in Finland that two 10-minute coffee breaks are legally mandated for Finnish workers.
The United States consumes the largest volume of wine of any country, at 33 million hectoliters in 2021. At 25.2 million hectoliters, France was the second leading consumer of wine worldwide.
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.
Australia was above the OECD average for litres per capita of alcohol available for consumption by people aged 15 and over, at 9.5 compared with 8.4 litres per capita in 2021 (OECD 2022).
Drinking is arguably a big part of Australian culture. In Australia, it's strongly connected to social situations; you'll struggle to find a party or gathering that doesn't have alcohol in one form or another. It's common to go out for drinks to relax after work, or to celebrate over a toast with friends and family.
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.