Risky alcohol consumption in Australia However, the risky drinking rate varies dramatically across the country. Local government areas in Western Australia's (WA) beachside are consuming the most alcohol, with rates almost double the national average.
Queenslanders appear to be the nation's biggest beer drinkers, with South Australians drinking the least.
Gnowangerup has been crowned the booziest town in Australia, with one-third of its adult residents necking two or more alcoholic drinks every day.
Australians aged 18-24 years generally consume more standard drinks on a day they drink than any other age group. Those aged 70+ years are most likely to have 2 or less standard drinks per occasion.
Unsurprisingly, the most densely populated states in the U.S. consume the most alcohol by volume. California leads the pack with 85.7 million gallons consumed in 2020. Texas, Florida, New York, and Illinois round out the remainder of the top five. Conversely, Wyoming, Alaska, and South Dakota consume the least.
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. Australian annual alcohol consumption was fifth highest among the selected countries at 9.5 litres capita.
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.
Who drinks alcohol in Australia? Around 77% of adults drink alcohol. 23% do not drink alcohol. The proportion of the population aged 14 and over who consumed alcohol daily declined significantly between 2016 (6.0%) and 2019 (5.4%) (AIHW 2020, Table 3.1).
Fridays and Saturdays are big drinking days and the warmer months are peak times for alcohol-related harms in Melbourne.
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.
“Ballarat has a renowned history as being a pub town – in 1870 boasting over 500 pubs in the district as a result of the Gold Rush. “It is also well known for the brew “Ballarat Bertie” which unfortunately is only made now in special batches.
Melbourne officially has Australia's best tasting tap water | Melbourne Water.
Approximately 84 per cent of Australians drink alcohol at least once in a 12-month period, compared to 83.9 per cent in the UK and 68.9 per cent in the US.
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.
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.
There are more than 42 million incidents of binge drinking each year. Each month 20.4% of Australians consume alcohol at high risk levels.
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.
In 2019, the top 10 European countries with the highest alcohol consumption per capita were Czechia (14.3 litres), Latvia (13.2), Moldova (12.9), Germany (12.8), Lithuania (12.8), Ireland (12.7), Spain (12.7), Bulgaria (12.5), Luxembourg (12.4), and Romania (12.3).
The most sober state in the country is Utah, where 11.9% of the population report drinking excessively. Oklahoma was 49th with 14.5%. Alabama ranked as the 48th most sober state with 14.8% of adults reporting drinking excessively.
American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN) tend to abuse substances more than other racial demographics, and also suffer from more mental health concerns than the general American population.
The cities with the highest excessive drinking rates are concentrated in the Midwest, while those with the lowest rates are mostly in southern states.
Andre the Giant. No one in recorded history could drink as much as Andre. The pro wrestler – who stood 7'5″ and weighed over 500 pounds – routinely shocked friends and spectators with his insane tolerance for alcohol.