The Countries That Drink the Hardest

The average day of drinking around most of the world involves about two drinks -- but in some countries, people drink a lot more. See how the U.S. ranks.
By Samanda Dorger ,

Do you know how much you drink in a year? Do you want to know? For the average citizen of Moldova, the answer equates to about 836 12-ounce beers a year -- about 16 a week. Although lower than past years, the Eastern European country has the distinction of consuming the most alcohol per capita.

The average daily consumption of alcohol around the world is about two glasses of wine, two bottles of beer or two shots of liquor, according to the World Health Organization, and more than 3 million people died as a result of harmful use of alcohol in 2016. Men generally consume more than women. 

Using the WHO data downloaded from Our World in Data, these are the countries that drink the hardest. The amount of alcohol is measured in annual consumption of pure alcohol. One liter of pure alcohol is equivalent to about 55 12-ounce cans of beer or 11 bottles of wine, or 2.5 bottles of liquor. The global average in liters of pure alcohol is about .33 liter.

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