The Countries That Drink the Hardest
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.
1. Moldova
Annual alcohol consumption, liters per capita: 15.2
The former Soviet republic sits between Romania and Ukraine and has a population of about 2.7 million. For Moldovans, 15.2 liters of pure alcohol is about 836 12-oz beers a year -- about 16 a week -- or 126 liters of wine a year, or 38 liters of liquor a year. Pictured is Moldova's National Wine Festival in Chisinau, Moldava in 2018.
Photo: Stanislav71 / Shutterstock
2. Lithuania
Annual alcohol consumption, liters per capita: 15
Above, a vendor sells Lithuanian beer during a spring festival in Vilnius.
Photo: vilax / Shutterstock
3. Czech Republic
Annual alcohol consumption, liters per capita: 14.4
Above, people socialize in the square in Brno, Czech Republic.
Photo: MoLarjung / Shutterstock
4. Germany and Nigeria (tie)
Annual alcohol consumption, liters per capita: 13.4
Pictured is Octoberfest in Munich.
Photo: Anton_Ivanov / Shutterstock
5. Ireland and Luxembourg (tie)
Annual alcohol consumption, liters per capita: 13
Above, pints of stout are served at the Guinness Brewery in Dublin.
Photo: VanderWolf Images / Shutterstock
6. Latvia
Annual alcohol consumption, liters per capita: 12.9
Above, Latvians celebrate a midsummer festival.
Photo: Raimond Kalva / Shutterstock
7. Bulgaria
Annual alcohol consumption, liters per capita: 12.7
Pictured is grape harvest in Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
Photo: Ju1978 / Shutterstock
8. France, Romania, Slovenia (tie)
Annual alcohol consumption, liters per capita: 12.6
Above, a cafe in Paris.
Photo: Ramann / Shutterstock
9. Portugal
Annual alcohol consumption, liters per capita: 12.3
Shown here is the Rabelo Boat Regatta, organized by the Port Wine Brotherhood in Porto, Portugal.
Photo: Viana de Amorim / Shutterstock
10. Belgium
Annual alcohol consumption, liters per capita: 12.1
Photo: Kraft_Stoff / Shutterstock
11. Seychelles
Annual alcohol consumption, liters per capita: 12
Photo: Nella / Shutterstock
12. Russia
Annual alcohol consumption, liters per capita: 11.7
Pictured is the Vodka Museum in Moscow.
Photo: lucasinapiphotography / Shutterstock
13. Austria , Estonia and Poland (tie)
Annual alcohol consumption, liters per capita: 11.6
Above, people sit at a cafe in a popular market in Vienna, Austria.
Photo: Radiokafka / Shutterstock
14. Gabon, Slovakia and Switzerland (tie)
Annual alcohol consumption, liters per capita: 11.5
Above, a music festival in Piestany, Slovakia.
Photo: Ventura / Shutterstock.com
15. Hungary and United Kingdom (tie)
Annual alcohol consumption, liters per capita: 11.4
Above, tourists ride a rolling beer bar in Budapest, Hungary.
Photo: zeus1964 / Shutterstock
16. Andorra and Equatorial Guinea (tie)
Annual alcohol consumption, liters per capita: 11.3
Pictured is Andorra's capital, Andorra la Vella.
Photo: milosk50 / Shutterstock
17. Belarus
Annual alcohol consumption, liters per capita: 11.2
Photo: Shutterstock
18. Serbia
Annual alcohol consumption, liters per capita: 11.1
Pictured is Subotica, Serbia.
Photo: Shutterstock
19. Cyprus and Uruguay
Annual alcohol consumption, liters per capita: 10.8
Pictured is Montevideo, Uruguay.
Photo: M M Vieira / Shutterstock
20. Finland and New Zealand
Annual alcohol consumption, liters per capita: 10.7
Above, people dine at a long table at a feast in Helsinki, Finland.
Photo: Aleksandra Suzi / Shutterstock
21. Australia
Annual alcohol consumption, liters per capita: 10.6
Above, partyers at Mindil Beach in Darwin, Australia, during the Beer Can Regatta in 2018.
Photo: EA Given / Shutterstock
22. Denmark, Greece, and Laos
Annual alcohol consumption, liters per capita: 10.4
In Luang Prabang, Laos, people celebrate the new year.
Photo: Peter Stuckings / Shutterstock
23. South Korea
Annual alcohol consumption, liters per capita: 10.2
Photo: AsiaTravel / Shutterstock
24. Spain
Annual alcohol consumption, liters per capita: 10
Photo: Carlos Amarillo / Shutterstock
25. Saint Lucia and Swaziland
Annual alcohol consumption, liters per capita: 9.9
Pictured is Soufriere, Saint Lucia.
Photo: Shutterstock
26. U.S., Argentina, Georgia and Namibia
Annual alcohol consumption, liters per capita: 9.8
For Americans -- who drink about as much as Georgians and Namibians -- 9.8 liters of pure alcohol is about 539 12-ounce beers a year, or 10 a week. For wine drinkers, that's 108 liters a year and for liquor, that's 24.5 liters a year. Above, a rooftop bar in New York City.
Photo: Gregorio Koji / Shutterstock
27. Barbados
Annual alcohol consumption, liters per capita: 9.6
Photo: Shutterstock
28. Uganda
Annual alcohol consumption, liters per capita: 9.5
Photo: Andreas Marquardt / Shutterstock
29. Saint Kitts/Nevis and Tanzania
Annual alcohol consumption, liters per capita: 9.4
Pictured is Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis.
Photo: Shutterstock
30. Chile, Grenada, and South Africa
Annual alcohol consumption, liters per capita: 9.3
Some of the countries that drink the least include Somalia, Libya, Kuwait, Bangladesh, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt and Pakistan, all with an annual consumption of less than half a liter of pure alcohol per capita. Pictured is Santiago, Chile.
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