Entire odes have been written to alcohol over the centuries, gods have been dedicated to it, and rivers of wine and beer and so on have been drunk, but nowadays you have to be in these 11 worst countries for binge drinking to get a feel about how much people love alcohol.
Let’s set down some things from the start, so we’re all on the same page – drinking a glass here, a glass there is perfectly fine, and some would say, even medically advisable. Drinking until you pass out, however, is not always the best idea. It’s not only the effects drinking has on your body, but also that darn hangover you have to nurse the day after.
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But then again, drinking alcohol in excessive quantities is something most people go through at one point or another. Excluding alcoholism, which can happen at any age, it’s mostly young people who tend to go overboard while out and about as they try to learn their limits or simply have a little too much fun. One thing that can put a damper on people’s drinking habits is the price of the drinks while another is the age limit.
Since we’re talking about traveling, in a way, you might be interested in reading about these 11 worst cities for bedbug in America so you can avoid them, or, at the very least, be more attentive in.
For this particular list, we took into consideration the latest report from the World Health Organization regarding alcohol consumption in adults over 15 years in liters per capita. Just so we’re clear, the average per globe was 6.2 liters, so you can compare the number better. With very little surprise, all the top countries can be found in old Europe, which means that the age limits are mostly related to purchasing alcohol, not drinking it. Without further ado, here are the 11 worst countries for binge drinking.
11. Portugal
Average – 12.9 liters per individual
Legal age – 18 years for spirits, none for beer and wine
Binge drinking prevalence – 20.4% out of the entire population, 35.8% out of drinkers
Living in such a beautiful country may drive you to party a bit too much. Despite the high amount of alcohol consumed by citizens on average, Portugal’s death rate due to alcohol is quite low, namely 1 in every 100,000 deaths, according to World Life Expectancy.
It seems that in Portugal, the most popular type of alcohol is wine, with 55.5% of individuals choosing it over the others. Then, beer seems to be the most popular choice, with 30.8%, while nearly 11% will go with various spirits.
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10. Slovakia
Average – 13 liters per individual
Legal age – 18 years
Binge drinking prevalence – 28.6% out of the entire population, 43.4% out of drinkers
Perhaps it’s the slightly lower temperatures over in Slovakia, but the fellows here sure love their spirits. In fact, 46.2% would pick those over other types of drinks. Next up is beer, with 30.1% and wine with 18.3% of people choosing this type of libation.
Slovakia’s numbers when it comes to deaths caused by alcohol aren’t all that great, the country ranking 42nd in the world with 2.73 deaths for every 100,000, which is a sad number. Hopefully, in the years to come, things will be a bit better, and the numbers will drop both in alcohol consumption and in the number of fatalities.
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9. Czech Republic
Average – 13 liters
Legal age – 18 years; it is illegal to give alcohol to minors, although consumption isn’t prohibited by law.
Binge drinking prevalence – 38.9% out of the entire population, 43.6% out of drinkers
It looks like the citizens of the Czech Republic are more fond of beer than any other type of beverages, with 53.5% choosing it. Then, 26% would rather drink spirits while 20.5% like wine best. Over 36% of accidents caused by men are alcohol-related while only 15% of the accidents caused by women can be attributed to the same cause.
One worrisome detail is the fact that the country has no systems set in place to monitor the health of its people when it comes to drinking, nor do they know much about the social consequences of this phenomenon.
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8. Hungary
Average – 13.3 liters
Legal age – 18 years
Binge drinking prevalence – 26.3% out of the entire population, 32.3% out of drinkers
Hungarians find it hard to decide whether they like beer or spirits better, it seems, as WHO data reveals that similar fractions of the populations prefer both these drinks. Furthermore, 29.4%, slightly less than for the other two types of drinks, would choose wine at any hour over the others.
When it comes to binge drinking, it seems that more than half the males over 15 years old that are declared drinkers do so frequently. To make things clear, the World Health Organization considers binge drinking when one individual consumes at least 60 grams of pure alcohol on at least one occasion in the past month, which is, to say the least, a lot. The only reason why the numbers aren’t so high overall is the fact that a lot more women avoid getting heavily drunk, with only 13.2% of declared drinkers having one too many.
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7. Andorra
Average -13.8 liters
Legal age – 18 years
Binge drinking prevalence – 3.8% out of the entire population, 5.6% out of drinkers
Andorra isn’t like many of its neighbors when it comes to drinking. Despite the fact that the locals drink some 13.8 liters of alcohol per year, a drop from the 19.4 liters they used to indulge in back in 2005, they’re doing it responsibly.
How does that go? Well, binge drinking is not that common, with only 3.8% of the population consuming heavily in the past 30 days, and 5.6% of declared drinkers. Given these numbers, they either knew WHO was doing the math, or they’re really not that big of a fan of drinking heavily. Perhaps they prefer enjoying it all at a steady pace, which would explain the 45.3% of the population picking wine as its favorite. Beer is the next favorite, followed by spirits.
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6. Ukraine
Average – 13.9 liters
Legal age – 18
Binge drinking prevalence – 22.6% out of the entire population, 33% out of drinkers
For many years now, the social and political climate in Ukraine hasn’t been exactly perfect, which has reverberated onto the population, pushing the alcohol consumption levels up.
When it comes to picking out their poison, Ukrainians choose spirits in heavy percentages, followed by beer. Wine is only preferred by 9% of the population. Binge drinking is something locals often engage in, with 22.6 percent of the population declaring they had, at least, an episode of heavy drinking in the past month, and 33% of the declared drinkers.
Sadly, nearly half of the road traffic accidents can be attributed to alcohol indulgence, both for male and female drivers.
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5. Romania
Average – 14.4 liters
Legal age – 18
Binge drinking prevalence – 7.5% out of the entire population, 11.1% out of drinkers
For a country that makes so much wine, it’s a bit of a surprise that Romanians actually prefer beer over other types of beverages, but that’s probably due to the lower price than anything else. After all, 50% of all those asked by WHO have picked beer as their go-to drink, while 28.9% have chosen wine, and 21.1% went with stronger spirits.
A good portion of the accidents taking place on Romanian roads is caused by drunk driving while nearly 78% of liver cirrhosis cases in men are caused by alcohol consumption.
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4. Russia
Average – 15.1 liters
Legal age – 18
Binge drinking prevalence – 19.1% out of the entire population, 28.2% out of drinkers
Russia is a really large country and in most areas it’s really cold. Since there’s a saying about alcohol warming you up, that must be the reason why the median alcohol consumption in the country rises up to 15.1 liters.
Unsurprising, 51% of Russians prefer spirits to other types of beverages, most likely the local vodka brands. 37.6 % would go with beer, and only 11.4% would rather have a glass of wine. When it comes to indulging in more than usual, over 28% of declared drinkers have come clean about having one too many in the recent past.
Now, if you’ve seen one YouTube video of Russian drivers, then you’ll understand that they’re even worse when they’ve had a glass or two. Nearly half of all road traffic accidents take place because of alcohol consumption, which makes for a very sad statistic.
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3. Lithuania
Average – 15.4 liters
Legal Age – 18
Binge drinking prevalence – 36.6% out of the entire population, 56.1% out of drinkers
Not only are Lithuanian people drinking heavily, but they’re also prone to do it quite often is seems, given the binge drinking prevalence numbers. When it comes to picking out their favorite poison, Lithuanians prefer beer and spirits over wine, which only got picked by under 8% of people.
Similarly to Russia, nearly half of all road accidents have alcohol at the root, which is quite worrisome.
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2. Moldova
Average – 16.8 liters
Legal age – 18
Binge drinking prevalence – 32.2% out of the entire population, 48.6% out of drinkers
Moldova is one of the few countries where the unrecorded consumption exceeds the recorded one, meaning that illicit alcohol is more popular than the government sanctioned types. When it comes to preferences, Moldavians prefer spirits, with 64.5% of people choosing them over other beverages. Then, over 30% chose beer and only a little over 5% picked out wine as their go-to drink.
Sadly, nearly half the road accidents taking place in the country can be linked to alcohol consumption.
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1. Belarus
Average – 17.5 liters
Legal age – 18
Binge drinking prevalence – 25.9% out of the entire population, 32.7% out of drinkers
And we’ve finally reached the country with the highest alcohol consumption among adults over the age of 15, with 17.5 liters per individual. What do the world’s largest drinkers prefer? Well, spirits apparently, with nearly half of people choosing it. Surprisingly, the next in this ranking is the “Other” category, which includes the likes of cider, rice wine and so on. Beer and wine come next with sensibly lower percentages.
Binge drinking is quite common in Belarus and more than half the country’s road accidents happen because of alcohol consumption, despite it being illegal to drink and drive. Either way, Belarus is at the top of the list of the 11 worst countries for binge drinking.
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