Today we will see the top drinking countries with the highest alcoholism rates in the world. You probably already have some ideas on what country has the highest rate of alcoholism, or at least which region based on some stereotypes. But let’s first see some facts before we confirm or deny that guesses.
Being a stereotype or not, the fact is that one of the regions of the world where alcoholism rates are the highest is Eastern Europe. The fact is that in the Eastern European countries the annual average is more than 12.5 liters of pure alcohol per capita! Alcoholism is a big issue globally. It is factor a for a wide range of diseases, which sometimes lead to deadly consequences, as you can see in 10 Countries with the Most Alcohol Related Deaths in the World. But there are numerous factors leading to alcoholism, those being stress, emotional instability, bad habits, and depression just to name some. Many of these factors can be related with jobs, there often having too much stress, and a lot of other problems, as you can read more here in 18 Professions with the Highest Alcoholism Rates in US.
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Let’s also see some interesting facts. You might have wondered which those countries that drink the most beer are. The Czech Republic and Germany must be somewhere at the top, since they are one of the most famous beer countries in the world, right? Yes, Czechs beat all others by beer consumption with around 142 liters per year per capita. But Germany (with 104.7 liters per capita) here stands only at the fourth place, having Seychelles and Austria ahead, with 114 and 104.8 liters per capita respectively.
So, Seychelles is second in the race, also having Namibia at the 5th place on beer consumption, but which are the top drinking countries in Africa in general? According to the data of World Health Organization and their Global status report on alcohol and health 2014, among the top are South Africa (11.0 liters per capita), Gabon (10.9), Namibia (10.8) and Nigeria (10.1). Even though not being among the top drinking countries with the highest alcoholism rates, these are some high figures you will agree.
Price is one of the matters that take part in higher rates of alcoholism as is the case in the most drinking countries with the highest alcoholism rates in the world. In the US, for example, one of the choices for the more “quality drinking” could be whiskey (so, therefore, there is a choice of the Best Bourbon for the Money: 10 Best bourbons under 50). But of course, some other socioeconomic conditions affect alcoholism rates are legal ages for alcohol consumption and different drinking guidelines in different countries for example.
So, how did we get to the making and ranking of the top drinking countries with the highest alcoholism rates in the world? As the most reliable source on the matter of alcoholism, we have consulted the World Health Organization. First, we have taken statistics about Global consumption by country. The data we have used was last updated in 2015, but comes from 2010. Why did we choose the data from this year, since it is not the freshest date? First, because the data is a compilation of three year data from 2008-2010 (so it shows rather a process than a state at a single point at a time), and the second reason is being that his year was the last year which had complete data for all countries. While this is the case, we have (apart from ranking according to the annual amount of pure alcohol consumption per capita in liters) also added current trend in alcoholism rate – increasing/decreasing according to newer available data (2010 onwards). But this parameter is only here to show the latest available data rather than being a comparison since it is showing the status from the single year. The information on the newest figures come from 2016 and represent alcohol per capita consumption from 2000 for each year.
So now when we have had our methodology explained, let’s see the top drinking countries with the highest alcoholism rates in the world.
15. Finland
Alcohol consumption per capita: 12.3l
Current status: decreasing (8.8 in 2014)
Finland is country of huge wealth nowadays, the best education system in the world, and generally a great country to live in, but it is also among the countries with the highest alcoholism rates in the world. Around 1.5 million Finns are affected by alcohol abuse, and it is predominantly seen in the female part of the population.
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14. Poland
Alcohol consumption per capita: 12.5l
Current status: decreasing (10.71 in 2014)
The rise in alcohol consumption in Poland has risen about 30% from 2001 to 2012, which is a reverse trend compared to the most of the other European Union countries. One of the reasons for that are surely very low alcohol prices and widespread availability in stores.
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13. Serbia
Alcohol consumption per capita: 12.6l
Current status: decreasing (9.09 in 2014)
Low prices, age drinking limits that are often not being respected by vendors and wide availability of alcohol makes Serbia among the top drinking countries in the region and among countries with the highest alcoholism rates in the world. But even if the regulations were respected, there is a tradition in Serbia of home-making and storing huge amounts of alcohol, predominantly rakija.
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12. Portugal
Alcohol consumption per capita: 12.9l
Current status: decreasing (9.88 in 2014)
Although alcoholism rates in Portugal have dropped a lot since 15 years ago (having reached the record of 14.21 liters of alcohol per capita in 2003, to 13.11 in 2006, to 12.25 in 2010 and so on…) it remains one of the top drinking countries with the highest alcoholism rates in the world. And, of course, you have guessed, Portuguese drink the most wine (55%), followed by beer and spirits.
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11. Slovakia
Alcohol consumption per capita: 13l
Current status: decreasing (10.6 in 2014)
Some of the reasons why drinking alcohol too much is spread in Slovakia could be the cheap prices (and taxes), and easy availability of alcoholic drinks. Also, as in Serbia, the tradition of home-made alcohol is widespread here as well.
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10. The Czech Republic
Alcohol consumption per capita: 13l
Current status: decreasing (12.68 in 2014)
Apart from being the country that drinks the most beer in the world, the Czech Republic is also among the top drinking countries with the highest alcoholism rates in the world. Apart from beer, which represents 54% of all alcohol consumed, Czechs also drink a lot of wine (26% of all alcoholic beverages).
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9. Hungary
Alcohol consumption per capita: 13.3l
Current status: decreasing (10.8 in 2013)
Alcoholism rate in Hungary compared to the rest of the European Union is as much as three times more. The percentage of the most consumed drinks is almost equal for the top three (around 30% each): beer, wine, and spirits.
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8. Andorra
Alcohol consumption per capita: 13.3l
Current status: decreasing (9.98 in 2013)
A small country and a big issue make Andorra among the top drinking countries with the highest alcoholism rates in the world. The Andorrans drink the most wine, followed by beer and spirits.
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7. Estonia
Alcohol consumption per capita: 13.3l
Current status: N/A (14.97 in single year, 2010)
Estonia has a big drinking problem. Some data showed that alcoholism rate has risen by 60% on the period from 1992-2012. Also, alcohol-related deaths in Estonia represent 21.4 of all death causes.
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6. Ukraine
Alcohol consumption per capita: 13.9l
Current status: decreasing (8.06 in 2014)
And here we go, yet another Eastern European representative of the top drinking countries with the highest alcoholism rates in the world. Stereotype or not? Well, according to data, Ukraine does have a huge amount of heavy drinkers, but there are also some other opinions.
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5. Romania
Alcohol consumption per capita: 14.4l
Current status: decreasing (9.59 in 2013)
In Romania, it seems that the favorite drink is beer since it represents the 50% of all alcohol recorded per capita, followed by wine (29%) and spirits (21%).
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4. Russia
Alcohol consumption per capita: 15.1l
Current status: decreasing (10.12 in 2014)
Vodka. The word always related to Russia. But, according to some fun facts, vodka is not a Russian invention at all, it was brought by the Genovese, but later modifications of the drink have made what vodka is today (and nothing like the Genovese “aqua vita”). Nevertheless, with these figures, Russia remains one of the countries with the highest alcoholism rates in the world.
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3. Lithuania
Alcohol consumption per capita: 15.4l
Current status: decreasing (15.19 in 2014)
What is one of the drinking countries with the highest alcoholism rates in the world drinking the most? According to World Health Organization, Lithuanians drink the most beer, 46%, followed by spirits, 34%, wine, 8%, and other alcohol with 12%.
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2. The Republic of Moldova
Alcohol consumption per capita: 16.8l
Current status: decreasing (9.99 in 2014)
Living in one of the poorest countries in Europe, constantly under political and economic pressures is probably what makes Moldovans drink among the most in Europe and the world in general. Although generally belonging to the “vodka-drinking region” Moldovans drink more wine than vodka.
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1. Belarus
Alcohol consumption per capita: 17.5
Current status: decreasing (13.94 in 2014)
As expected, the number one on our list of top drinking countries with the highest alcoholism rates in the world is yet another Eastern European country. As much as 2 percent of the country is diagnosed as alcoholic. Some of the measures taken by the government lately were rising drinking age from 18 to 21 and prohibition of selling alcohol during the specific hour.
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