Which countries drink the most in the world? Many countries are stereotyped as being big drinkers, such as the UK, Ireland, Finland and Australia, but is the stereotype true?
To read about the drinking culture in North Korea click here.
The Street Food Guy went to which countries drink the most in the world, per capita obviously! This is not about size, otherwise China would win, after all they have biggest selling beer in the world.
Which countries drink the most in the world? – 10 biggest global drinkers
For this article we will start at 10 then work our way back! There will also be a bonus round!
Note this is World Health Organization data from 2016 and is about alcohol, which will make a lot of sense when you see who is on the list! I will write about the biggest beer drinkers in the world later.
I have also only not been to 3 countries on this list!
Who are the 10 biggest drinking country in the world? It is Bulgaria!
Having lived here I am not all that surprised here! A liter of vodka is like $5 and rakia even less, although nowhere near what you get in Serbia – quality or quantity wise.
You can read about Albania rakia here.
Very cool bar, restaurant drinking scene. I remember once starting on the Bloody Mary’s at 6 am, but that is a whole other story.
Which country drinks the 9th most of alcohol? It is Latvia
Another place I have visited. They like beer, have their own weird version of Jager and as a former republic of the Soviet Union they drink a fair bit of Vodka. Not the only Baltic state on the list.
Which country drinks the 8th most amount of booze in the world? It is Moldova!
This one surprised me somewhat although I guess it should not, vodka is literally $2 a bottle, at least in Tiraspol which I assume they include as part of Moldova. I also previously lived in Tiraspol and did drink a fair bit.
To read about when I lived in Transnistria click here.
Oh they also have the biggest underground winery in the world, as well as making their own champagne and brandy. I’m surprised I was surprised!
And the 7th biggest drinker sin the world are? Ireland!
It’s the good old Irish! One of only two I expected to see on the list. Good whisky and Guinness pretty much sum-up this nation.
We also almost purchased an Island in Ireland, which you can read about here.
Who are the 6th biggest drinking country in the world? It is Nigeria
Ironically another country where Guinness is a huge deal, although they drink the bottled export version very popular also in the Caribbean. Making 7th when a sizable portion of your hungry has Islamic terrorists is no mean feat. I have no photos of Nigeria, so have included a picture of me in Eritrea! Nigeria is the only African country in the top 10.
Alas a country I have yet to visit, or indeed drink in.
And the 5th biggest drinking country on the planet? Germany
Germans make bloody good beer and they invented Octoberfest. It should not be that much of a surprise, its also cheap by EU standards. I have drank a few times in the country and it has always been fun.
That they manage to be such a successful country too is no mean feat and hardly any beer bellies!
Who are the fourth biggest drinking country in the world? It is the Seychelles
I’ve never been, sadly, nor do I know anything about their drinking culture. They Seychelles is very much on my to do list. They are also a place you get your drink on, at least going by the statistics.
Who are the third biggest drinkers in the world? The Czech Republic
I have been here a few times, but never go into the drinks much. I did though have a friend who worked here that said the drinking culture was insane. Beer is called liquid bread and even teachers knock back pints at lunch time.
You can visit here on the Eurasian Adventure Tour.
And the runner up? South Korea
Koreans of both sides of the divide drink a lot and Jinro Soju is the best selling liquor brand in the world.
To read about why you should drink Soju click here.
They also love Kimchi which means you get to see Kimchi flowers! This is when people puke after a night on the soju.
Which countries drink the most in the world – The umber 1 spot goes to Lithuania
I have been very briefly, but did not stay long. Another place where vodka flows freely, but a real shock they come above Finland and Estonia (who don’t even make the top ten).
People on average drink 15 liters a year, again no mean feat!
Which countries drink the most in the world – where did other countries finish?
France came in at 11th, so are still good drinkers. Russia managed a paltry 17th, although again many in the country are Muslim and even dry. I am sure if Moscow was counted by itself it would score highly.
Estonia only managed 19th, really letting the side down for the Baltic states, while the UK got just 24th. We are obviously not the louts people think we are.
Serbia came in 29th, again a big surprise for me, rakia literally being a religion here, while Australia came 35th, one place below New Zealand. Perhaps they export all their boozers to other countries. Really who has not met a drunk Aussie?
Cuba came in at 97th, another amazing thing when you think of who good their booze and cocktails are.
Another one close to my heart North Korea managed just 122nd, but again I am not sure they had all the data on this.
To read about drinks you can get in North Korea click here.
Another two shockers at 89 and 90 were Cambodia and the Philippines, both of which have drinking cultures. Also the top selling Brandy and Rum in the world namely Tanduay. Again another country with a sizable Islamic community, so one wonders what Luzon alone would like for example.
The bottom of the list is also exclusively Islamic countries, but there is one curveball, Kiribati another nation I have spent a lot of time in. They drink here have bars and a “scene”. They are also though more into Kava, so they might explain things.
To read about Kava click here.
Which countries drink the most in the world? – 10 biggest global drinkers and a few surprises
So, there you have it! Another article dealing with answers to useless questions! Thank you WHO!
