I recently wrote an article on the global entertainment industry. It documented that the world spends more on drinking, entertainment drugs, and prostitution than any other forms of entertainment.

This article focuses on global and local (US) drinking patterns. In particular, it presents data on the per capita consumption of beer, wine, spirits, and alcohol. In the Global section, beer data come from the Beer Handbook of the Beverage Information Group. Wine and spirit data come from the IWSR database. In the Local (US) section, all data are from Beverage Information Group. In both sections, total alcohol data are generated assuming conversion ratios of 5%, 11%, and 45% for beer, wine and spirits, respectively.

 Global

 When drinking is examined on a country-by-country basis, several interesting patterns emerge. One set of countries simply drinks more than the others. And then there are the leading beer, wine, and spirits countries.

 a. Most Alcohol

Consider first overall drinking as measured by total alcohol consumed. While neither China nor the US drink much per capita, they are the leading consumers of alcohol because of their size. In contrast, as can be seen in the following table, Russia and South Korea get on the list because they do drink heavily. There is a significant positive correlation between per capita income and alcohol consumption, which makes the heavy drinking in the poorer countries even more impressive.

Total Consumption of Alcohol, by Country

	Per Capita	Total	Drinking
	Alcohol	Alcohol	Age
	Consumption	Consumption	Population
Country	(Liters)	(Mil. Liters)	(in millions)
China	4.3	5,637	1,303.7
United States	8.9	2,632	295.9
Russian Federation	16.0	2,296	143.2
Brazil	6.6	1,232	186.8
Japan	8.7	1,105	127.8
Germany	13.3	1,096	82.5
South Korea	19.1	931	48.8
France	11.2	683	60.9
United Kingdom	10.0	604	60.2
Spain	11.1	481	43.4

We turn now to the countries that consumed the most alcohol per capita (drinking age population). Of the top twenty countries in this total alcohol category, 12 are in the Eastern European/Russian region. The 10 leading countries are presented in the following table. It is notable that Ireland, a country with a reputation for drinking, consumes only 65% as much alcohol as South Korea.

Alcohol Consumption Per Capita

	Beer	Spirits	Wine	Total
	12 oz.	1.5 oz.	.75 liter	Alcohol
Country	Cans	Shots	Bottles	Liters
Top 50 Country Average	194.5	181.6	33.7	9.9
South Korea	104.6	832.6	6.9	19.1
Estonia	273.8	502.1	17.3	16.3
Russian Federation	229.0	549.9	12.0	16.0
Croatia	244.3	108.5	99.3	14.7
Czech Republic	463.7	206.5	21.7	14.2
Germany	336.0	151.2	52.2	13.3
Lithuania	236.2	352.9	17.6	12.7
Ireland	367.5	164.7	32.8	12.5
Slovenia	273.2	84.1	68.1	12.2
Slovak Republic	224.3	217.5	45.0	12.0

b. Most Spirits

Consider next spirits (Scotch, Whisky, Vodka, Gin, Rum, etc.). As with the total alcohol category, there is a large representation of heavy drinking from Eastern European countries. Scotch is a popular drink in non-Muslim Asia, and four Asian countries are included in the top twenty list. The ten leading spirits drinking countries are presented in the following table.

Spirits Consumption Per Capita

	Beer	Spirits	Wine	Total
	12 oz.	1.5 oz.	.75 liter	Alcohol
Country	Cans	Shots	Bottles	Liters
Top 50 Country Average	194.5	181.6	33.7	9.9
South Korea	104.6	832.6	6.9	19.1
Russian Federation	229.0	549.9	12.0	16.0
Estonia	273.8	502.1	17.3	16.3
Lithuania	236.2	352.9	17.6	12.7
Latvia	193.2	270.6	19.0	10.4
Haiti	NA	269.0	0.8	NA
Kazakhstan	76.2	264.8	8.5	7.3
Romania	187.2	264.4	39.1	11.8
Japan	139.2	258.8	12.2	8.7
Ukraine	175.6	257.8	9.9	9.1

The consumption of spirits in South Korea is truly remarkable. The data has been cross-checked and does appear to be accurate. They mean that the average South Korean adult has 2.25 shots of Scotch or other spirit daily. Heavy drinking of spirits explains South Korea’s position as the leader as measured by total alcohol consumed.

c. Most Beer

 While beer is a favored drink in a number of the heavy drinking countries, we also see countries such as Germany and Ireland that are known as beer loving countries on this list (see table below). The appearance of Venezuela is notable inasmuch as it is a low alcohol-consuming nation.

Beer Consumption Per Capita

	Beer	Spirits	Wine	Total
	12 oz.	1.5 oz.	.75 liter	Alcohol
Country	Cans	Shots	Bottles	Liters
Top 50 Country Average	194.5	181.6	33.7	9.9
Czech Republic	463.7	206.5	21.7	14.2
Ireland	367.5	164.7	32.8	12.5
Germany	336.0	151.2	52.2	13.3
Austria	299.2	94.8	56.9	11.9
Venezuela	282.0	116.2	4.3	7.7
Belgium-Luxembourg	281.8	96.5	47.3	10.8
Estonia	273.8	502.1	17.3	16.3
Slovenia	273.2	84.1	68.1	12.2
Macedonia	264.9	85.8	31.8	9.0
Poland	256.1	235.1	9.6	10.0

d. Most Wine

The top 20 wine consuming nations include six of the largest wine producers: France, Italy, Portugal, Spain Argentina, and Australia. The 10 largest per capita wine-drinking nations are presented in the following table.

Wine Consumption Per Capita

	Beer	Spirits	Wine	Total
	12 oz.	1.5 oz.	.75 liter	Alcohol
Country	Cans	Shots	Bottles	Liters
Top 50 Country Average	194.5	181.6	33.7	9.9
Croatia	244.3	108.5	99.3	14.7
France	90.3	154.5	79.2	11.2
Georgia	NA	156.4	78.4	9.6
Italy	86.9	NA	75.7	NA
Slovenia	273.2	84.1	68.1	12.2
Switzerland	162.8	88.2	65.6	10.1
Portugal	161.3	80.6	62.7	9.7
Austria	299.2	94.8	56.9	11.9
Argentina	109.3	NA	53.5	NA
Germany	336.0	151.2	52.2	13.3

 U.S. Drinking Patterns

According to IWSR data, the United States is not a heavy drinking country. It consumption of 8.9 liters of alcohol per capita means it ranks 36^th on the global list of countries. It also ranks 21^st on beer, 31^st on spirits, and only 44^th on wine.

Nevertheless, it is interesting to look at drinking pattern in the US, broken down both by states and other regions.

I. State Breakdowns

In the state listings that follow, the District of Columbia, Nevada, and New Hampshire are left out because visitors/out-of-state purchasers artificially inflate their data.

a. Most Alcohol

We start with the most alcohol consumed. As can be seen by the following table, Wyoming leads all states in total alcohol consumption. Delaware is a very close second. It is perhaps notable that with the exception of Louisiana and Florida, all states on this list have long, cold winters, as in Eastern Europe and Russia.

Most Alcohol – Annual, Per Capita

	Total
Area	Alcohol
	Liters
United States	10.16
Wyoming	14.77
Delaware	14.59
Wisconsin	13.34
North Dakota	13.01
Alaska	12.98
Montana	12.43
Louisiana	11.89
Colorado	11.77
Florida	11.74
Vermont	11.41

b. Most Beer

In terms of beer drinking, there is only one state (South Carolina) on the list that is east of the Mississippi River.

 Most Beer – Annual, Per Capita

	Beer
Area	12 oz.
	Cans
United States	312
Wyoming	504
North Dakota	419
Louisiana	413
Montana	408
Wisconsin	396
Texas	395
South Dakota	390
Mississippi	379
Nebraska	374
South Carolina	368

c. Most Wine

In the wine-drinking category, New England states (Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island) lead all others. And their consumption is actually higher because they buy from New Hampshire. The three Western wine producing states (California, Oregon, and Washington) are on this list.

Most Wine – Annual Per Capita

	Wine
Area	.75 Liter
	Bottle
United States	15
Massachusetts	26
Vermont	25
Delaware	25
Connecticut	23
New Jersey	23
California	23
Rhode Island	22
Hawaii	22
Washington	21
Oregon	21

 

d. Most Spirits

Wyoming, North Dakota, Montana, and Wisconsin appear on both the leading beer and spirits drinking state lists (none are on the leading wine list). Alaska was ranked 5^th on the per capita alcohol list. It is not on either the leading beer or wine list. But it is back for spirits. Delaware did not appear on the beer list, but it is on the wine a spirits list.

Most Spirits – Annual Per Capita

	Spirits
Area	1.5 oz.
	Shots
United States	171
Delaware	314
Alaska	271
Wisconsin	262
Wyoming	256
North Dakota	248
Minnesota	233
Colorado	225
Florida	222
New Jersey	210
Montana	203

 

II. Most Drinking by Region

It is also interesting to examine drinking patterns by US Regions. In the following table, the District of Columbia, Nevada, and New Hampshire are included. The states included in each region can be found in the Appendix. Overall, as measured by total alcohol consumed, the Mountain states drink the most, followed closely by New England. The Southwest leads in beer drinking, the Solid South. New England leads in wine consumed per capita. The West region that includes the large wine producing states is second on wine drinking.

Per Capita Consumption, by Region

	Beer	Spirits	Wine	Total	Population
Region	12 oz.	1.5 oz.	.75 liter	Alcohol	18 years
	Cans	Shots	Bottles	Liters	And over
United States	312	171	15	10.16	227,719,424
Mountain	337.79	215.59	15.87	11.54	9,630,242
New England	294.81	213.00	24.79	11.47	11,068,992
South Atlantic	318.34	184.09	15.26	10.52	31,411,968
Farm	333.24	186.73	9.58	10.37	10,718,553
Southwest	372.49	144.57	10.57	10.30	26,137,351
West	284.13	168.93	22.64	10.23	36,484,848
Midwest	328.13	169.60	12.76	10.20	39,486,115
Solid South	349.88	152.70	8.62	9.90	11,002,299
Mid-Atlantic	279.43	168.29	17.12	9.68	42,431,668
Bible Belt	289.58	129.58	7.26	8.27	9,347,388

III. Red and Blue Drinking

Politicians talk of Red and Blue states, with the former are Republican/Conservative and the latter are Democratic/Liberal. The following table indicates Blue states drink more wine, spirits, and overall, while the Red states are the beer drinkers.

Per Capita Consumption in Red and Blue States

	Beer	Spirits	Wine	Total	Population
Region	12 oz.	1.5 oz.	.75 liter	Alcohol	18 years
	Cans	Shots	Bottles	Liters	and over
United States	312	171	15	10.16	227,719,424
Blue	324	208	20	11.46	5,466,245
Red	338	165	10	10.08	3,423,882

APPENDIX

State – Region Groupings

Bible Belt - West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky

Mid-Atlantic – District of Columbia, Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New York

Solid South – Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas

Midwest – Wisconsin, Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana

West – Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, California

Southwest – New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma

Farm – North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas

South Atlantic – Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, North Carolina

New England – New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, Connecticut

Mountain – Nevada, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Idaho, Utah

Red and Blue Groupings

Blue – California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin

 Red – Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming