Global Comparisons

In 2020, 78% of all UK adults (aged 15+) had consumed alcohol at least once in the previous 12 months. 

• Cyprus and Bulgaria reported the lowest proportion of drinkers (both 66%) in the European Union (including Norway, Iceland and Switzerland) while Luxembourg reported the highest proportion of drinkers (84%).
  
  
• Of the non-European nations, Canada reported the lowest proportion of drinkers (69%) followed by USA (71%), New Zealand (80%) and Australia (81%). 
  
  
• Greece recorded the largest decline in the proportion of drinkers between 2010 and 2020 (from 75% to 69%) while Malta recorded the largest increase (from 74% to 77%).
  
  
• The proportion of drinkers in the UK remained stable between 2010 and 2020 (approx. 78%). 

Source: World Health Organisation (WHO)

In 2020, 22% of all UK adults (aged 15+) reported never drinking alcohol in the previous 12 months. 

• Cyprus and Bulgaria reported the highest proportion of non-drinkers (both 34%) in the European Union (including Norway, Iceland and Switzerland) while Luxembourg reported the lowest proportion of non-drinkers (16%).
  
  
• Of the non-European nations, Canada reported the highest proportion of non-drinkers (31%) followed by USA (29%), New Zealand (20%) and Australia (19%). 
  
  
• Greece recorded the largest increase in the proportion of non-drinkers between 2010 and 2020 (from 25% to 31%) while Malta recorded the largest decline (from 26% to 23%).
  
  
• The proportion of non-drinkers in the UK remained stable between 2010 and 2020 (approx. 22%). 

Source: World Health Organisation (WHO)

In 2020, alcohol consumption per capita (i.e. litres of pure alcohol per person [15+ years] per year) in the UK was 10.7 litres – equivalent to around 21 units of alcohol per week.

• Greece reported the lowest alcohol consumption per capita (5.8 litres) in the European Union (including Norway, Iceland and Switzerland) while Romania reported the highest alcohol consumption per capita (16.8 litres). 
  
  
• Of the non-European nations, Australia reported the highest alcohol consumption per capita (10.3 litres) followed by New Zealand (10.0 litres), USA (9.9 litres) and Canada (9.9 litres). 
  
  
• Greece recorded the largest decline in alcohol consumption per capita between 2010 and 2020 (from 8.7 litres to 5.8 litres) while Latvia recorded the largest increase (from 11.0 litres to 12.9 litres).
  
  
• In the UK, alcohol consumption per capita declined between 2010 and 2020 from 11.0 litres to 10.7 litres.

Source: World Health Organisation (WHO)

In 2020, 33% of the UK population (15+ years) reported heavy episodic drinking (consuming 60g of pure alcohol or more) at least once in the past 30 days. 

• Luxembourg reported the highest prevalence of heavy episodic drinking in the European Union (including Norway, Iceland and Switzerland) while Bulgaria reported the lowest (48% and 23% respectively).
  
  
• Of the non-European countries, New Zealand reported the highest prevalence of heavy episodic drinking (41%) followed by Australia (39%), USA (33%) and Canada (28%). 
  
  
• Greece recorded the largest decline in the prevalence of heavy episodic drinking between 2010 and 2020 (from 31% to 26%) while Latvia and Luxembourg recorded the largest increase (from 29% to 31% and 45% to 48% respectively).
  
  
• In the UK, the prevalence of heavy episodic drinking remained relatively stable between 2010 and 2020 (approx. 33-34%).

Source: World Health Organisation (WHO)

In 2020, the average amount of pure alcohol consumed from beer per capita (i.e. litres of pure alcohol per person [15+ years] per year) was 3.1 litres in the UK – equivalent to around 6 units of beer per week.

• Czechia consumed the largest amount of pure alcohol from beer in the European Union (including Norway, Iceland and Switzerland) at 6.3 litres per capita while Greece consumed the lowest amount (1.7 litres).
  
  
• Of the non-European countries, USA consumed the largest amount of pure alcohol from beer (4.0 litres per capita) followed by Australia (3.7 litres), Canada (3.4 litres) and New Zealand (3.3 litres). 
  
  
• Cyprus recorded the largest decline in the amount of pure alcohol consumed from beer between 2010 and 2020 (from 3.1 litres per capita to 1.8 litres) while Italy recorded the largest increase (from 1.6 litres to 1.8 litres).
  
  
• In the UK, the amount of pure alcohol consumed from beer declined between 2010 and 2020 from 3.7 litres per capita to 3.1 litres. 

Source: World Health Organisation (WHO)

In 2020, the average amount of pure alcohol consumed from wine per capita (i.e. litres of pure alcohol per person [15+ years] per year) was 3.6 litres in the UK – equivalent to around 7 units of wine per week.

• France consumed the largest amount of pure alcohol  from wine in the European Union (including Norway, Iceland and Switzerland) at 5.6 litres per capita while Poland consumed the lowest amount (0.9 litres).
  
  
• Of the non-European countries, Australia consumed the largest amount of pure alcohol from wine (3.7 litres per capita) followed by New Zealand (3.0 litres), Canada (2.0 litres) and USA (1.7 litres). 
  
  
• Croatia recorded the largest decline in the amount of pure alcohol consumed from wine between 2010 and 2020 (from 4.9 litres per capita to 3.0 litres) while Latvia recorded the largest increase (from 1.1 litres to 1.6 litres).
  
  
• In the UK, the amount of pure alcohol consumed from wine increased between 2010 and 2020 from 3.2 litres per capita to 3.6 litres. 

Source: World Health Organisation (WHO)

In 2020, the average amount of pure alcohol consumed from spirits per capita (i.e. litres of pure alcohol per person [15+ years] per year) was 2.6 litres in the UK – equivalent to around 5 units of spirits per week. 

• Latvia consumed the largest amount of pure alcohol from spirits in the European Union (including Norway, Iceland and Switzerland) at 5.7 litres per capita while Italy consumed the lowest amount (0.5 litres).
  
  
• Of the non-European countries, USA consumed the largest amount of pure alcohol from spirits (3.6 litres per capita) followed by Canada (2.2 litres), New Zealand (1.7 litres) and Australia (1.5 litres). 
  
  
• Latvia recorded the largest increase in the amount of pure alcohol consumed from spirits between 2010 and 2020 (from 3.7 litres per capita to 5.7 litres) while Greece recorded the largest decline (from 1.9 litres to 1.1 litres).
  
  
• In the UK, the amount of pure alcohol consumed from spirits increased between 2010 and 2020 from 2.1 litres per capita to 2.6 litres. 

Source: World Health Organisation (WHO)

In 2021, the age-standardised death rate from alcohol use disorders (AUDs) was 1.6 deaths per 100,000 people in the UK. 

• Poland recorded the highest death rate from AUDs (8.9 per 100k) in the European Union (including Norway, Iceland and Switzerland) while Italy recorded the lowest (0.3 per 100k). 
  
  
• Of the non-European countries, USA recorded the highest death rate from AUDs (3.9 per 100k) followed by Canada (2.5 per 100k), Australia (1.2 per 100k) and New Zealand (0.7 per 100k). 

Source: Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study

In 2021, the age-standardised rate of Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) from alcohol use disorders (AUDs) was 354.0 per 100,000 people in the UK. 

• Poland recorded the highest rate of DALYs from AUDs (647.6 per 100k) in the European Union (including Norway, Iceland and Switzerland) while Greece recorded the lowest (166.0 per 100k).
  
  
• Of the non-European countries, USA recorded the highest rate of DALYs from AUDs (367.1 per 100k) followed by New Zealand (356.2 per 100k), Canada (270.4 per 100k) and Australia (224.9 per 100k). 

Source: Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study

In 2022, England had the highest proportion of 11 and 13-year-olds who reported drinking an alcoholic drink in their lifetime globally. 

• 34% of 11-year old girls and 35% of 11-year-old boys in England reported drinking an alcoholic drink in their lifetime compared to 12% and 18% among the global average.
  
  
• 57% of 13-year-old girls and 50% of 13-year-old boys in England had consumed an alcoholic drink in their lifetime compared to 32% and 32% among the global average.
  
  
• Denmark had the highest proportion of 15-year-old girls and 15-year-old boys who had consumed an alcoholic drink in their lifetime (84% and 83% respectively) compared to the 58% and 55% among the global average.
  
  
• In England, 74% of 15-year-old girls and 65% of 15-year-old boys had consumed an alcoholic drink in their lifetime. 

Source: Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) Study