Adults in Europe Consume On Average 9.2 Litres of Pure Alcohol Every Year

There has been little or no progress on reducing alcohol consumption and harms in Europe, according to the World Health Organization. Based on the latest available data from 2019, the WHO European Region, covering 53 Member States across Europe and Central Asia, has the unfortunate distinction of consuming the highest amount of alcohol per capita in the world.  

"When we look at the latest global status report on alcohol and health and treatment of substance use disorders, one of the WHO Regions stands out," said Dr Gauden Galea, Special Adviser to the WHO Regional Director for Europe on NCDs and Innovation. "The European Region continues to hold the unenviable record of having the highest levels of alcohol consumption and related harms worldwide, as well as the lowest number of abstainers. The harms from alcohol can be devastating to health and wellbeing and reach far beyond the person drinking to include domestic violence, injuries, accidents, family break-ups, and mental health. Countries need to make a strong push towards implementing the policies we know are effective in reducing alcohol consumption." 

How much alcohol is the WHO European Region drinking?

According to the latest globally comparable data, men in the European Region consumed almost 4 times more alcohol (14.9 litres) than women (4.0 litres) per year. There were more than 470 million current drinkers (people who consumed alcohol in the past 12 months) in the WHO European Region in 2019, with an average of 2 out of every 3 adults consuming alcohol. One in every 10 adults (11%) in the Region are estimated to have an alcohol use disorder, and almost one in every 20 live with alcohol dependence (5.9%).

Despite these alarming statistics,...