Alcohol consumption in the EU fell by 0.5 litres between 2010 and 2020. Bucking this trend, consumption increased in some countries.
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When it comes to drinking, lifestyle habits in Europe seem to have significantly changed people's relationship with alcohol for the better.
Although the World Health Organisation (WHO) warns that “no amount of alcohol consumption is safe for your health”, the amounts of alcohol we drink are still considerable.
Increased alcohol consumption significantly increases the risk of developing cancer, and health authorities are urging people to stop drinking alcohol or at least cut down on it.
But are we heeding these warnings?
While some people are adopting the “dry January” trend of not drinking alcohol in January, the figures suggest that a significant decline in alcohol consumption in Europe since the 2000s is already showing signs of slowing.
How has alcohol consumption changed across Europe over the past few decades? Which countries have the highest rates of decline and increase in alcohol consumption?
Total alcohol consumption is defined as the annual sales (liters) of pure alcohol per person aged 15 years and over. Alcoholic drinks are converted to pure alcohol. Data do not include unrecorded alcohol consumption, such as domestic and illegal production.
Alcohol consumption is gradually decreasing in the EU and the WHO European Region.
In the EU, total alcohol consumption per person aged 15 and over has fallen by 2.9 litres over the past 40 years, from 12.7 litres in 1980 to 9.8 litres in 2020. This represents a 23% decrease.
Consumption fell significantly between 1980 (12.7 liters) and 2000 (10.5 liters).
Over the next two decades, the amount and rate of decline slowed, with the EU dropping by 0.5 litres between 2010 and 2019.
Alcohol consumption in the WHO's European Region, which covers 53 countries including Russia and neighbouring countries, fell from 12 litres in 2000 to 9.5 litres in 2020, a decrease of 2.5 litres (21%).
Despite this decline, the WHO European Region still has the highest per capita alcohol consumption in the world.
In the region, people aged 15 and over drink an average of 9.5 litres of pure alcohol per person per year, which equates to 190 litres of beer, 80 litres of wine and 24 litres of spirits.
Annual alcohol consumption in 2020 ranged from 1.2 litres in Turkey to 12.1 litres in Latvia among 36 European countries, including the EU, the UK, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and EU accession candidate countries.
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On average, EU citizens consumed 9.8 litres of alcohol.
Of the EU's “big four” economies and populations, Germany had the highest alcohol consumption (10.6 litres), followed by France (10.4 litres), Spain (7.8 litres) and Italy (7.7 litres). In the UK, the figure was 9.7 litres.
Looking at country-level changes between 2010 and 2020, alcohol consumption decreased in 25 countries, while it increased in 11.
Although some countries recorded small changes, most countries saw significant changes over this period.
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Consumption fell by more than one liter in 14 countries
During this period, alcohol consumption fell by more than a litre in 14 countries, but increased in five.
Ireland and Lithuania saw the biggest declines in alcohol consumption over the period, both down 2.1 litres, followed by Spain and Greece (both down 2 litres).
The Netherlands, France, Cyprus and Finland also recorded decreases of more than 1.5 litres, while Serbia, Belgium, Croatia, Denmark, Switzerland and Germany also saw decreases of between 1 litre and 1.5 litres.
In the EU, alcohol consumption fell by 0.6 litres between 2010 and 2020.
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The largest increase was in Latvia, where consumption increased by 2.3 litres.
Large increases were also seen in Bulgaria (1.4 litres), Malta (1.1 litres), Romania and Poland (1 litre each), while Norway, Italy and Iceland all saw increases of more than half a litre.
Alcohol consumption varies widely across Europe, so looking at percentage changes is also a useful indicator.
Greece had the largest decline of 24.1 percent, followed by the Netherlands (20.9 percent), Spain (20.4 percent) and Turkey (20 percent).
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Declines also exceeded 15 percent in Ireland, Serbia, Lithuania, Finland, France and Cyprus.
Latvia (23.5%) also saw the highest percentage change.
Many European countries have implemented a variety of policies to restrict alcohol consumption, including taxation, limiting the availability of alcohol, and banning alcohol advertising.
However, according to the OECD, its effectiveness is hampered by weak implementation on the ground and limited resources.
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The role of gender and education in heavy drinking
Alcohol consumption varies significantly by gender and education. We look at the proportion of people who drink heavy alcohol occasionally, rather than the amount consumed.
This is the percentage of adults aged 18 and older who reported consuming 60 grams or more of pure ethanol in one sitting during the past 30 days, which is the equivalent of six or more drinks.
In 2019, almost one in five adults (19%) in EU countries reported heavy drinking at least once a month, a proportion that has remained stable since 2014.
Across all countries, men were more likely than women to report occasional heavy drinking: on average across EU countries in 2019, 26.6% of men reported occasional heavy drinking at least once a month, compared with 11.4% of women.
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Romania had the highest prevalence of heavy drinking among men (55.2%), while the rate was over 35% in Denmark, Luxembourg, Germany and Belgium.
Women in Denmark, Luxembourg, Germany and Ireland had the highest prevalence of occasional heavy drinking, at over 20 percent.
The ratio of male to female binge drinkers shows a stark gender gap: in 2019 the EU ratio was 2.33, meaning that 2.33 men were binge drinkers in contrast to women. The lowest ratios were in Ireland (1.46), Iceland (1.63) and Germany (1.74).
Turkey and Cyprus were the outliers, with a significant difference in alcohol consumption rates between men and women, with the ratio exceeding eight.
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Academic research suggests that gender differences may be related to different cultural expectations and reflect traditional gender roles, and may also be linked to employment gaps and lower incomes between men and women.
People with less education are less likely to drink excessively. Why?
Education level also influences heavy drinking: in all EU countries except Latvia, people with lower levels of education do not have a higher prevalence of heavy intermittent drinking.
On average, 12.5% of those with less than high secondary education reported occasional heavy drinking, whereas more than 20% of those with high secondary or higher (22.3%) or tertiary or higher education (20.2%) reported occasional heavy drinking.
These differences reflect a significant increase in purchasing power.
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“Alcohol is more affordable for those with better education and higher incomes. Yet the burden of alcohol-related harm is higher for those with lower socio-economic status,” the OECD's “State of Health in the EU 2022 Cycle” report notes.
The highest rates of heavy drinkers and educational inequality were in Latvia, Greece, Estonia, Bulgaria and Lithuania.
In these countries, the prevalence of heavy drinking among those with less education was slightly higher than among those with more education.
Is there a safe level of alcohol consumption?
That's an easy question and an easy answer: No, there isn't.
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“We cannot talk about a so-called safe level of alcohol consumption. It does not matter how much one drinks. The risk to the drinker's health starts with the first drop of any alcoholic drink,” explained Dr Karina Ferreira Borges, Acting Unit Leader for Noncommunicable Disease Control at the WHO Regional Office for Europe and Regional Advisor on Alcohol and Illegal Drugs.
But the amount of alcohol still matters.
“All we can say for sure is that the more you drink, the more harmful it is; in other words, the less you drink, the safer it is,” Ferreira Borges said.
