Europe’s heaviest drinkers have finally been revealed – and to the surprise of many, the Brits didn’t even make the top 10.
Whether it’s a glass of wine with lunch or a beer with it Octoberfestall countries have some kind of tradition with alcohol.
With the rise of people getting sober, drinking has declined across much of the EU over the past decade, with the largest declines in Ireland, Lithuania, Greece and Spain.
An Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report found that Latvia had the highest rate with 12.1 liters of alcohol per adult in 2020.
It is closely followed by the Czech Republic with 11.6 liters and Lithuania with 11.4 litres.
Meanwhile, the UK ranks 18th, behind France, Germany and Austria.
The data shows that the average adult here drank 9.7 liters of alcohol in 2020, showing that the infamous ‘British drinking culture’ seems to be changing.
This equates to about six large glasses of wine per week.
Nearly one in five adults (19%) reported heavy alcohol consumption at least once a month in EU countries in 2019, a rate that has remained stable since 2014.
This varies from less than 5% in Cyprus and Italy to more than 35% in Romania and Denmark.
And in all countries, men were more likely than women to report occasional heavy drinking.
But according to the OECD, most countries – including Britain – have seen their alcohol consumption fall over the past decade.
The report said: ‘Many European countries have introduced a range of policies to limit alcohol consumption, such as taxes, restrictions on the availability of alcohol and bans on alcohol advertising.
“But its effectiveness is hampered by poor field implementation and limited resources.”
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