04302016Sat
Last updateFri, 29 Apr 2016 3pm

Mexico way down list of drunkest nations

Can life in Lithuania be that bad?  Possibly, given that the small Baltic nation currently ranks as the “drunkest” of the 34 member countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Citizens in Lithuania drink an average of around 14 liters of alcohol per capita (adults) per year, according to a recently published study using 2013 figures. That’s a long way ahead of closest rivals Austria, Estonia and the Czech Republic, which slug down between 11-12 liters per person each year.

Remarkably, or perhaps not so for a largely Muslim country, alcohol consumption in Indonesia is practically zero. Other OECD nations that prefer to eschew alcohol in large quantities are Turkey, India and Israel, which register between 1-3 liters per capita per year.

The data also shows that two countries with a traditionally heavy drinking culture have cut down on their alcohol consumption in the last decade. Ireland was the “drunkest” country in the 2000 list at 14 liters per capita but its consumption rate dropped to just over ten liters in 2013.  Denmark has also reduced its alcohol intake, falling from 13 liters to around nine. 

Mexico (just under six liters per year), Canada (eight) and the United States (just under nine) all slightly increased their alcohol consumption between 2000 and 2013, although the three countries are below the OECD average.  Consumption in the United Kingdom fell by about one liter per capita in the 13-year period, from 10.5 to 9.5.

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