I drink when I have occasion, and sometimes when I have no occasion.
Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote de la Mancha
The average Western European drinks over a third more alcohol than the average person living in any other region.
The highest per capita consumption is found in Moldova (15.2 litres of pure alcohol), followed by Lithuania, Czech Republic, Germany and Nigeria. Nigeria is the only non European country in the top 15. More than 40 countries account more than 10 litres per capita.
The lowest alcohol consumption per person is found in Southern Asia, where on average people drink less than a third of the average consumption elsewhere. India is big on the map, but below average in per capita consumption (5.7 litres) because of the large population.
In some territories there is practically no alcohol consumption. Many Middle Eastern and Northern African territories are not visible on the map for that reason. In contrast, China, India, the United States and the Russian Federation have the largest areas on the map, because the most alcohol is consumed there by large populations.
