Top 10 · health
Top 10 countries with the lowest alcohol consumption
Litres of pure alcohol consumed per adult per year. World Bank / WHO data, each country's latest year, 2019–2020, covering 187 countries.
The top 10
1st of 187 · 2020
Kuwait0 litres/adult/yr
- 1stMauritania0 litres/adult/yr
- 1stSaudi Arabia0 litres/adult/yr
- 1stSomalia0 litres/adult/yr
- 5thSudan0 litres/adult/yr
- 6thAfghanistan0 litres/adult/yr
- 7thLibya0 litres/adult/yr
- 8thYemen0 litres/adult/yr
- 9thIndonesia0.1 litres/adult/yr
- 10thPakistan0.1 litres/adult/yr
The other end · bottom 5 of 187
Where the big countries land
- 158thUnited States9.9 litres/adult/yr
- 98thChina4.6 litres/adult/yr
- 88thIndia4.1 litres/adult/yr
- 182ndGermany11.8 litres/adult/yr
- 136thBrazil7.7 litres/adult/yr
Common questions
Questions people ask about alcohol consumption
Which country has the lowest alcohol consumption?
Kuwait ranks 1st of 187 countries at 0 litres/adult/yr (2020 data). Source: World Bank / WHO.
Which countries are in the top 10 for alcohol consumption?
The top 10 are Kuwait, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Indonesia and Pakistan — computed from World Bank / WHO data, each country's latest year, 2019–2020.
Where does the United States rank in alcohol consumption?
The United States ranks 158th of 187 countries at 9.9 litres/adult/yr (2020 data). Source: World Bank / WHO.
What is the median alcohol consumption worldwide?
Across the 187 countries covered, the median is 4.3 litres/adult/yr. Values run from 0 litres/adult/yr (Kuwait, ranked 1st) to 16.8 litres/adult/yr (Romania, ranked 187th).
Is alcohol consumption higher in Europe or the US?
The median across 41 European countries is 9.9 litres/adult/yr, against 9.9 litres/adult/yr in the United States — it is higher in Europe. Source: World Bank / WHO.
Which country has the highest alcohol consumption?
Romania sits at the other end of the list: 16.8 litres/adult/yr ranks 187th of 187 (2020 data). Source: World Bank / WHO.
Keep ranking
Keep exploring
More on health
- Life expectancyPeriod life expectancy at birth.
- Health coverageShare of population with health insurance or public coverage.
- Drug deathsDrug overdose deaths per 100,000 population.
- ObesityShare of adults with BMI ≥ 30.
- Infant mortalityDeaths before age one per 1,000 live births.
- Suicide rateDeaths by intentional self-harm per 100,000 population.
Who leads the world
- Monacotops life expectancy86.5 years
- Singaporetops homicide rate0.1 per 100k
- Bulgariatops paid maternity leave59 weeks
Kuwait leads on alcohol consumption — see where it lands on every other measure, and which US state it most resembles.
From the blog: How reliable is World Bank data? · WHO, UNODC, and the problem of counting deaths
All 68 measures →Every country ranked →Every US state →All the Top 10s →The overall board →How we read the data →