Global Comparisons

In 2020, 22% of all UK adults (aged 15+) reported never drinking alcohol in the previous 12 months. 

• Cyprus and Bulgaria reported the highest proportion of non-drinkers (both 34%) in the European Union (including Norway, Iceland and Switzerland) while Luxembourg reported the lowest proportion of non-drinkers (16%).
  
  
• Of the non-European nations, Canada reported the highest proportion of non-drinkers (31%) followed by USA (29%), New Zealand (20%) and Australia (19%). 
  
  
• Greece recorded the largest increase in the proportion of non-drinkers between 2010 and 2020 (from 25% to 31%) while Malta recorded the largest decline (from 26% to 23%).
  
  
• The proportion of non-drinkers in the UK remained stable between 2010 and 2020 (approx. 22%). 

Source: World Health Organisation (WHO)

In 2020, 33% of the UK population (15+ years) reported heavy episodic drinking (consuming 60g of pure alcohol or more) at least once in the past 30 days. 

• Luxembourg reported the highest prevalence of heavy episodic drinking in the European Union (including Norway, Iceland and Switzerland) while Bulgaria reported the lowest (48% and 23% respectively).
  
  
• Of the non-European countries, New Zealand reported the highest prevalence of heavy episodic drinking (41%) followed by Australia (39%), USA (33%) and Canada (28%). 
  
  
• Greece recorded the largest decline in the prevalence of heavy episodic drinking between 2010 and 2020 (from 31% to 26%) while Latvia and Luxembourg recorded the largest increase (from 29% to 31% and 45% to 48% respectively).
  
  
• In the UK, the prevalence of heavy episodic drinking remained relatively stable between 2010 and 2020 (approx. 33-34%).

Source: World Health Organisation (WHO)

In 2020, the average amount of pure alcohol consumed from wine per capita (i.e. litres of pure alcohol per person [15+ years] per year) was 3.6 litres in the UK – equivalent to around 7 units of wine per week.

• France consumed the largest amount of pure alcohol  from wine in the European Union (including Norway, Iceland and Switzerland) at 5.6 litres per capita while Poland consumed the lowest amount (0.9 litres).
  
  
• Of the non-European countries, Australia consumed the largest amount of pure alcohol from wine (3.7 litres per capita) followed by New Zealand (3.0 litres), Canada (2.0 litres) and USA (1.7 litres). 
  
  
• Croatia recorded the largest decline in the amount of pure alcohol consumed from wine between 2010 and 2020 (from 4.9 litres per capita to 3.0 litres) while Latvia recorded the largest increase (from 1.1 litres to 1.6 litres).
  
  
• In the UK, the amount of pure alcohol consumed from wine increased between 2010 and 2020 from 3.2 litres per capita to 3.6 litres. 

Source: World Health Organisation (WHO)

In 2020, the average amount of pure alcohol consumed from spirits per capita (i.e. litres of pure alcohol per person [15+ years] per year) was 2.6 litres in the UK – equivalent to around 5 units of spirits per week. 

• Latvia consumed the largest amount of pure alcohol from spirits in the European Union (including Norway, Iceland and Switzerland) at 5.7 litres per capita while Italy consumed the lowest amount (0.5 litres).
  
  
• Of the non-European countries, USA consumed the largest amount of pure alcohol from spirits (3.6 litres per capita) followed by Canada (2.2 litres), New Zealand (1.7 litres) and Australia (1.5 litres). 
  
  
• Latvia recorded the largest increase in the amount of pure alcohol consumed from spirits between 2010 and 2020 (from 3.7 litres per capita to 5.7 litres) while Greece recorded the largest decline (from 1.9 litres to 1.1 litres).
  
  
• In the UK, the amount of pure alcohol consumed from spirits increased between 2010 and 2020 from 2.1 litres per capita to 2.6 litres. 

Source: World Health Organisation (WHO)

In 2021, the age-standardised rate of Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) from alcohol use disorders (AUDs) was 354.0 per 100,000 people in the UK. 

• Poland recorded the highest rate of DALYs from AUDs (647.6 per 100k) in the European Union (including Norway, Iceland and Switzerland) while Greece recorded the lowest (166.0 per 100k).
  
  
• Of the non-European countries, USA recorded the highest rate of DALYs from AUDs (367.1 per 100k) followed by New Zealand (356.2 per 100k), Canada (270.4 per 100k) and Australia (224.9 per 100k). 

Source: Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Study