The death rates are typically higher in Eastern Europe and lower in North Africa and the Middle East. The prevalence of alcohol dependence in men is typically higher than in women across all countries. Alcohol consumption has a causal impact on more than 200 health conditions (diseases and injuries).

In this study, the authors followed a cohort of more than 5,000 individuals with and without a mental health disorder (but without a drug use disorder) over a 10-year period. Many of the risk factors for alcohol dependency are similar to those of overall drug use disorders (including illicit drug disorders). The total estimated number of deaths by country from 1990 to 2019 is found here.

Share of adults who drink alcohol

Oregon’s alcohol-related deaths are among the nation’s oldest, with chronic abuse the most significant cause of death. The rate of alcohol-related deaths per capita is very high in Oklahoma. North Carolina has a low rate of alcohol-related deaths per capita and a low rate of under-21 deaths. New Hampshire has the nation’s lowest rate of under-21 alcohol-related deaths. Nevada’s alcohol-related death rate per capita is high, but it has a very low rate of underage deaths. Maine has one of the nation’s lowest rates of under-21 alcohol-related deaths.

The charts show global consumption of wine, first in terms of wine as a share of total alcohol consumption, and then the estimated average consumption per person. The charts show global consumption of beer, first in terms of beer as a share of total alcohol consumption, and then the estimated average consumption per person. By Alcohol stats default, the data for France is shown – in recent decades, here, the share of beer consumption increased to make up around a fifth of alcohol consumption in France.

Binge drinking is the act of drinking large quantities of alcohol in one sitting.
Alcohol can also be extremely addictive and cause major health problems to frequent users.
Explore statistics on alcohol-related deaths and emergency visits in the United States.
Again, the prevalence of drinking across North Africa and the Middle East is notably lower than elsewhere.

Gender-Specific Patterns

People who start drinking at a young age are more likely to form an alcohol use disorder later in life. Some national organizations define binge drinking as having 4 or 5 alcoholic drinks within 2 hours. In South Africa and Papua New Guinea, more than half of all traffic deaths are attributable to alcohol consumption. Although clear attribution of suicide deaths is challenging, alcohol use disorders are a known and established risk factor. Indirect deaths from alcohol use disorders can occur indirectly through suicide. Alcohol use disorder (AUD) refers to the drinking of alcohol that causes mental and physical health problems.

Accessibility of Treatment

Economists as well as healthcare and addiction specialists agree the pandemic and quarantines of 2020 had a significant impact on nationwide alcohol consumption. Public health measures, informed policy, and consistent education about the risks of excessive drinking are critical to shaping healthier behaviors. In tandem, community-level support and robust prevention strategies offer optimism that high-risk drinking can be mitigated through thoughtful policy changes, education, and early intervention. Alcohol abuse and alcoholism continue to pose significant public health challenges in the United States.

Public Health

Utah has the lowest consumption of alcohol, with alcohol consumption per capita of 1.34 gallons. New Hampshire had the highest consumption of alcohol, with alcohol consumption per capita of 4.76 gallons. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) found that most states in the U.S. exceeded their per capita alcohol consumption goal in 2016. Globally, the United States ranks 25th for alcohol consumption, with about 8.7 liters of pure alcohol consumed per person per year.

Alcohol use disorder treatment

The data produced by third parties and made available by Our World in Data is subject to the license terms from the original third-party authors. All visualizations, data, and code produced by Our World in Data are completely open access under the Creative Commons BY license. When citing this topic page, please also cite the underlying data sources.

Moreover, as societal attitudes continue to shift toward viewing alcoholism as a treatable medical condition rather than a moral failing, we can expect greater openness to seeking help.
Alcohol use disorder, which includes alcohol dependence, is defined in the WHO’s International Classification of Diseases (available here).
Alcohol Use Disorder and alcoholism have damaged some groups or demographics more than others.
Alcohol-related deaths are more likely to involve older, female, and chronic users.
Interventions for alcohol use disorders range from brief counseling sessions to intensive inpatient programs.
Added to these costs is the toll on people’s health, quality of life, safety, and well-being.

Alcoholism and alcohol use disorders

This is shown in the charts as the share of adults who had not drunk in the prior year and those who have never drunk alcohol. Typically, 5 to 10 percent of adults across these regions drank in the preceding year, and in a number of countries, this was below 5 percent. Across Europe, for example, more than two-thirds do in most countries. This is given as the share of adults aged 15 years and older who have drunk alcohol within the previous year.

The states set the goal at 2.1 gallons or less per year, and the average was 2.35 gallons. Spirits, such as vodka, go through an additional process call distillation, which removes some of the water, resulting in a higher alcohol concentration. You and your community can take steps to improve everyone’s health and quality of life. Governments paid for about $2 of every $5 spent to address the impacts of excessive alcohol use.B3 The cost impacts everyone, whether they drink or not.

Alcohol consumption in the United States since 1850

Every day, 488 people die from excessive alcohol use.4 The economic costs of excessive drinking also weigh on individual states across the country.3 Every alcoholic drink consumed creates an extra $2.05 in economic costs to address alcohol-related impacts. Added to these costs is the toll on people’s health, quality of life, safety, and well-being. About 178,000 people die from excessive alcohol use each year in the United States.1 Our articles and data visualizations rely on work from many different people and organizations.

Alcohol-Related Emergencies and Deaths in the United States

Michigan has a slightly higher rate of alcohol-related deaths and female drinking deaths. Louisiana has the nation’s highest rate of under-21 drinkers among its alcohol-related deaths. Kentucky is a statistical anomaly with a low rate of underage drinking deaths and a low rate of chronic causes. Death from excessive alcohol use is on the rise in Colorado, catching up to national averages, and the rate of binge drinkers is high.

Wisconsin Alcohol Abuse Statistics

To make this average more understandable, we can express it in bottles of wine. At the end of this topic page, you will find additional resources and guidance if you, or someone you know, needs support in dealing with alcohol dependency. Learn more about the financial impact of alcohol misuse in the United States. More recent data is available from some individual state agencies; collection methodology is not uniform, however.

It also includes articles on political ideologies, electoral systems, and civil society engagement may also be considered. This category includes metrics such as political stability, government effectiveness, corruption, and representation. This category includes metrics such as military spending, troop strength, equipment and technology, and readiness for combat. Military refers to the armed forces and their role in protecting national security and interests. This category includes metrics such as the rule of law, judicial independence, and access to justice. This category includes metrics such as road quality, electricity access, internet penetration, and airport capacity.

This category includes metrics such as historical landmarks, museums, and archaeological sites. This category includes metrics such as flag design, symbolism, and history, and contains many groupings of flags based on their colors. Flags are symbolic representations of states, countries, territories, or organizations. Culture can be a source of national pride and identity, and can also influence economic and social development. This category includes metrics such as language diversity, cultural heritage sites, artistic and literary achievements, and tourism.

Alcohol consumption is a known risk factor for a number of health conditions, and potential mortality cases. This interactive chart shows the average share of household expenditure that is spent on alcohol. Although those in lower income or educational status groups often drink less overall, they are more likely to have lower-frequency, higher-intensity drinking patterns. We also find correlates in drinking patterns when we look at groupings of income, education or work status. Over this long time period, we see that per capita drinking quantities have been relatively constant — typically averaging around 8 to 9 liters per year. In the chart, we see the average consumption (in liters of ethanol) of different beverage types per person in the USA since the mid-nineteenth century.