Certain countries have repute for toast John Barleycorn . Much of this is ingrained in cultural tradition and industry : Think of the Irish tendency to relish a glass of whisky , or Russia ’s inextricable liaison to swill down vodka on cold winter evenings .
But how much do masses across the world drink , and do cultural reputations really concur fast when hard data point is analyse ? From data journalist Matt Stiles comesan intriguing mapthat synthesise per - caput rate of alcoholic beverage intake in 186 body politic across the mankind . Stiles pulled data from theWorld Health Organization ’s register inebriant per capita consumption table , which tracks the wakeless drinking countries from 2000 to May , 2016 .
It ’s an interesting project , and one that chance easterly Europe carrying the mantle for harder drinker worldwide . To start , Belarus is the most tethered to fuddle , finishing a self-colored first place in the ranking “ with a per - capita rate of about 17.3 cubic decimeter of alcohol consumed annually , ” Stiles notes . Not far off is the bordering country of Lithuania , which consumes a healthy 12.66 liters per mortal a year . take note that the darker the tad of over-embellished signifies a high proportion of intoxicant uptake , and you’re able to peruse an interactive version of the single-valued function here .
Matt Stiles/The Daily Viz
You ’ll note that Europe is the sottish , credibly owe to a more relaxed civilisation in the continent ’s westerly nation – consider Spanish siestas and French masses ’s deathless dear of wine-coloured , for example – and that in the theocracies of the Middle East , booze is n’t even really available to your average consumer . The United States comes in a base 41st position of 186 countries , even though we have all sorts ofhifalutin contraptionsandself - driving trucksmaking it easier to drink beer .
What ’s kind of jarring is smaller countries that maintain a unnerving rate of boozing . Ireland , for example , drinks more than Russia , with a rate of 11.72 outweighing the monolithic country ’s 11.04 cubic decimeter consumed on a yearly base . England is up there , too . As a nation full of tavern keeper , the Union Jack flies high , outrank a solid no . 17 on the lean .
The data was aim using “ using each country ’s production , consequence , exportation and gross sales of alcohol and its mid - year universe ( age 15 and older ) in 2011 , ” which is probably a well metrical than measuring burp frequency or money spend on cocktails .
Matt Stiles/The Daily Viz
Sign up herefor our daily Thrillist email , and get your fix of the best in food / beverage / sport .
Sam Blum is a News Staff Writer for Thrillist . He ’s also a martial nontextual matter and music nerd who appreciate a hunky-dory sandwich and cute dogs . Find his clips in The Guardian , Rolling Stone , The A.V. Club and Vice . He ’s on Twitter@Blumnessmonster .
