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Beer is one of the oldest beverages in the world, having been invented before written language, and is the most widely consumed alcoholic beverage on Earth. According to the Oxford Companion to Beer, beer is the third most popular drink in the world—more popular than both wine and even coffee—behind only water and tea. Beer is usually brewed from malted barley, though it can also be made from wheat, maize, or rice. The brewing of beer is a multi-stage process that first converts the starches in grain into sugars and then ferments them with yeast to produce beer.
All beers are either lagers or ales, depending on the type of yeast used during the fermentation process. Lagers are made with yeast that ferments at lower temperatures and collects at the bottom of the beer mixture, and ales are made with yeast that ferments at warmer temperatures and creates foam at the top of the fermentation chamber. Beers are further categorized by their style, which considers factors including color and appearance, flavor, aroma, strength, mouthfeel, ingredients (grains, yeasts, fruits, spices, etc.), origin, and production method. The independent Brewer's Association defines more than 150 beer styles, although most sources are somewhat less granular. Popular beer styles include pale ales, dark ales, pilsners, India pale ales (IPAs), porters, stouts, wheat beers, goses/sours, lambics, dubbels, saisons, maibocks, marzens, bitters, and more.
Country | Total Beer Consumption 2021 |
---|---|
China | 34,979 |
United States | 24,563 |
Brazil | 14,077 |
Mexico | 9,866 |
Russia | 8,313 |
Germany | 7,615 |
United Kingdom | 4,496 |
Vietnam | 4,145 |
Spain | 3,856 |
Poland | 3,503 |
At first glance, this ranking seems to indicate that beer consumption is roughly equal worldwide, with countries from Asia, North and South America, and Europe all making an appearance in the top 10. Indeed, beer is quite popular across most of the globe. However, as with many metrics, once the data is filtered by population and filtered per capita (per person), a more focused trend emerges.
The countries of Europe consume more beer per person than those on any other continent in the world. The country that tops the list is the Czech Republic, with 140.12 liters consumed per capita in 2021. Beer in the Czech Republic is cheaper than bottled water (typically $1 USD for a half-litre of beer), and the country is the birthplace of the pilsner. Eight other European countries also make the per-capita consumption list, including Germany, where many modern brewing processes and beer styles were invented. Moreover, the only non-European country in the top ten, the African country Botswana, boasts high per capita beer consumption largely due to cultural and social dynamics that involve consuming alcohol, in addition to the economic factor of beer being an affordable alcoholic beverage. The United States ranked 24th in the world in 2021 with 72.89 litres of beer consumption per capita (full rankings viewable below).
Country | Total Beer Consumption 2021 (1000 tons) | Per Capita Consumption 2021 (Kg/Capita) | Total Consumption 2020 (1000 tons) | Per Capita Consumption 2020 (Kg/Capita) |
---|---|---|---|---|
China | 34,979 | 23.99 | 33,297 | 22.85 |
United States | 24,563 | 72.89 | 24,263 | 72.22 |
Brazil | 14,077 | 65.68 | 13,123 | 61.55 |
Mexico | 9,866 | 77.86 | 8,672 | 68.83 |
Russia | 8,313 | 57.29 | 8,085 | 55.52 |
Germany | 7,615 | 91.3 | 7,873 | 94.48 |
United Kingdom | 4,496 | 66.82 | 3,823 | 57.01 |
Vietnam | 4,145 | 42.53 | 3,943 | 40.8 |
Spain | 3,856 | 81.21 | 3,409 | 71.98 |
Poland | 3,503 | 91.45 | 3,598 | 93.64 |
South Africa | 3,118 | 52.5 | 2,620 | 44.56 |
France | 2,542 | 39.39 | 2,609 | 40.46 |
Colombia | 2,517 | 48.85 | 1,996 | 39.18 |
Japan | 2,433 | 19.53 | 2,492 | 19.9 |
Canada | 2,065 | 54.13 | 2,197 | 57.99 |
Australia | 2,038 | 78.62 | 1,930 | 75.2 |
Italy | 1,962 | 33.11 | 1,863 | 31.32 |
Nigeria | 1,936 | 9.07 | 1,874 | 8.99 |
Argentina | 1,928 | 42.59 | 1,749 | 38.84 |
Thailand | 1,840 | 25.7 | 1,874 | 26.22 |
Romania | 1,682 | 87 | 1,687 | 86.75 |
South Korea | 1,650 | 31.83 | 2,069 | 39.9 |
Ukraine | 1,646 | 37.81 | 1,734 | 39.49 |
India | 1,474 | 1.05 | 1,401 | 1 |
Czech Republic | 1,473 | 140.12 | 1,503 | 142.76 |
Philippines | 1,442 | 12.66 | 1,351 | 12.04 |
Peru | 1,413 | 41.91 | 1,315 | 39.49 |
Chile | 1,190 | 61.05 | 1,043 | 54.04 |
Angola | 1,129 | 32.73 | 986 | 29.5 |
Austria | 986 | 110.52 | 926 | 103.92 |
Cambodia | 951 | 57.33 | 748 | 45.6 |
Belgium | 929 | 80.01 | 764 | 66.05 |
Ethiopia | 894 | 7.43 | 1,059 | 9.03 |
Turkey | 883 | 10.42 | 823 | 9.78 |
Netherlands | 846 | 48.36 | 825 | 47.34 |
Taiwan | 750 | 31.41 | 732 | 30.74 |
Kazakhstan | 721 | 37.55 | 671 | 35.35 |
Hungary | 652 | 67.13 | 641 | 65.73 |
Ecuador | 635 | 35.66 | 631 | 35.87 |
Dominican Republic | 608 | 54.67 | 525 | 47.72 |
Ireland | 580 | 116.33 | 616 | 124.55 |
Bulgaria | 559 | 81.15 | 518 | 74.23 |
Portugal | 538 | 52.29 | 530 | 51.47 |
Sweden | 520 | 49.65 | 486 | 46.87 |
Paraguay | 506 | 75.54 | 459 | 69.33 |
Belarus | 503 | 52.49 | 512 | 53.17 |
Azerbaijan | 489 | 47.4 | 551 | 53.57 |
DR Congo | 475 | 4.96 | 435 | 4.68 |
Tanzania | 471 | 7.41 | 408 | 6.62 |
Serbia | 454 | 62.23 | 437 | 59.39 |
Switzerland | 438 | 50.39 | 448 | 51.85 |
Slovakia | 424 | 77.75 | 409 | 75.02 |
Kenya | 415 | 7.83 | 432 | 8.31 |
Mozambique | 390 | 12.17 | 396 | 12.71 |
Croatia | 389 | 95.77 | 341 | 83.31 |
Ivory Coast | 385 | 14.02 | 350 | 13.05 |
Finland | 369 | 66.62 | 383 | 69.24 |
Bolivia | 368 | 30.5 | 400 | 33.53 |
Uganda | 355 | 7.73 | 293 | 6.6 |
Panama | 348 | 80.04 | 256 | 59.71 |
Denmark | 343 | 58.64 | 352 | 60.42 |
Zambia | 337 | 17.33 | 368 | 19.45 |
Republic of the Congo | 318 | 54.52 | 292 | 51.28 |
Venezuela | 315 | 11.17 | 176 | 6.18 |
Norway | 315 | 58.22 | 271 | 50.46 |
Greece | 314 | 30.11 | 300 | 28.53 |
New Zealand | 309 | 60.28 | 312 | 61.66 |
Guatemala | 295 | 16.78 | 329 | 18.97 |
Ghana | 281 | 8.56 | 272 | 8.47 |
Botswana | 278 | 107.3 | 262 | 102.95 |
Uzbekistan | 268 | 7.86 | 240 | 7.17 |
Honduras | 264 | 25.69 | 243 | 24.04 |
Malaysia | 245 | 7.3 | 246 | 7.41 |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 241 | 73.65 | 234 | 70.64 |
Zimbabwe | 223 | 13.93 | 221 | 14.1 |
Burkina Faso | 218 | 9.86 | 192 | 8.93 |
Burundi | 214 | 17.08 | 230 | 18.85 |
Rwanda | 212 | 15.77 | 212 | 16.12 |
Lithuania | 210 | 75.42 | 213 | 75.38 |
Tunisia | 195 | 15.93 | 177 | 14.52 |
Indonesia | 193 | 0.71 | 191 | 0.7 |
Israel | 193 | 21.73 | 171 | 19.49 |
Costa Rica | 193 | 37.5 | 186 | 36.33 |
Gabon | 185 | 78.98 | 185 | 80.7 |
Namibia | 171 | 67.42 | 162 | 65 |
Cuba | 165 | 14.64 | 88 | 7.79 |
Hong Kong | 159 | 21.2 | 160 | 21.29 |
Nepal | 153 | 5.1 | 141 | 4.81 |
Myanmar | 151 | 2.8 | 140 | 2.63 |
Algeria | 151 | 3.41 | 135 | 3.11 |
Benin | 140 | 10.81 | 133 | 10.52 |
Slovenia | 140 | 66.25 | 157 | 73.96 |
Latvia | 137 | 72.95 | 141 | 74.44 |
Uruguay | 136 | 39.67 | 136 | 39.75 |
Nicaragua | 131 | 19.08 | 132 | 19.54 |
Mongolia | 122 | 36.46 | 101 | 30.56 |
Moldova | 120 | 46.91 | 115 | 44.32 |
El Salvador | 114 | 18.06 | 104 | 16.5 |
Sri Lanka | 110 | 5.05 | 115 | 5.3 |
Georgia | 110 | 29.29 | 109 | 29 |
Madagascar | 109 | 3.78 | 160 | 5.66 |
Malawi | 104 | 5.21 | 99 | 5.09 |
Iran | 100 | 1.14 | 42 | 0.48 |
Estonia | 95 | 71.61 | 89 | 67.29 |
United Arab Emirates | 94 | 10.01 | 31 | 3.36 |
Togo | 89 | 10.26 | 58 | 6.84 |
Egypt | 86 | 0.79 | 85 | 0.79 |
Morocco | 86 | 2.33 | 77 | 2.11 |
Albania | 85 | 29.71 | 84 | 29.16 |
Papua New Guinea | 74 | 7.39 | 73 | 7.52 |
North Macedonia | 74 | 35.18 | 67 | 31.74 |
Jamaica | 68 | 24.02 | 64 | 22.78 |
Trinidad and Tobago | 63 | 41.25 | 63 | 41.7 |
North Korea | 62 | 2.41 | 61 | 2.34 |
Iraq | 57 | 1.52 | 60 | 1.64 |
Lesotho | 51 | 22.53 | 50 | 22.34 |
Chad | 50 | 2.93 | 47 | 2.84 |
Luxembourg | 50 | 78.37 | 46 | 72.35 |
Bhutan | 49 | 62.65 | 47 | 61.24 |
Laos | 44 | 5.99 | 39 | 5.38 |
Guinea | 41 | 3.03 | 38 | 2.87 |
Mauritius | 41 | 31.22 | 41 | 31.52 |
Montenegro | 40 | 64.44 | 43 | 68.89 |
Eswatini | 39 | 32.75 | 32 | 27.26 |
Cyprus | 38 | 30.32 | 33 | 26.78 |
Tajikistan | 36 | 3.74 | 40 | 4.18 |
Kyrgyzstan | 35 | 5.41 | 27 | 4.13 |
Armenia | 34 | 12.08 | 28 | 10.16 |
Senegal | 33 | 1.96 | 31 | 1.86 |
Guyana | 32 | 39.77 | 26 | 33.22 |
Iceland | 30 | 80.06 | 29 | 78.98 |
Mali | 28 | 1.28 | 25 | 1.15 |
Sierra Leone | 27 | 3.26 | 27 | 3.33 |
Central African Republic | 27 | 4.89 | 30 | 5.61 |
Suriname | 25 | 40.89 | 25 | 41.57 |
Haiti | 24 | 2.13 | 23 | 2 |
Lebanon | 24 | 4.37 | 26 | 4.56 |
South Sudan | 23 | 2.13 | 25 | 2.34 |
Bahrain | 23 | 15.97 | 25 | 16.72 |
Malta | 21 | 40.06 | 19 | 36.86 |
Niger | 19 | 0.75 | 14 | 0.56 |
Liberia | 19 | 3.65 | 17 | 3.35 |
Fiji | 18 | 19 | 19 | 20.52 |
Guinea Bissau | 16 | 7.88 | 13 | 6.59 |
Belize | 16 | 40.61 | 15 | 38.1 |
French Polynesia | 14 | 46.05 | 13 | 43.06 |
Oman | 13 | 2.78 | 12 | 2.54 |
Cape Verde | 13 | 21.85 | 11 | 19.5 |
Qatar | 12 | 4.63 | 9 | 3.21 |
Macau | 12 | 16.97 | 13 | 19.22 |
New Caledonia | 12 | 42.84 | 13 | 44.63 |
Jordan | 11 | 1.01 | 9 | 0.79 |
Syria | 10 | 0.47 | 9 | 0.41 |
Saint Lucia | 10 | 53.13 | 10 | 53.27 |
Cameroon | 9 | 0.34 | 5 | 0.19 |
Pakistan | 8 | 0.03 | 8 | 0.03 |
Barbados | 8 | 27.72 | 8 | 27.1 |
Seychelles | 8 | 78.46 | 7 | 68.02 |
Solomon Islands | 7 | 9.19 | 7 | 9.89 |
Samoa | 6 | 26.76 | 4 | 18.28 |
Bahamas | 5 | 11.09 | 3 | 6.8 |
Bangladesh | 3 | 0.02 | 3 | 0.02 |
Turkmenistan | 3 | 0.52 | 3 | 0.46 |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 3 | 29.63 | 3 | 25.43 |
Antigua and Barbuda | 3 | 26.82 | 3 | 32.38 |
Sudan | 2 | 0.05 | 4 | 0.08 |
Djibouti | 2 | 1.39 | 1 | 1.24 |
Maldives | 2 | 4.71 | 1 | 2.16 |
Sao Tome and Principe | 2 | 10.31 | 3 | 14.22 |
Grenada | 2 | 15.05 | 3 | 21.19 |
Timor Leste | 1 | 1.05 | 1 | 0.82 |
Comoros | 1 | 0.82 | 1 | 0.71 |
Kiribati | 1 | 9.64 | 1 | 8.22 |
Micronesia | 1 | 11.78 | 1 | 13 |
Dominica | 1 | 13.19 | 1 | 16.87 |
Saint Kitts and Nevis | 1 | 13.8 | 1 | 21.13 |
Afghanistan | 0.01 | |||
Libya | 0.01 | 0.02 | ||
Mauritania | 0.01 | |||
Kuwait | 0.02 | 0.04 | ||
Gambia | 0.02 | 3 | 1.09 | |
Vanuatu | 0.69 | 0.54 |
China consumes the greatest total volume of beer, 34,979 thousand tons. Czech Republic had the highest per capita consumption of 140.12 liters per person.