Britons drink almost one litre more pure alcohol each year than Americans – who consume the average amount, a report revealed today.
Statistics released only once every two years show Britons over the age of 15 get through some 9.7litres of pure alcohol each every year.
This is 800ml more than average for comparable countries – 8.9l – which people in the US are on par with. This means Britain has one of the highest rates in the world.
Lithuania was revealed to be the heaviest drinking developed nation, with people consuming a staggering 12.3l each per year, while Indonesians drank the least.
People in the US drink exactly the average amount of alcohol, but those in the UK consume 800ml more each year, according to new research (stock image)
The figures were revealed in a report named Health at a Glance 2019 and published today by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
The OECD is an international organisation with 36 member states, and studies the economies and populations of developed countries.
Its report compared how many litres of pure alcohol are drunk by people in 44 countries around the world.
It revealed that, after Lithuania, Austria, France, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg and Ireland were the heaviest drinking nations.
While Turkey, Israel, India, Costa Rica, Mexico and Colombia headed up the bottom of the table, all drinking fewer than five litres each.
Lower than the UK were the most populated countries in the world – China, India, the US, Brazil and Indonesia – making Britons some of the heaviest drinkers on Earth.
Figures from the OECD showed the UK drinks more than the average for developed countries, and more than China, India or the US, meaning people there are some of the heaviest drinkers in the world
Pure alcohol is measured as one millilitre for every percentage of the drink’s strength if there is 100ml of it.
A litre of 37.5 per cent vodka, for example, contains 375ml of pure alcohol. While a pint of five per cent strength lager would contain 28.4ml of pure alcohol.
In their report the OECD researchers wrote: ‘Alcohol use is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide, particularly in those of working age.
‘It accounted for an estimated 7 per cent of male and 2 per cent of female deaths worldwide in 2016.
‘High alcohol intake is a major risk factor for heart diseases and stroke, liver cirrhosis and certain cancers, but even low and moderate alcohol consumption increases the long-term risk of these diseases.
‘Alcohol also contributes to more accidents and injuries, violence, homicide, suicide and mental health disorders than any other psychoactive substance, particularly among young people.’
The figures in the report showed interesting relationships between how much different countries drank and how likely people were to be alcoholics.
In the UK, for example, alcohol consumption was higher than average but the proportion of drinkers classed as ‘dependent’ was among the lowest.
The results come after a report by the World Health Organization in September also found Lithuania to be the heaviest drinking country in Europe, although it ranked other countries differently – in the OECD report Austria and France came second and third
A similar theme is noticeable in France, which ranked as the third heaviest drinking country but had fewer than the average number of dependents.
Austria and Eastern European countries including Latvia, Hungary and Russia, however, had both high levels of drinking and comparatively large numbers of alcoholics.
Responding to the findings, John Timothy, chief executive of the alcohol industry representative Portman Group said: ‘The report highlights a 12 per cent fall in UK alcohol consumption since 2007 taking it down to levels that are close to the OECD average and far below many neighbouring countries.
‘The industry continues to encourage people to drink responsibly and supports targeted and tailored interventions for the minority who drink alcohol at the most harmful levels.’