Canadians, Americans Drink 50% More Than Global Average

A study released by Canada’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and published in the journal Addiction shows that Canadians and Americans imbibe 50% more alcohol per year than the global average.

Though not the world’s biggest drinkers, Canadians put back 9.9 litres (2.6 gallons) of pure alcohol per person per year, and Americans clock in at 9.5 litres (2.5 gallons) per person per year. The figures show the total volume of alcohol consumed, not the total amount of liquid.

At the high end of the range are Russians and Brits, who consume a whopping 15.7 and 13.3 litres respectively. Next best at the bar are Germans, Spaniards and Italians, who each drink 12.8, 11.6 and 10.5 litres of pure alcohol.

#Alcohol 3rd Leading Cause of Disease & Injury Worldwide ow.ly/ilnCx

— CAMH (@CAMHnews) March 4, 2013

Considering the global average is 6.1 litres, Canadians and Americans take a few for the team and far surpass the consumption of people living in India (2.6), China (6.0), Mexico (8.5) and Brazil (9.2).

What the study shows, other than a lot of hangovers, is that the countries on the upper end of the scale drink to get drunk, as opposed to accompany a meal, and see more binge drinking and alcohol-related health problems.

It also means that Canada and America enjoy alcohol more than two thirds of the 241 countries studied.

I’ll drink to that!