If there are any tables that the Irish are likely to top, it’s these ones
Using data from a number of sources and different sites, the lads at Priceonomics have put together plenty of stats on how much people drink, what they drink and where they’re drinking it all around the world, and unsurprisingly, the Irish feature high up the charts in most of those categories.
Overall, the top alcohol consumers per capita are the lads in the British Virgin Islands, who get through 21.5 litres on average each year, while Ireland sit in fifth averaging 14.4 litres. Only Estonia, Andorra and the Czech Republic have higher averages. You can see a full version of the map and have a look at all the statistics over here on the ChartsBin site where they got their data.
They’ve run the numbers not just on how much we’re drinking though, they also looked into what it is that we’re drinking, and it turns out that the Irish love a bit of whiskey. And beer. Not so much wine though. Using data from The Economist and Wikipedia, they’ve had a look at beer drinking numbers, and Ireland once again features high up the list, sitting only behind the Czechs, the Germans and the Austrians.
Whiskey is also a beverage that has plenty of fans on this island it would seem according to the data from Quartz, but perhaps surprisingly, India also features high on the list. Thanks to their sheer numbers, they make up almost half of the world’s whiskey consumption numbers, which is pretty impressive. The United Arab Emirates also feature high on the list, which the lads at Priceonomics suggest may be due to the rising number of non-Muslims and ex-pats settled there.
When it comes to wine, we don’t really feature as the French and Italians, true to their most tired and cliched stereotypes, sit atop that table, with Portugal just behind them. Realistically, we had no chance of topping the vodka charts either, as that honour goes to…you guessed it, Russia. The United States sit just behind them, while Ukraine and Poland aren’t too far off either.
According to The Economist, we’re not big fans of rum or gin either, as India and the Philippines respectively come out on top for those beverages. When it comes to tequila, Mexico surprisingly sits second, as the United States tops that particular chart.
For those wondering where China is on all these lists, the national liquor, baijiu, accounts for nearly 99.5% of all spirits consumed there, so they don’t really feature on any of these charts.
Hat-tip to Priceonomics
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