According to the World Health Organisation, New Zealand drinks around 9.62 litres of alcohol per capita. In the international drinking tables, that puts us 49th= with Namibia. (Hat Tip Boing Boing).
It's not what we're drinking. It's where we're drinking it. And it's certainly not in this country, at least comparatively.
NZ drinks slightly more than the Mormontastic USA (9.44 litres), and slightly more than half the consumption of Moldova, which tops the chart with 18.22 litres per person per year. NZ's consumption rate is lower than our peers in Australia, the Netherlands and Palau (which is one of the few countries who smoke more cannabis per capita than NZ), although way below tight Old Blighty and the Emerald Isles.
1. Moldova 18.22
2. Czech Rep. 16.45
3. Hungary 16.27
4. Russia 15.76
5. Ukraine 15.60
6. Estonia 15.57
7. Andorra 15.48
8. Romania 15.30
9. Slovenia 15.19
10. Belarus 15.13
11. Croatia 15.11
12. Lithuania 15.03
13. South Korea 14.80
14. Portugal 14.55
15. Ireland 14.41
16. France 13.66
17= United Kingdom 13.37
17= Denmark 13.37
19. Slovakia 13.33
20. Poland 13.25
21. Austria 13.24
22. Luxembourg 13.01
23. Germany 12.81
24. Finland 12.52
25. Latvia 12.50
26. Bulgaria 12.44
27. Uganda 11.93
28. Saint Lucia 11.85
29. Spain 11.62
30. Armenia 11.35
31. Serbia 11.09
32. Switzerland 11.06
33. Kazakhstan 10.96
34. Belgium 10.77
35. Greece 10.75
36. Italy 10.68
37. Azerbaijan 10.60
38. Seychelles 10.59
39. Granada 10.35
40. Sweden 10.30
41. Palau 10.10
42. Netherlands 10.05
43 Australia 10.02
44. Argentina 10
45. Rwanda 9.80
46. Canada 9.77
47. Sierra Leone 9.72
48. Bosnia / Herzegovina 9.63
49= Namibia 9.62
49= New Zealand 9.62
