Top 10 Countries Drink the Most Beer

Sally Polly May 19, 2021 | 20:58

Beer has been the most famous drink all over the world for many years and through history, especially for societal engagements. What are the countries that drink most beer? Read the article below for the list of top 10, and detailed information.

Alcohol has been a part of many people's lives globally throughout history, especially for societal engagements. If you want to learn more about history outside of your books from school, you'll learn about dozens of wacky alcohol fueled adventures throughout history, because if there's one thing that has rivaled gold and money throughout history, it's man's thirst for alcohol. I'm sure it's very likely that most of the people have their own alcohol related hijinks that they're reliving after reading this paragraph.

Of all the types of alcohol, beer is by far the most popular. One of the reasons for that is you can consume a lot more beer than other harder alcohol before getting drunk, and is the choice of drink for most on a normal night to conclude the weekday. In 2018, the total global consumption was over 3 billion 500ml cans. That is absolutely astonishing. Think of it this way; if the Tokyo Dome was capable of filling up 1.24 million KILOliters, you could fill it 152 times just to equal the global consumption of beer.

List of 10 countries that drink the most beer

10. Venezuela

9. Ireland

8. Panama

7. Lithuania

6. Angola

5. Germany

4. Belgium

3. Austria

2. Poland

1. Czech Republic

Detailed Information of 10 Countries That Drink The Most Beer

10. Venezuela

Annual average per person, liters of pure alcohol: 4.91 liters

Annual average per person liters of beer: 98.2

Beer as a percent of total alcohol consumption: 75.60%

Beer production in Venezuela started in 1843 with Cerveza Tovar. Many years later in 1925 Cerveza Zulia opens its first industrial plant and quickly became the most popular beer. Before that date, beers were imported from Brazil (particularly Brahma) and Europe (Heineken and others).

In 1941, Cervecería Polar, C.A. introduced the Cerveza Polar, a Pilsener type beer. The company went on to introduce several other brands of beer of various strengths, as well as a non-alcoholic malt beverage called Maltin Polar, marketed at children and with a flavour similar to root beer. More recent years have seen the introduction of light beers such as Polar Light and Solera Light, and a low-alcohol beer called Polar Zero (0.1% ABV).

There is not a very high competition in the beer industry because most beers present in Venezuela are already too popular with the public and most of the competition is between Polar and Regional beers, with people preferring one brand even limiting themselves to drink beer from the other as some kind for honor, though Polar beers are more popular than Regional beers and with the Zulia beer entering the market again with some success. Beer consumption per capita in Venezuela, is the highest in Latin America with 90 liters in 2007; and 95,45 liters in 2009.

9. Ireland

Photo: Irish Mirror

Annual average per person, liters of pure alcohol: 5.13 liters

Annual average per person liters of beer: 102.6

Beer as a percent of total alcohol consumption: 48.10%

Brewing in Ireland has a long history. Production currently stands at over 8 million hectolitres, and approximately half the alcohol consumed is beer.

Lager accounts for 63.5% of the beer sold. The market share for stout is 29.3% and ale is 6.2%.

In 1998, Ireland produced approximately 8.5m hectolitres of beer per year; this rose to 8.7m in 2002. Exports were 3.5m hectolitres in 1998 and fell to 2.4m in 2002. Whilst the Republic of Ireland lies 6th in the world for beer consumption per capita, it ranks 4th in the consumption of alcohol, with 11.7 litres per head in 2011.

8. Panama

Photo: Vimeo

Annual average per person, liters of pure alcohol: 5.23 liters

Annual average per person liters of beer: 104.6

Beer as a percent of total alcohol consumption: 69.20%

Panama produces three brands of rum and a similar liquor known as Seco Herrerano, but beer is also quite popular. There are multiple brands produced by six companies.

7. Lithuania

Photo: Food Fun Travel

Annual average per person, liters of pure alcohol: 5.46 liters

Annual average per person liters of beer: 109.2

Beer as a percent of total alcohol consumption: 46.50%

Beer is the most common alcoholic beverage in Lithuania. Lithuania has a long farmhouse beer tradition, first mentioned in 11th century chronicles. Beer was brewed for ancient Baltic festivities and rituals. Ancient Lithuanian god for brewing beer and mead was Ragutis or Rūgutis. 21st of September was known as the festive Alutinis, Koštuvės or Ragautuvės - the first beer was made using the harvest of the running year.[3] Lithuania is not very well known for its beer worldwide, but it is one of the few countries in Europe to have an independent beer tradition in which breweries do not simply brew beers in styles developed elsewhere. Traditional farmhouse brewing has survived into the present day in Lithuania, and during Soviet times such brewing started to be expanded to a larger scale.

After independence this process gathered speed, and soon there were more than 200 breweries in the country. Many of these have since gone out of business, but Lithuania still has about 80 breweries, of which perhaps 60-70 produce beers in styles unknown in the rest of the world. Some of these are very close to the traditional brews made by farmers, while others have developed out of that tradition as a consequence of the growth of the traditional brewers into reasonably large regional breweries.

6. Angola

Photo: flickr

Annual average per person, liters of pure alcohol: 5.48 liters

Annual average per person liters of beer: 109.6

Beer as a percent of total alcohol consumption: 64.30%

The beverage industry plays a key role in the Angolan economy, contributing about 4% to GDP. Production meets about 90% of local demand of about 3 billion litres per year. With installed capacity at over 4.5 billion litres per annum, there is plenty of room for the sector to expand when economic conditions improve.

Beer is the nation's alcoholic beverage of choice and on average each Angolan consumes about 59 litres of it a year. The country also has a well-established wine drinking culture and is one of the largest markets on the continent for wine and spirits. However, given the high levels of poverty, branded products are regarded as a luxury purchase and there is a significant informal trade in liquor and non-alcoholic beverages.

5. Germany

Photo: Getty Images

Annual average per person, liters of pure alcohol: 5.86 liters

Annual average per person liters of beer: 124.2

Beer as a percent of total alcohol consumption: 49.20%

Beer is a major part of German culture. German beer is brewed according to the Reinheitsgebot, which permits only water, hops, and malt as ingredients; and stipulates that beers not exclusively using barley-malt, such as wheat beer, must be top-fermented.

In 2012, Germany ranked third in Europe in terms of per-capita beer consumption, behind the Czech Republic and Austria.

4. Belgium

Annual average per person liters of beer: 124.2Annual average per person, liters of pure alcohol: 6.21 liters

Beer as a percent of total alcohol consumption: 49.20%

Beer in Belgium varies from pale lager to amber ales, lambic beers, Flemish red ales, sour brown ales, strong ales and stouts. In 2018, there were approximately 304 active breweries in Belgium, including international companies, such as AB InBev, and traditional breweries including Trappist monasteries. On average, Belgians drink 68 liters of beer each year, down from around 200 each year in 1900. Most beers are bought or served in bottles, rather than cans, and almost every beer has its own branded, sometimes uniquely shaped, glass. In 2016, UNESCO inscribed Belgian beer culture on their list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

3. Austria

Photo: Getty Images

Annual average per person, liters of pure alcohol: 6.25 liters

Annual average per person liters of beer: 125

Beer as a percent of total alcohol consumption: 50.40%

Beer – the delicious and refreshing drink has a longstanding tradition in Austria. Since the 14th century, breweries in Austria have been producing this popular drink which consists of water, hop and malt. Around nine million hectoliters beer were consumed in Austria in 2012, which is 107,7 litres per person per year. The excellent quality of water that Austria is cherished with has a significant influence on the quality and taste of the beer. With one brewery per 56.860 inhabitants, Austria has the biggest density of breweries in Europe. Our more than 140 smaller and bigger breweries produce more than 600 different beers.

2. Poland

Photo: GetYourGuide

Annual average per person, liters of pure alcohol: 6.45 liters

Annual average per person liters of beer: 129

Beer as a percent of total alcohol consumption: 55.10%

Beer in Poland has been brewed for well over a thousand years and has a significant history of tradition and commercial beer production. Poland is Europe's third largest beer producer, producing 36.9 million hectolitres, coming after the United Kingdom with 49.5 million hl and neighboring Germany with 103 million hl.

1. Czech Republic

Photo: Getty Images

Annual average per person, liters of pure alcohol: 6.93 liters

Annual average per person liters of beer: 138.6

Beer as a percent of total alcohol consumption: 53.50%

Beating out Germany, Ireland and Belgium, the country drinks on average about 161 liters of beer per person each year, according to figures from The Economist. However, beer production seems to be declining, says the Czech Association of Brewers. Production has fallen 8% from last year, hitting its lowest level since 1989, the group said. If the trend continues, the country could eventually give up its stronghold on beer consumption relative to population.