Beer consumption per person in Australia

Australia: Beer consumption per person was 3.3 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year in 2022. ▼ Falling

Latest (2022)
3.3 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year
Change on year
down 0.9%
World rank
46th
of 187 countries
All-time high
9.7 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year
in 1974
All-time low
3.3 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year
in 2022
Years of data
62
1961–2022

Beer consumption per person in Australia, 1961–2022

46810196119912022

Source: World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in Litres of pure alcohol per person per year.

Analysis

In 2022, beer consumption per person in Australia stood at 3.3 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year. That is the lowest value across all 62 years on record.

The figure is down 0.9% on the previous year and down 19.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, beer consumption per person in Australia peaked at 9.7 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year in 1974 and was at its lowest, 3.3 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year, in 2022.

Australia ranks 46th of 187 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 62 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 7.61 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year 6.36 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year 8.51 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year 9
1970s 9.15 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year 8.64 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year 9.7 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year 10
1980s 7.92 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year 7.39 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year 8.82 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year 10
1990s 5.72 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year 5.06 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year 7.08 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year 10
2000s 4.81 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year 4.55 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year 5.17 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year 10
2010s 3.9 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year 3.51 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year 4.34 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year 10
2020s 3.38 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year 3.3 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year 3.52 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year 3

Countries ranked near Australia

  1. 43 Equatorial Guinea 3.38 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year compare
  2. 44 Argentina 3.32 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year compare
  3. 45 Saint Lucia 3.32 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year compare
  4. 47 Botswana 3.22 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year compare
  5. 48 Montenegro 3.19 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year compare
  6. 49 Grenada 3.18 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year compare

See the full ranking of 187 places →

More economy & growth data for Australia

All data for Australia →

Frequently asked questions

What is beer consumption per person in Australia?
Beer consumption per person in Australia was 3.3 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year in 2022, according to World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest beer consumption per person recorded in Australia?
The highest recorded value was 9.7 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year in 1974.
What is the lowest beer consumption per person recorded in Australia?
The lowest recorded value was 3.3 Litres of pure alcohol per person per year in 2022.
How does Australia rank for beer consumption per person?
Australia ranks 46th out of 187 countries with data for 2022.
Is beer consumption per person rising or falling in Australia?
Over the last ten years it is down 19.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Australia data come from?
The figures come from World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Beer consumption per person. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 62 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Beer consumption per person
Unit
Litres of pure alcohol per person per year
Source
World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
187 places, 10,599 data points, 1960–2022
Last refreshed

Average annual per capita beer consumption, measured in liters of pure alcohol. Beer contains around 5% of pure alcohol per volume so that one liter of beer contains 0.05 liters of pure alcohol. This means that 5 liters of pure alcohol equals 100 liters of beer.