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SDG Target 3.5 Strengthen the prevention and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol

Ways to reduce the burden from harmful use of alcohol
"The health, safety and socioeconomic problems attributable to alcohol can be effectively reduced and require actions on the levels, patterns and contexts of alcohol consumption and the wider social determinants of health."

"Countries have a responsibility for formulating, implementing, monitoring and evaluating public policies to reduce the harmful use of alcohol. Substantial scientific knowledge exists for policy-makers on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the following strategies:"

  • regulating the marketing of alcoholic beverages (in particular to younger people);
  • regulating and restricting the availability of alcohol;
  • enacting appropriate drink-driving policies;
  • reducing demand through taxation and pricing mechanisms;
  • raising awareness of public health problems caused by harmful use of alcohol and ensuring support for effective alcohol policies;
  • providing accessible and affordable treatment for people with alcohol-use disorders; and
  • implementing screening and brief interventions programmes for hazardous and harmful drinking in health services.
Alcohol consumption
5.0 litres
of pure alcohol were consumed per person 15 years of age or older in 2022
Mortality from alcohol
2.6 million
deaths in 2019 resulted from alcohol use, this represent 4.7 % of all deaths
Harmful use of alcohol
4.6%
of the global burden of disease and injury is attributable to alcohol consumption every year

Alcohol consumption (in liters of pure alcohol)

Please click on the filter button for more years.

GHO SA_0000001688 Alcohol, total per capita (15+) consumption (in litres of pure alcohol) (SDG Indicator 3.5.2) REGIONAL DOT PLOT TEMPLATE

Gathering global data
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Data and estimates

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Table
Indicator name:
Alcohol, total per capita (15+ years) consumption (in litres of pure alcohol)
Short name:
Total APC
Topic:
Risk factors
Rationale:
The total alcohol per capita consumption (APC) comprises both the recorded and the unrecorded APC, which together provide a more accurate estimate of the level of alcohol consumption in a country, and as a result, portray trends of alcohol consumption in the adult population (15 years of age and older) in a more precise way. Drinking alcohol can associated with developing alcohol use disorder or dependence and higher risk of mental and behavioural disorders. It is a major risk for liver cirrhosis, some cancers and cardiovascular diseases as well as injuries resulting from violence and accidents. Beyond health consequences, the harmful use of alcohol brings significant social and economic losses to individuals, their families and society at large.
Definition:
Total APC is defined as the total (sum of three-year average recorded and three-year average unrecorded APC, adjusted for three-year average tourist consumption) amount of alcohol consumed per adult (15+ years) over a calendar year, in litres of pure alcohol. Recorded alcohol consumption refers to official statistics (production, import, export, and sales or taxation data), while the unrecorded alcohol consumption refers to alcohol which is not taxed and is outside the usual system of governmental control. Tourist consumption takes into account tourists visiting the country and inhabitants visiting other countries. Positive figures denote alcohol consumption of outbound tourists being greater than alcohol consumption by inbound tourists, negative numbers the opposite. Tourist consumption is based on UN tourist statistics.
Disaggregation:
Sex, Age
Method of measurement
See measurement method for recorded APC, unrecorded APC, and tourist APC.
Method of estimation:
Sum of recorded and unrecorded APC, adjusted for tourist consumption.
Method of estimation of global and regional aggregates:
Regional estimates are derived from population weighted averages of countries.
Unit of Measure:
Litres of pure alcohol per person per year
Expected frequency of data dissemination:
Periodic
Expected frequency of data collection:
Periodic
Comments:
Preferred data sources: See data sources for recorded APC, unrecorded APC, and tourist APC. Refer to recorded AP, unrecorded APC, and tourist APC metadata for data sources and methods.
Contact person email:
msb@who.int
Name:
NMH/MSD/ADA
IMRID:
465
Links:
Global Information System on Alcohol and Health (GISAH)
Indicator Metadata Registry List

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