Australian alcohol consumption drops to 55-year low – study

Alcohol consumption levels in Australia have dropped to the lowest level since 1961-1962, according to a new study conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

Statistics collected by the bureau showed that Australian’s over the age of 15 consumed approximately 185.8 million litres of pure alcohol in 2016-17, the lowest figure recorded in the last 55 years.

This figure still equates to 9.4 litres of pure alcohol per year for every consumer in country, which the ABS claims is the equivalent of “224 stubbies of beer, 38 bottles of wine, 17 bottles of cider, 33 cans of pre-mixed drinks and four bottles of spirits”.

A 3.4% decline in beer sales between 2015-16 and 2016-17 was responsible for the overall decline in alcohol consumption, though beer was still the most popular alcoholic beverage in the country, accounting for 39.2% of pure alcohol consumption.

Consumption of wine accounted for 38.3% of total alcohol consumption, while spirits accounted for 13.1%, ready-to-drink beverages accounted for 6% and cider 3.4%.

Louise Gates, ABS Director of Health Statistics, said: “This is the lowest annual figure since 1961-62 and it continues the recent downward trend which started around 2008-09.

“If 224 stubbies sounds like a lot, contrast that with 1974-75 when Australia reached ‘peak beer’ and the consumption was equivalent to over 500 stubbies per person.

“If you keep in mind that around one in five Australians drink very rarely or not at all, that’s quite a lot for the rest of us, notwithstanding the amounts discarded or used for non-drinking purposes.”