Czech Republic drops from second to fourth place in worldwide alcohol consumption per capita

Paris, Nov 12 (CTK) – The Czech Republic moved from the second to fourth place on the list of countries in alcohol consumption per capita, meaning 11.6 litres of pure ethanol per year, according to data released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) last Thursday.

Slovakia is 15th, sharing the position with the United Kingdom, with 9.7 litres.

The leader of the list is Lithuania, where a person over 15 drinks 12.3 litres of pure ethanol per year, followed by Austria and France.

At the end of the list are Indonesia with 0.3 litres, Turkey with 1.4 litres, Israel with 2.6 litres, India with 3.0 litres and Costa Rica with 3.8 litres.

The OECD’s Health at a Glance 2019 report compares several key indicators of population health and alcohol is only one among them. In almost all countries, the consumption of alcohol decreased in 2007-2017.

Due to the increase of the excise tax planned for next year, alcohol will probably be more expensive in the Czech Republic.

For example, the excise tax on a 0.5-litre bottle of 40-percent alcohol will increase from 57 to 64.5 crowns. The union of alcohol producers already noted that if that is the case, the cost of a bottle will increase by about 9.1 crowns.

The excise tax increase does not apply to beer and wine.

The Chamber of Deputies approved the government’s bill last week, but it is still possible the Senate will return it.