Czech household spend on alcohol among highest in EU

Czech spend on alcohol as a percentage of total household expenditures was among the highest in the European Union in 2019, according to new figures released by Eurostat on New Year's Eve.

A total of 3.4% of expenses for the average Czech household were for alcoholic beverages. The percentage was the fourth-highest in the EU.

At 4.8%, Latvia reported the highest share of household expenditures on alcohol, followed by Estonia (4.7%) and Lithuania (3.7%). Poland tied the Czech Republic at 3.4%.

Italy and Greece reported the lowest percentage spend on alcohol, at 0.9% in 2019. The average across the EU was 1.6%.

The total Czech household spend on alcohol in 2019 was 93.5 million crowns, up from 89.2 million crowns in 2018. The total spend has roughly doubled over the past 25 years.

However, the percentage spend on alcohol in the Czech Republic has decreased during that time, falling from 5.4% in 1995 to 3.4% in 2019.

Alcohol spend as a percentage total expenditures has decreased in most EU states over the past decade, though it has risen slightly in Romania (+0.6% since 2009) and Portugal (+0.3%).

Lithuania (-1.8%), Latvia (-1.5%), Bulgaria (-1.3%) and Estonia (-1.1%) have reported the largest drops in alcohol spend over the past ten years.

Across all EU member states, households spend the most on housing, electricity, gas, and other utilities, at 23.5% of their total expenditures. Transport accounts for 13.1% of total household spend, and food and drink (non-alcoholic) at 13%.