In 2017, households in the European Union (EU) spent 1.6% of their total consumption expenditure on alcoholic beverages. This represents a total expenditure of over €130 billion, equivalent to 0.9% of EU GDP or over €300 per EU inhabitant.
It should be noted that this does not include alcoholic beverages paid for in restaurants and hotels.
In the EU in 2017, the share of total consumption expenditure spent on alcoholic beverages was the largest in three Baltic States with Estonia (5.2%), Latvia (4.9%) and Lithuania (4.0%) leading the pack respectively.
Poland (3.5%) took fourth place for annual household booze expenditure, with the Czech Republic ranking no. five (3.3%), followed by Hungary (3.0%) and Finland (2.8%).
At the other end of the spectrum, households in Spain (0.8%), Italy, and Greece (both 0.9%) spent the least.
According to the World Health Organization Europe has the highest levels of alcohol consumption in the world, while the widespread consumption of alcohol and tobacco continues to be a concern for the Czech Republic in particular.
A November 2018 conference organized by the Government Council for Drug Policy Coordination reported that in Czechu annually consume 14.4 liters of pure per person per year, and more than one-fifth of the population smokes.