Statistics on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in the US

Long-run data on alcohol consumption from the United States gives us one perspective of drinking since 1850. The comparison of this map with the previous maps makes clear that heavy drinking is not necessarily most common in the same countries where alcohol consumption is most common. This topic page looks at the data on global patterns of alcohol consumption, patterns of drinking, beverage types, the prevalence of alcoholism, and consequences, including crime, mortality, and road incidents. Social drinking or moderate alcohol consumption for many is pleasurable. Wyoming has one of the nation’s highest rates of alcohol-related deaths per capita.

Broader Impacts

Binge drinking is the act of drinking large quantities of alcohol in one sitting. This category includes metrics such as life expectancy, infant mortality rate, disease prevalence, and access to healthcare. Only nine states have alcohol consumption per capita less than the 2.1-gallon goal.

Pennsylvania Alcohol Abuse Statistics

Beer contains around 5% of pure alcohol per volume1 so that one liter of beer contains 0.05 liters of pure alcohol. Both are measured in terms of pure alcohol/ethanol intake rather than the total quantity of the beverage. Sweden, for example, increased the share of wine consumption and, therefore, reduced the share of spirits. Here, we see particularly high levels of alcohol abstinence across North Africa and the Middle East.

Gender-Specific Patterns

We send two regular newsletters so you can stay up to date on our work and receive curated highlights from across Our World in Data. In North America, a unit is typically taken as 14 grams of pure alcohol. For example, a value of 3.6 for bipolar disorder indicates that illicit drug dependency became more than three times more likely in individuals with bipolar disorder than those without. Following the ten-year period, they re-assessed such individuals for whether they had either nicotine, alcohol, or illicit drug dependency. The ‘disease burden’ – measured in Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) – considers mortality and years lived with disability or health burden.

Alabama Alcohol Abuse Statistics

• The risk of an alcohol use disorder is highest in individuals with intermittent explosive disorder, dysthymia, ODD, bipolar disorder, and social phobia.
• Spirits, such as vodka, go through an additional process call distillation, which removes some of the water, resulting in a higher alcohol concentration.
• A century ago, some countries had much higher levels of alcohol consumption.
• The chart shows direct death rates (not including suicide deaths) from alcohol use disorders across the world.
• Statistics indicate Iowa is one of the nation’s leaders in chronic abuse among its alcohol-related deaths.

This interactive map shows the annual average alcohol consumption of alcohol, expressed per person aged 15 years or older. Explore statistics on alcohol-related deaths and emergency visits in the United States. Discover how many people with alcohol use disorder in the United States receive treatment across age groups and demographics. Find out how many people have alcohol use disorder in the United States across age groups and demographics. Explore topics related to alcohol misuse and treatment, underage drinking, the effects of alcohol on the human body, and more. Learn up-to-date facts and statistics on alcohol consumption and its impact in the United States and globally.

Alcohol Deaths & Demographics

More Americans have used alcohol in the past year than any other drug or tobacco product. Statistics reveal its impact on public health and who is most vulnerable. Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is the most prevalent substance use disorder in the U.S. More on alcohol This category includes metrics such as transportation infrastructure, accommodation quality, and natural and cultural attractions. This category includes metrics such as research and development spending, patent applications, ease of doing business, and access to finance.

Heavy episodic drinking is defined as the proportion of adult drinkers who have had at least 60 grams or more of pure alcohol on at least one occasion in the past 30 days. This pattern of drinking is often termed ‘binging,’ where individuals consume large amounts of alcohol within a single session versus small quantities more frequently. Drug use disorders are often classified within the same category as mental health disorders — research and data on mental health can be found on our topic page here.

Maryland Alcohol Abuse Statistics

A century ago, some countries had much higher levels of alcohol consumption. The chart shows alcohol consumption since 1890 in a number of countries. Global trends on alcohol abstinence show a mirror image of drinking prevalence data. When we look at gender differences, we see that in all countries, men have a higher alcohol consumption than women. As the map shows, the average per capita alcohol consumption varies widely globally.

• This category includes metrics such as homicide rate, robbery rate, incarceration rate, and police-to-citizen ratio.
• In France in the 1920s, the average was 22.1 liters of pure alcohol per person per year.
• Explore how many people ages 18 to 25 engage in alcohol misuse in the United States and the impact it has.
• Indirect deaths from alcohol use disorders can occur indirectly through suicide.

The charts show global consumption of spirits, which are distilled alcoholic drinks, including gin, rum, whisky, tequila, and vodka. As we see, following prohibition, levels of alcohol consumption returned to similar levels as in the pre-prohibition period. It’s estimated that at the beginning of Prohibition, alcohol consumption decreased to approximately 30 percent of pre-prohibition levels but slowly increased to percent by the end of the period.3 However, there is evidence that alcohol consumption continued through the black market and illegal sales, particularly in the sales of spirits. Since the statistics here reflect reported sales and consumption statistics, they assume zero consumption of alcohol over this time. Data on the prevalence of binge drinking by age and gender in the UK can be found here, and trends in heavy and binge drinking in the USA can be found here.

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With the change country feature, it is possible to view the same data for other countries. In France in the 1920s, the average was 22.1 liters of pure alcohol per person per year. Data on the share who don’t drink alcohol by gender and age group in the UK is available here. In most countries in this region, the majority of adults have never drunk alcohol. An intake of 60 grams of pure alcohol is approximately equal to 6 standard alcoholic drinks. Alcohol consumption – whilst a risk factor for a number of health outcomes – typically has the greatest negative impacts when consumed within heavy sessions.

We see that the proportion of deaths attributed to alcohol consumption is lower in North Africa and the Middle East and much higher in Eastern Europe. When we look at national averages in this way, there is no distinct relationship between income and alcohol consumption. In the chart, we see the relationship between average per capita alcohol consumption – in liters of pure alcohol per year – versus gross domestic product (GDP) per capita across countries. Find up-to-date statistics on lifetime drinking, past-year drinking, past-month drinking, binge drinking, heavy alcohol use, and high-intensity drinking. Binge-drinking is a significant problem in Wisconsin, and alcohol-related deaths are more likely to involve older, long-term users. Alcohol stats South Dakota has an elevated rate of alcohol-related deaths per capita and a high rate of under-21 deaths.

Alcohol-related deaths in Tennessee are much more likely to involve acute causes. Alcohol-related deaths in North Dakota are among the most likely to be due to chronic causes. Alcohol-related deaths are more likely to involve older, female, and chronic users.

At the upper end of the scale, alcohol intake across Europe is higher. So, a value of 6 liters of pure alcohol per person per year is equivalent to 50 liters of wine. Wine contains around 12% pure alcohol per volume1 so that one liter of wine contains 0.12 liters of pure alcohol.

Alaska has the nation’s second-highest number of alcohol-related deaths per capita. With appropriate intervention, many people do recover fully from alcohol use disorders, restoring stability and improving their overall quality of life. Societal norms around alcohol have shifted considerably, and one of the most notable changes is the narrowing gap between male and female drinking rates. By highlighting the data behind alcohol use disorders (AUD), this article aims to underscore both the breadth of the problem and the opportunities for meaningful change.

Delaware’s alcohol-related death rate has skyrocketed over the last few years. Arizona has a high number of alcohol-related deaths compared to its population. Over the long term, the statistics outlined here emphasize that while alcohol misuse remains widespread, the capacity for positive change is equally significant. Expanding access to evidence-based care – particularly for vulnerable and underserved populations – can reduce the substantial health and economic costs tied to alcohol misuse. Different life stages – such as adolescence, young adulthood, mid-life, and older adulthood – are marked by unique stressors, social norms, and patterns of behavior that influence drinking habits.

Interventions for alcohol use disorders range from brief counseling sessions to intensive inpatient programs. One of the strongest predictors of developing an alcohol use disorder is having a close relative with alcoholism. Many people enjoy alcoholic beverages responsibly, but millions more face profound challenges due to overconsumption or dependence. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) are a group of conditions that can occur in people whose mothers drank alcohol while pregnant. Men are more likely to drink alcohol, become addicted to alcohol, binge drink, drink more often, and die of alcohol-related causes than women.