How many litres of alcohol do Australians drink each year?

There were approximately 191 million litres of pure alcohol available for consumption in Australia in 2017-18. This comprised approximately 75 million litres of beer, 74 million litres of wine, 27 million litres of spirits, 11 million litres of RTDs, and 5 million litres of cider. This equates to nearly 10 litres of pure alcohol available for consumption per person (aged 15 years and over) per year.

In 2017-18 a total of 191,247,000 litres of pure alcohol was available for consumption in Australia. This comprised 74,604,000 litres of beer; 73,894,000 litres of wine; 26,556,000 litres of spirits; 11,412,000 litres of RTDs; and 4,781,000 litres of cider.
In 2017-18, 9.5 litres of pure alcohol was available for consumption per person per year, comprising 3.7 litres of beer; 3.7 litres of wine; 1.3 litres of spirits; 0.6 litres of RTDs; and 0.2 litres of cider.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2019). Apparent Consumption of Alcohol, Australia, 2017-18.

RTDs: Ready-to-drink (pre-mixed) beverages

Please note: The pure alcohol available for consumption figures will overestimate the true level of alcohol consumed as beverages, as adjustments cannot be made for wastage and other factors such as for alcohol used in cooking.