How many litres of alcohol do Australians drink each year?
There were approximately 225 million litres of pure alcohol made available in Australia in 2019-20, an 8.1% increase from 2019-20. This comprised approximately 71 million litres of beer, 95 million litres of wine, 54 million litres of spirits, and 6 million litres of cider.
This equates to approximately 10.5 litres of pure alcohol available for consumption per capita (aged 15+), or 4.4 litres of wine, 3.3 litres of beer, 2.5 litres of spirits and 0.3 litres of cider.
In 2019-20 a total of 225,398,000 litres of pure alcohol was available for consumption in Australia. This comprised 70,625,000 litres of beer; 95,076,000 litres of wine; 53,837,000 litres of spirits; and 5,860,000 litres of cider.
In 2019-20, 10.46 litres of pure alcohol was available for consumption per person per year, comprising 3.28 litres of beer; 4.41 litres of wine; 2.50 litres of spirits; and 0.27 litres of cider.
Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2024). Apparent Consumption of Alcohol, in Australia.
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.