

Many of the countries listed lie within some of the coldest regions on earth. Another factor might be attributed to weather conditions. For example, Russian vodka is a traditional drink within the country, and given the high alcohol content of this drink this fact might attribute to Russia being high up on the table. European countries might exhibit such a trend because major producers of the biggest alcoholic brands originate from there, which can itself be attributed to the fact that drinking has been a cultural institution for these countries for many centuries, and the activity has been passed down through successive generations. There are several factors that could have led to such tendencies within and between certain groups of countries. That is why we use per capita consumption of pure alcohol as a measurement to avoid being biased as much as possible. We need to note here that we are not discussing rates of alcoholism, which is an addiction to the consumption of alcohol, but rather the average consumption of alcohol within a country. Meanwhile, countries in Asia, Africa, and the pacific have much lower rates of consumption. The highest rates can be seen in countries like Belarus, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Ireland, and France. Looking at the published statistics, the highest consumption rates of alcohol seem to be concentrated in Europe and other places in the Northern Hemisphere of the globe. This data represents alcohol consumption per capita for people who are over 15 years of age per population. Luckily, we have access to data that has been collected and documented by the World Health Organization just for such purposes.

"Pure alcohol" is an important constraint, as some forms of alcoholic beverages are very intoxicating, while others have much less actual alcohol within them. To avoid confusion and misjudgment as much as possible, the best way to measure alcohol consumption anywhere in the world is through the per capita consumption of pure alcohol within a given country. There has also been an argument as to which countries consume the most alcohol. Every topic from where the most expensive beer is sold in the world to where it is cheapest is fair game. There seem to be discussions all around the world in regards to spirit-filled beverages, from their creation to their consumption patterns.
