Depending on where you are in the world, the bottle that you reach for at the end of a day and how much of it you drink could be very different.
Alcoholic beverages is a huge industry. US consumers spend almost $200 billion a year on alcohol. Jockeying for position for consumers tastes is huge for alcohol producers. In order to measure different types of alcohol against each other, researchers at Bank of America Merrill Lynch looked into the consumption of various regions in pure alcohol consumed.
In the US and Canada, most people cracked open a cold brew. 54% of all alcohol consumed was from beer, while just 28% came from spirits, the second lowest percentage in the world.
Western Europeans were most likely to pour a glass of wine, which accounted for 44% of their alcohol consumption.
Liquor dominates in Asia, making up 61% of alcohol consumed in China and 83% in all other Asian nations. "There is clearly a cultural overlay to the data with many countries in Asia, for example, having a significant spirits culture (eg, gin in the Philippines and rum in India)," BAML analysts wrote.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research
Additionally, BAML computed the amount of pure alcohol an average person in each of the regions drank in a year. Western Europe lead the way with just over 8 liters per person. The US and Canada came in third with around 6.5 liters per person.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research