Who binge drinks? Binge drinking is most common among younger adults aged 18–34. Binge drinking is more common among men than among women.
Among Australians who drink alcohol, the usual quantity consumed per day differs by age. Australians aged 18-24 years generally consume more standard drinks on a day they drink than any other age group.
Gallup found that people ages 35-54 are the most likely generation to drink alcohol (70%), compared to Gen Z (60%) and baby boomers (52%).
The mean age at onset of alcohol use and alcohol use disorder declined from 24 to 17 years and 46 to 21 years, respectively, from the pre-1950 birth cohort to the post-1985 birth cohort.
What is the average age at which Australians start to drink alcohol? In 2019, the average age at which Australians aged 14 years and older consumed their first serve of alcohol was 17 years. However, the average age at which 14-24 year olds consumed their first serve of alcohol was 16 years.
Legal drinking age – you must be 18 or older to buy alcohol or to drink alcohol in a licensed venue. Selling alcohol – it's illegal to sell alcohol to anyone under 18 or to someone who is already drunk.
The alcohol beverages most commonly consumed by Australians are bottled wine (34%), regular strength beer (19%), and bottled spirits/liqueur (15%).
A 2020 study from the University of Michigan shows that over the last two decades, the number of college students who abstained from drinking went up by 8%. And according to a 2022 U.K. study from Drinkaware on alcohol consumption trends, Gen Z is the most sober and sober-curious generation yet.
Australia's most popular on-premise drinks
Espresso Martinis are dominating as the most popular drinks orders when it comes to cocktail across the whole country. NSW is the only state sipping differently, with the Aperol Spritz being the most popular cocktail.
While WA residents are most likely to have drunk alcohol in the last week, Queenslanders are consuming the highest average number of drinks per week overall.
Who drinks alcohol in Australia? Around 77% of adults drink alcohol. 23% do not drink alcohol. The proportion of the population aged 14 and over who consumed alcohol daily declined significantly between 2016 (6.0%) and 2019 (5.4%) (AIHW 2020, Table 3.1).
Alcohol is an intrinsic part of Australian culture and it plays a central role in most people's social lives. Heavy drinking is seen as acceptable in almost all social situations, from weddings to sports matches, and even at funerals or baby showers.
In 2019, the average age at which Australians aged 14 years and older consumed their first serve of alcohol was 17 years. However, the average age at which 14-24 year olds consumed their first serve of alcohol was 16 years. Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW).
Gen Zers are drinking less than young people in past generations: about 20 percent less alcohol per capita than millennials did at their age, according to a report from Berenberg Research.
Pakistan, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Mauritania, Libya, the Maldives, Iran, Kuwait, Brunei, and Bangladesh also have alcohol bans, as do some states in India (India is a Hindu-majority country but has a sizeable Muslim population).
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The percentage of U.S. adults aged 18 and older who say they drink alcohol averaged 63% over the past two years, whereas 36% described themselves as “total abstainers.” The drinking rate ticks up to 65% when narrowed to adults of legal drinking age, which is 21 and older nationwide.
The figures released by the World Health Organisation show Australians drink more pure alcohol per year than Americans, Canadians and the Japanese. “Australians drink 10.6 litres of pure alcohol each year, much higher than the global average of 6.4 litres,” according to the authors of the report.
Australia's national alcohol guidelines use the 'standard drink' as a measure of alcohol consumed. One standard drink is defined as containing 10 grams of alcohol. The number of standard drinks in a serving of alcohol varies between type, size, brand, packaged or poured drinks.
Beverage selection is closely tied to life stages: young children aged 2-8 years were the highest consumers of fruit drinks and cordials; teenagers between 14 and 18 years, especially boys, drank the most sugar-sweetened soft drinks and adults aged 31-50 years consumed the most low-kilojoule drinks as a proportion of ...
The youngest legal drinking age in the world is 15, with both Mali and the Central African Republic allowing folks to drink at that time. Seven countries do not have a government-mandated drinking age, while 11 countries ban the consumption of booze entirely.
In Japan, the legal adult age is 20. Japanese law prohibits individuals under the age of 20 to drink alcohol or smoke. Regardless of age, you must not force anyone to drink or smoke as it may cause serious health and social consequences.
How much money do Australian households spend on alcohol each week? Australian households spent an average of AU$31.95 per week on alcohol beverages in 2015-16. Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) (2017). Household Expenditure Survey 2015-16.
Alcohol use is common among young people, with one-third of Australians between the age of 12 and 17 reporting recent drinking and about 4% regularly engaging in risky drinking behaviour. Parents are the main supplier of alcohol to children under 18.
Approximately 40% of the population (aged 14 years and over) drink alcohol at least once per week, including 5% of the population who drink daily. Twenty-three percent of Australians do not drink alcohol at all.