Figure of the day: Russia entered the top five most drinking countries in the world for the first time

Russia nevertheless rose to fifth place in the world in terms of alcohol consumption per capita, although according to a recently published OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) report, our country saw the largest decline in alcohol consumption between 2010 and 2018. In Russia, this indicator decreased by 7.4%, while for women - by 2.4%.

However, the same trend was observed in most of the 55 countries and regions included in the OECD report: in 33 countries for men, and 31 countries for women, there was a decrease in alcohol consumption. However, the opposite trend is observed in other countries, and especially in Spain, where there was an increase of 4.4% and 1.2% for men and women, respectively.

The report also says that alcohol consumption in many countries is the main “receiving individual pleasure and social pleasure”, and its production is an important part of the economy of many countries. At the same time, experts once again warn that alcohol consumption is a leading risk factor for premature death and many non-communicable diseases such as cancer, cirrhosis of the liver and various injuries, which provokes serious and harmful social consequences.

It is curious that according to the data for 2019, Russia has not yet entered the top five, ranking 7th after Lithuania, Austria, Czech Republic, France and Luxembourg. According to the WHO (World Health Organization), our country took 16th place.