Alcohol consumption youth and over-65s at the same level

The annual per capita alcohol consumption in the Netherlands is just over one hundred litres: wine, beer and spirits. Alcohol consumption varies with age.

Six glasses criterion

Heavy drinkers – people who drink at least six glasses of alcohol at least once a week – are more common among young people. One in five young people in the 15-24 age bracket report to meet the six glasses criterion. If they drink at all, young people in this age category average 1.4 glasses a day, the same amount as over-65s. People aged between 45 and 65, on the other hand, average 1.6 glasses a day.

One in eight aged between 45 and 65 are heavy drinkers and one in seven average three glasses a day or more. One in ten young people down at least three glasses every day, but there are more heavy drinkers among young people.

Alcohol consumption by age, 2006

Wine increasingly popular

The consumption of spirit drinks has been reduced by more than half over the past quarter of a century. Since the early 1990s, beer consumption is also declining. Although annual beer consumption was reduced by some 10 litres in 2005, the Dutch still drink nearly 80 litres per person per year. The declining popularity of beer and spirits was set off by the growing popularity of wine. In 2005, the per capita wine consumption was more than 20 litres, one and a half times the consumption in 1980.

Alcohol consumption

Total alcohol consumption has changed only marginally between 1980 and 2005, but converted to litres of pure alcohol, consumption was reduced by some 10 percent: from 8.5 litres in 1980 to 7.8 litres in 2005.

Per capita alcohol consumption

Pieter Duimelaar