Maltese consume an average of seven litres of pure alcohol every year, way below the European average of nearly 11 litres, according to a World Health Organisation report.
Alcohol abuse may be rampant among 16-year-olds – Malta ranked second among 36 countries for binge drinking in a 2011 survey – but as a population the islanders are mostly teetotal.
WHO’s 2014 ‘Global status report on alcohol and health’ put Malta, along with Albania, in 43rd place among 53 countries in the European region for alcohol intake. The only EU member State with a lower consumption level was Italy, with 3.7 litres.
Belarus tops the worldwide list of 194 countries with a total consumption of 17.5 litres per capita.
The study, carried out among people aged 15 years and over, highlights the fact that, as a rule, the greater the economic wealth of a country, the more alcohol is consumed and the smaller the number of abstainers.
While consumption in Malta remains below European average, total average consumption between 2008 and 2010 significantly increased over the period between 2003 and 2005. In fact, European average consumption dropped to 10.9 litres from 11.9 while, in contrast, in Malta it grew to seven litres from 5.4.
The report also focuses on a number of health aspects related to alcohol consumption and abuse and lists the incidence of heavy episodic drinking. This is defined as having 60 or more grams of pure alcohol on at least one single occasion at least monthly.
The greater the economic wealth of a country, the more alcohol is consumed
In 2010, the prevalence of heavy episodic drinking in Malta was of 26.8 per cent among the entire population and 44.2 per cent among drinkers. The corresponding rates among males and females were 38 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.
On the other hand, almost a fifth of Maltese (19.2 per cent) were lifetime abstainers. While the rate of alcohol abstention among females stood at 27.6 per cent, the corresponding rate among men was one in every 10 (10.7 per cent).
The most preferred alcoholic drink in Malta is beer, at 39 per cent, followed by wine (33 per cent) and spirits (27 per cent).
The report also noted the lack of a national policy on alcohol consumption. Sixty-six of the 194 WHO member states had such a framework. From a global perspective, the report said alcohol abuse led to 3.3 million worldwide deaths in 2012.
On average, every person aged 15 years and older drinks 6.2 litres of pure alcohol per year but drinkers only account for 38.3 per cent of the world population. As a result, the consumption rate almost trebles (17 litres) if only alcohol drinkers are considered.
Trend analysis shows that the consumption level was stable over the last five years in the European region, as well as in Africa and the Americas, though increases have been reported in southeast Asia and the western Pacific regions.
Heaviest alcohol consumers
Belarus – 17.5 litres.
Republic of Moldova – 16.8 litres.
Lithuania – 15.4 litres.
Russia – 15.1 litres.
Romania – 14.4 litres.
Ukraine – 13.9 litres.
Andorra – 13.8 litres.
Hungary – 13.3 litres.
Czech Republic and Slovakia – 13 litres.
Portugal – 12.9 litres.