Australia's Alcohol Intake Drops to a 55-Year Low

  • Average annual intake equivalent to 9.4 liters of pure alcohol
  • More than three-quarters of consumed alcohol was beer or wine
Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
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In a land renowned for its love affair with beer, alcohol consumption has fallen to the lowest level in more than half a century.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the equivalent of 186 million liters of pure alcohol was drunk in 2016-17, or the equivalent of 9.4 liters per person. That’s the lowest since 1961-62. The main driver for the fall was a drop in beer drinking, the bureau said.