Resources | NZ Statistics


	Library Catalogue
	NZ Statistics
	Publications & Orders
	ALAC's Magazine
	Community Action

Media

Scholarships & Grants

Events

How does New Zealand’s consumption compare with international rates of consumption?

Internationally, New Zealand ranks about 24th out of 50 countries in alcohol consumption per capita.

Figures 2 and 3 (below) provide a comparison between New Zealand alcohol consumption rates for those aged 15+ and selected Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Figure 2 compares New Zealand consumption levels, between 1997 and 2005, to selected OECD countries where English is the primary language. Consumption trends over the eight-year period appear to be relatively stable across these countries with the exception of Ireland and the United Kingdom (UK). It also shows that New Zealand’s per capita consumption rates are slightly higher than the United States (US) and Canada but lower than Ireland, the UK, and Australia.

Figure 3 compares New Zealand’s alcohol consumption rates in 1997 and 2005 to a broader set of OECD countries. It shows that New Zealand’s per capita consumption rates are significantly lower than the European countries but are higher than the US and Canada. It also shows a slight increase in consumption levels for New Zealand, Canada, UK, Ireland and the US for the years 1997 and 2005 compared to a relatively sharp downward movement between these two years for France, Switzerland and Germany.

Figure 2: Litres of pure alcohol per capita 15+ years for selected OECD countries, 1997 to 2005

Figure 3: Litres of pure alcohol per capita 15+ years for selected OECD countries, 1997 & 2005