Key facts on alcohol-related deaths globally 2022

It is estimated that alcohol contributes to around three million deaths worldwide per year. That is about five percent of all deaths each year. The major causes of alcohol-related death include alcohol poisoning, liver damage, heart failure, cancer, and car accidents.

Alcohol abuse worldwide

Despite the widespread use of alcohol around the world, a global survey from 2021 of people from 30 different countries, found that around 11 percent of respondents stated alcohol abuse was the biggest health problem facing people in their country. It is currently estimated that around 1.38 percent of the global population has alcohol use disorder, however binge drinking and excessive alcohol use, both of which carry health risks, are much more common. The countries with the highest per capita consumption of alcohol include Czechia, Latvia, and the Republic of Moldova.

Alcohol consumption in the United States

It is estimated that around 60 percent of adults in the United States aged 21 to 49 years currently use alcohol. Binge drinking (four or more drinks for women and five or more drinks for men on a single occasion) is most common among those aged 21 to 25 years, but still around 29 percent of those aged 40 to 44 report binge drinking. The states with the highest share of the population who binge drink are Wisconsin, North Dakota, and Montana. The death rate due to alcohol in the United States was around 13 per 100,000 population in 2020, an increase from a rate of 10.4 per 100,000 recorded in 2019.