Quality wine enthusiasts around the world continue to increase year after year. Globally, total consumption in 2020 is estimated at around 292 million hectoliters.
But which are the nations in the world where the most wine is consumed per person? And how has consumption changed from 1961 to 2018? In today’s article we will try to analyze some interesting data about this beverage. Top Nations by Wine Consumption per Person – 1961/2018.
Top 15 Nations by Wine Consumption per Person – 1961/2018
Which are the first 15 countries of the world for wine consumption? To answer this first question I used data from the World Health Organization Global Health Observatory. The GHO measures this parameter by calculating the consumption data of people over 15 years old. In addition, the data (in liters) is calculated on the pure alcohol present in wine.
According to these data, the nation, in 2018, where the most wine is consumed is France. In fact, the total consumption per person, is 6.29 liters per year. Next is Portugal with 6.04 liters per year and in third place Italy with 5.08 liters per year. Among the top 15 positions, we find many European countries, including Switzerland, Denmark, Slovenia, Croatia, etc. In the Top 15, however, there are also countries from different continents such as Uruguay (America) with 3.5 liters per year, Australia (Oceania) with 3.67
If we move to almost 60 years earlier, in 1961, the first nation was again France. In second place was Italy and in third place Portugal. But what is surprising is how wine consumption in general was much higher than now. In fact in France the consumption of wine per person (alcohol) was more than 20 liters and a half. Three times more than the 2018 figure. In second place was Italy with 17 liters (about 5 in 2018) and Portugal which had a consumption of 13 ½ liters and now has about 3.
Wine production in the world
After having seen the data about the average consumption of wine per person, the question is: but how much wine is produced in the world? And which are the first nations in the world? In this sense, several reports help us including the one by OIV in 2018.
In terms of worldwide production, it is estimated that 292 million hectoliters of wine were produced. This figure is up from previous years and was one of the highest in the last 20 years. The total figure also includes sparkling wines and special wines. Juices and musts are excluded.
In fact, as you can see from the table above, only in 2004 had the figure been higher than in 2018. Production in the years of the financial crisis (2008) had declined before recovering in 2013, coming back down from 2014, and then rising steadily from 2017 through 2018.
Top Nations by Wine Production
And in terms of production of individual states? Which is the first country of the world for worldwide production of wine? In first place we find Italy with more than 47 million hectoliters produced in 2020 alone. In second place we have France with almost 44 million and in third place Spain with 37 million and a half hectoliters. These first three countries together with the United States of America will cover more than half of the world’s wine production.
Among the top 15 nations in the world, we also find China, which, however, has seen its production almost halved from over 13 million to less than 8 compared to 2016.
In the tree map I made, it is possible to see how the distribution is composed. Italy, Spain and France together with the United States cover most of the world production. In general terms, if we add to these countries Argentina, Australia, Germany and the ones present in the treemap, it can be noticed the “rest of the world” is actually a very small square. Wine production is therefore concentrated for more than 50% in 4 countries of the world and the rest in some specific countries.
Sources, useful data and table with data
To create this article and video, I used several databases including:
- World Health Organization Global Health Observatory (GHO)
- https://www.oiv.int/public/medias/6782/oiv-2019-statistical-report-on-world-vitiviniculture.pdf
- Italian Wine Central
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Below are the data of all the nations in the world by consumption of Wine per person (1961/1971/1981/1991/2001/2011/2018)
| Country | 1961 | 1971 | 1981 | 1991 | 2001 | 2011 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | |
| Albania | 0.13 | 0.40 | 0.61 | 0.80 | 1.08 | 1.30 | |
| Algeria | 1.60 | 1.61 | 0.17 | 0 | 0.12 | 0.13 | 0.18 |
| Andorra | 6.40 | 4.73 | 3.69 | ||||
| Angola | 3.36 | 2.37 | 0.49 | 0.78 | 0.56 | 0.96 | 0.64 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 0.03 | 0.85 | 1.08 | 1.26 | 1.37 | 1.08 | |
| Argentina | 13.61 | 14.42 | 12.94 | 9.31 | 5.32 | 3.11 | 2.86 |
| Armenia | 2.13 | 0.29 | 0.31 | 0.38 | |||
| Australia | 0.88 | 1.51 | 3.12 | 2.87 | 2.91 | 3.79 | 3.67 |
| Austria | 3.01 | 5.40 | 5.00 | 4.70 | 4.20 | 4.10 | 3.60 |
| Azerbaijan | 2.88 | 0.05 | 0.15 | 0.13 | |||
| Bahamas | 1.16 | 1.88 | 1.68 | 1.77 | 1.54 | 1.40 | 1.40 |
| Bahrain | 0.16 | 0.23 | 0.10 | 0.12 | 0.09 | 0.10 | |
| Bangladesh | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Barbados | 0.38 | 0.54 | 0.69 | 0.68 | |||
| Belarus | 1.25 | 0.37 | 0.73 | 0.91 | |||
| Belgium | 2.08 | 2.87 | 3.21 | 3.98 | 3.71 | 3.47 | |
| Belize | 0.06 | 0.06 | 0.16 | 0.08 | 0.15 | 0.18 | 0.18 |
| Benin | 0.20 | 0.20 | 0.18 | 0.05 | 0.12 | 0.22 | 0.06 |
| Bhutan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.05 |
| Bolivia (Plurinational State of) | 0.06 | 0.04 | 0.09 | 0.07 | 0.06 | 0.16 | 0.14 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0.68 | 0.41 | 0.42 | 0.44 | |||
| Botswana | 0.14 | 0.15 | 0.29 | 0.31 | 0.23 | 0.56 | 0.38 |
| Brazil | 0.46 | 0.41 | 0.30 | 0.29 | 0.30 | 0.26 | |
| Brunei Darussalam | 0.02 | 0.05 | 0.18 | 0.10 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.01 |
| Bulgaria | 3.28 | 3.56 | 2.81 | 2.74 | 0.95 | 1.73 | |
| Burkina Faso | 0.10 | 0.07 | 0.04 | 0 | 0.08 | 0.17 | 0.09 |
| Burundi | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Cabo Verde | 1.02 | 1.20 | 0.96 | 1.88 | 1.28 | 1.61 | 1.57 |
| Cambodia | 0 | 0.00 | 0.01 | 0.02 | |||
| Cameroon | 0.42 | 0.45 | 0.04 | 0.03 | 0.09 | 0.11 | 0.12 |
| Canada | 0.40 | 0.57 | 1.18 | 1.14 | 1.90 | 2.20 | |
| Central African Republic | 0.16 | 0.46 | 0.43 | 0.11 | 0.03 | 0.02 | 0.02 |
| Chad | 0.08 | 0.09 | 0.01 | 0.21 | 0.05 | 0.47 | 0.01 |
| Chile | 8.62 | 7.08 | 3.80 | 2.38 | 2.51 | 2.61 | |
| China | 0 | 0 | 0.02 | 0.05 | 0.14 | 0.18 | 0.20 |
| Colombia | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.15 | 0.10 | 0.04 | 0.06 | 0.10 |
| Comoros | 0.08 | 0.16 | 0.05 | 0.12 | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.05 |
| Congo | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.24 | 0.21 | 0.18 | 0.10 |
| Costa Rica | 0.06 | 0.04 | 0.06 | 0.09 | 0.11 | 0.31 | 0.36 |
| Côte d'Ivoire | 1.80 | 1.59 | 2.33 | 0.38 | 0.31 | 0.32 | 0.28 |
| Croatia | 6.13 | 6.23 | 5.08 | 3.72 | |||
| Cuba | 0.02 | 0.05 | 0.07 | 0.01 | 0.04 | 0.05 | 0.07 |
| Cyprus | 2.31 | 1.42 | 1.61 | 1.89 | 2.47 | 2.56 | 2.72 |
| Czechia | 2.00 | 2.12 | 2.30 | 2.12 | 2.31 | 2.71 | 2.76 |
| Democratic People's Republic of Korea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.05 | 0.00 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Denmark | 0.53 | 0.96 | 2.22 | 2.92 | 4.59 | 5.04 | 4.22 |
| Djibouti | 2.39 | 1.63 | 0.52 | 0.22 | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.02 |
| Dominica | 0.30 | 0.18 | 0.28 | 0.29 | |||
| Dominican Republic | 0 | 0.02 | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.29 | 0.22 | 0.33 |
| Ecuador | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.06 | 0.06 | 0.12 | 0.26 | 0.23 |
| Egypt | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| El Salvador | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.04 | 0.05 |
| Equatorial Guinea | 3.30 | 3.82 | 2.39 | 0.94 | |||
| Eritrea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Estonia | 0 | 0.98 | 1.82 | 1.89 | |||
| Eswatini | 0 | 0.30 | 0.72 | 0 | 0.26 | 0.06 | 1.19 |
| Ethiopia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.02 | 0.02 |
| Fiji | 0.02 | 0.09 | 0.12 | 0.10 | 0.11 | 0.02 | 0.26 |
| Finland | 0.32 | 0.76 | 1.07 | 1.15 | 1.19 | 1.89 | 1.72 |
| France | 20.56 | 15.77 | 12.55 | 9.21 | 8.62 | 7.41 | 6.29 |
| Gabon | 3.51 | 3.64 | 4.48 | 1.93 | 1.55 | 1.09 | 0.77 |
| Gambia | 0.17 | 0.12 | 0.08 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 |
| Georgia | 3.17 | 1.24 | 3.19 | 1.15 | |||
| Germany | 1.86 | 2.85 | 3.62 | 3.00 | 3.21 | 3.24 | 3.11 |
| Ghana | 0.02 | 0 | 0.01 | 0 | 0.04 | 0.21 | 0 |
| Greece | 5.74 | 6.38 | 4.39 | 3.79 | 3.59 | 2.63 | |
| Grenada | 0.23 | 0.38 | 0.64 | 0.69 | |||
| Guatemala | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.03 | 0.03 |
| Guinea | 0.07 | 0 | 0 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.03 |
| Guinea-Bissau | 0.86 | 1.30 | 0.21 | 0.44 | 0.46 | 0.91 | 1.18 |
| Guyana | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.18 | 0.34 | 0.47 |
| Haiti | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.04 | 0.08 | 0.10 |
| Honduras | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.03 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.02 |
| Hungary | 4.30 | 5.33 | 4.59 | 4.31 | 4.86 | 3.51 | 3.33 |
| Iceland | 0.17 | 0.31 | 0.94 | 0.80 | 1.48 | 1.90 | 2.11 |
| India | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Indonesia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Iran (Islamic Republic of) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 |
| Iraq | 0 | 0 | 0.01 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.01 | 0.00 |
| Ireland | 0.56 | 0.62 | 0.74 | 1.93 | 2.91 | 2.90 | |
| Israel | 1.71 | 1.45 | 0.59 | 0.41 | 0.19 | 0.13 | 0.07 |
| Italy | 17.24 | 16.44 | 12.13 | 8.12 | 6.93 | 4.45 | 5.08 |
| Jamaica | 0.04 | 0.13 | 0 | 0.04 | 0.35 | 0.47 | 0.36 |
| Japan | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.08 | 0.14 | 0.28 | 0.25 | 0.25 |
| Jordan | 0 | 0 | 0.03 | 0 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 |
| Kazakhstan | 0.83 | 0.18 | 0.05 | 0.16 | |||
| Kenya | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0 | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.03 |
| Kiribati | 0.02 | 0.06 | 0.05 | 0.02 | 0.12 | 0.00 | 0.01 |
| Kuwait | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 0.67 | 0.14 | 0.08 | 0.08 | |||
| Lao People's Democratic Republic | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.02 | 0.02 |
| Latvia | 3.16 | 1.27 | 1.38 | 1.13 | 1.40 | ||
| Lebanon | 0.48 | 0.38 | 0.50 | 1.08 | 0.74 | 0.22 | 0.24 |
| Lesotho | 0 | 0 | 0.07 | 0.05 | 0.04 | 0.01 | 0.09 |
| Liberia | 0.02 | 0.13 | 0.03 | 0.01 | 0 | 0.05 | 0.05 |
| Libya | 0.52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.01 |
| Lithuania | 0.63 | 1.89 | 1.35 | 0.80 | |||
| Luxembourg | 11.21 | 9.31 | 8.09 | 6.11 | 5.92 | 5.32 | 4.70 |
| Madagascar | 0.96 | 0.55 | 0.17 | 0.11 | 0.12 | 0.10 | 0.07 |
| Malawi | 0 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.02 |
| Malaysia | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.02 | 0.04 | 0.04 |
| Maldives | 0.15 | 0.51 | 0.44 | ||||
| Mali | 0.06 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Malta | 0.47 | 0.33 | 0.95 | 1.95 | 1.13 | 1.99 | 2.33 |
| Mauritania | 0.07 | 0.05 | 0.03 | 0.01 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Mauritius | 0.15 | 0.09 | 0.07 | 0.16 | 0.20 | 0.31 | 0.39 |
| Mexico | 0.20 | 0.04 | 0.06 | 0.02 | 0.09 | 0.18 | 0.19 |
| Micronesia (Federated States of) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.02 | 0.47 | 0.13 |
| Mongolia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.65 | 1.53 | 1.59 |
| Montenegro | 2.41 | 2.56 | |||||
| Morocco | 1.30 | 0.25 | 0.25 | 0.35 | 0.18 | 0.19 | 0.18 |
| Mozambique | 1.14 | 0.47 | 0.07 | 0.08 | 0.07 | 0.11 | 0.03 |
| Myanmar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Namibia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.52 | 0.06 | 2.05 |
| Nauru | 0 | 0.05 | 0.08 | ||||
| Nepal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Netherlands | 0.40 | 0.93 | 2.31 | 2.45 | 2.78 | 3.17 | 2.94 |
| New Zealand | 0.38 | 1.19 | 2.36 | 2.41 | 2.51 | 3.01 | 2.94 |
| Nicaragua | 0 | 0.03 | 0.02 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.02 |
| Niger | 0.08 | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.02 |
| Nigeria | 0 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.05 | 0.04 |
| Niue | 0 | 0.20 | 2.07 | 2.01 | |||
| Norway | 0.21 | 0.38 | 0.69 | 0.93 | 1.60 | 2.30 | 2.20 |
| Oman | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.02 |
| Pakistan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Panama | 0.08 | 0.10 | 0.15 | 0.07 | 0.13 | 0.25 | 0.25 |
| Papua New Guinea | 0.01 | 0.10 | 0.05 | 0.08 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.06 |
| Paraguay | 0.54 | 0.40 | 0.36 | 0.72 | 0.62 | 0.96 | 1.10 |
| Peru | 0.20 | 0.23 | 0.21 | 0.11 | 0.30 | 0.37 | 0.43 |
| Philippines | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.04 |
| Poland | 0.92 | 1.01 | 1.56 | 1.25 | 1.56 | 0.91 | 0.85 |
| Portugal | 14.12 | 14.17 | 12.48 | 9.07 | 6.51 | 6.37 | 6.04 |
| Qatar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.06 | 0.09 | 0.08 |
| Republic of Korea | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.03 | 0.13 | 0.14 |
| Republic of Moldova | 1.58 | 3.66 | 3.44 | ||||
| North Macedonia | 0.89 | 1.06 | 1.03 | ||||
| Romania | 3.71 | 4.39 | 4.32 | 3.31 | 3.74 | 3.03 | 3.09 |
| Russian Federation | 2.36 | 1.80 | 0.78 | 0.75 | 1.24 | 1.14 | |
| Rwanda | 0 | 0 | 0.01 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.01 |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | 0.17 | 0.25 | 0.29 | 0.43 | 1.05 | 0.84 | 0.98 |
| Saint Lucia | 0.27 | 0.65 | 0.43 | 0.77 | 1.30 | 1.23 | 1.26 |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 0.18 | 0.42 | 0.51 | 0.63 | |||
| Samoa | 0 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.04 | 0.02 | 0.09 | 0.16 |
| Sao Tome and Principe | 5.81 | 6.58 | 1.33 | 3.21 | 3.06 | 4.71 | 2.91 |
| Saudi Arabia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
| Senegal | 0.91 | 0.31 | 0.34 | 0.13 | 0.04 | 0.13 | 0.07 |
| Serbia | 2.72 | 1.72 | |||||
| Seychelles | 0.16 | 0.65 | 0.50 | 0.47 | 0.41 | 1.82 | 2.05 |
| Sierra Leone | 0.09 | 0.04 | 0.01 | 0 | 0.04 | 0.32 | 0.04 |
| Singapore | 0.04 | 0.11 | 0.14 | 0.07 | 0.13 | 0.27 | 0.30 |
| Slovakia | 2.42 | 2.51 | 2.76 | 2.36 | 1.85 | 2.24 | 2.13 |
| Slovenia | 8.91 | 7.79 | 5.07 | 4.81 | 4.13 | ||
| Solomon Islands | 0.01 | 0.06 | 0.06 | 0.03 | 0.01 | 0.03 | 0.04 |
| Somalia | 0.03 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| South Africa | 3.83 | 2.36 | 1.70 | 1.60 | 1.60 | 1.28 | 1.36 |
| Spain | 9.16 | 8.78 | 5.07 | 4.18 | 2.06 | 3.34 | |
| Sri Lanka | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.01 |
| Sudan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | |
| Suriname | 0.05 | 0.09 | 0.08 | 0.07 | 0.09 | 0.18 | 0.09 |
| Sweden | 0.55 | 0.97 | 1.32 | 1.66 | 2.40 | 3.47 | 3.38 |
| Switzerland | 6.56 | 7.32 | 6.39 | 5.68 | 4.82 | 4.23 | |
| Syrian Arab Republic | 0 | 0.45 | 0.64 | 0.57 | 0.00 | 0.01 | 0.00 |
| Tajikistan | 0.18 | 0.01 | 0.01 | ||||
| Thailand | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.01 | 0.12 | 0.18 |
| Timor-Leste | 0.10 | 0.24 | 0.07 | 0.03 | 0.07 | 0.10 | |
| Togo | 0.25 | 0.21 | 0.43 | 0.16 | 0.14 | 0.10 | 0.07 |
| Tonga | 0.08 | 0.10 | 0.10 | 0.20 | |||
| Trinidad and Tobago | 0.12 | 0.15 | 0.47 | 0.11 | 0.17 | 0.18 | 0.29 |
| Tunisia | 1.19 | 0.66 | 0.57 | 0.38 | 0.40 | 0.29 | 0.38 |
| Turkey | 0.20 | 0.17 | 0.15 | 0.08 | 0.06 | 0.13 | 0.17 |
| Turkmenistan | 0.98 | 1.28 | 1.33 | ||||
| Tuvalu | 0 | 0.13 | 1.08 | 0.66 | |||
| Uganda | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| Ukraine | 2.45 | 0.83 | 0.38 | 0.43 | 0.31 | ||
| United Arab Emirates | 0.26 | 0.10 | 0.07 | 0.12 | 0.15 | ||
| United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | 0.28 | 0.51 | 1.06 | 1.81 | 3.60 | 3.22 | 3.44 |
| United Republic of Tanzania | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| United States of America | 0.87 | 1.17 | 1.32 | 1.14 | 1.17 | 1.55 | 1.63 |
| Uruguay | 5.68 | 4.21 | 4.25 | 3.76 | 4.76 | 3.47 | 3.50 |
| Uzbekistan | 0.31 | 0.10 | 0.14 | ||||
| Vanuatu | 2.28 | 1.26 | 0.68 | 0.50 | 0.16 | 0.17 | 0.30 |
| Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) | 0.03 | 0.11 | 0.32 | 0.12 | 0.18 | 0.20 | 0.10 |
| Viet Nam | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.02 | 0.03 |
| Yemen | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Zambia | 0.02 | 0.03 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.22 | 0.61 | 0.08 |
| Zimbabwe | 0.04 | 0 | 0.06 | 0.03 | 0.01 | 0.13 | 0.04 |
