Germany among top alcohol consumers: WHO

People around the world are drinking less alcohol than they used to, but the World Health Organization (WHO) is warning that the reduction is happening far too slowly, reported dpa.

The organization's goal of reducing consumption by 20% by 2030 compared to the 2010 level cannot now be achieved, the WHO reported in Geneva on Tuesday.

The WHO's figures suggest per capita consumption worldwide fell from 5.7 litres of pure alcohol in 2010 to 5.5 litres of alcohol in 2019.

It is calling for countries to do more to reduce drinking, including introducing advertising bans and sales restrictions, as well as raising prices through taxation.

Germany is one of the world leaders in alcohol consumption, according to the WHO's figures. On average every person over the age of 15 in Germany drank 12.2 litres of pure alcohol in 2019.

WHO does not provide precise rankings of countries because, it says, there are margins of error in all figures.

The organization is also reluctant to put a figure on how much alcohol can be drunk safely. "There is no such thing as risk-free alcohol consumption," said Vladimir Poznyak, head of the relevant WHO department. However, the WHO does say that two glasses of wine or two bottles of beer every day is too much.

According to the WHO's figures, 22% of 15 to 19-year-olds worldwide drink alcohol.

In 2019, alcohol consumption caused 2.6 million deaths, while 209 million people were addicted to alcohol and a further 200 million had at least problematic alcohol consumption.

Data from more recently than 2019 cannot be reliably analysed, said Poznyak, due to the coronavirus pandemic.