Alcohol consumption — total (recorded + unrecorded) per capita (ages 15+), litres of pure alcohol

This statistic measures how much pure alcohol is consumed per person aged 15+ in a year, expressed in litres of pure alcohol. It combines **recorded** consumption (sales, production, imports/exports) with WHO estimates of **unrecorded** alcohol (home production, informal markets, smuggling, surrogate alcohol), making it a fuller picture than sales-only measures.

Because it is standardized to “litres of pure alcohol,” it allows comparisons across beer, wine, spirits, and other beverages. Cross-country differences reflect cultural norms, affordability, taxation and regulation, tourism effects, and how much consumption occurs outside official markets. The WHO’s methodology uses multiple administrative and survey inputs and statistical modelling to fill gaps where direct measurements are incomplete.