Map Of The Preferred Alcoholic Beverage In Europe: 1990 vs 2015

Map created by Näytä DataThe map above shows how alcoholic drink preferences in Europe are not static. Between 1990 and 2015 several countries switched their preferred alcoholic beverage, most notably Russia and Eastern Europe moving from spirits to beer.

Although they were not alone Spain went from wine to beer and Sweden did the reverse going from beer to wine.

Here’s a bit more on the map:

The data is based on recorded alcohol consumption per capita (WHO)

Strongly preferred = the beverage accounts for at least 50% of the pure alcohol consumed per capita.

*Czechia’s numbers in the 1990 map are from 1991 and Moldova’s & Macedonia’s data from 1992

Countries that changed their alcoholic beverage preference and/or degree of preference:

1. Russia:
   • 1990: Spirits strongly preferred
   • 2015: Beer preferred
2. Germany:
   • 1990: Beer strongly preferred
   • 2015: Beer preferred
3. Spain:
   • 1990: Wine preferred
   • 2015: Beer strongly preferred
4. Sweden:
   • 1990: Beer preferred
   • 2015: Wine preferred
5. Finland:
   • 1990: Beer strongly preferred
   • 2015: Beer preferred
6. Poland:
   • 1990: Spirits strongly preferred
   • 2015: Beer strongly preferred
7. Lithuania:
   • 1990: Spirits strongly preferred
   • 2015: Beer preferred
8. Latvia:
   • 1990: Spirits strongly preferred
   • 2015: Beer preferred
9. Belgium:
   • 1990: Beer strongly preferred
   • 2015: Beer preferred
10. United Kingdom:
    • 1990: Beer strongly preferred
    • 2015: Beer preferred
11. Ireland:
    • 1990: Beer strongly preferred
    • 2015: Beer preferred
12. Denmark:
    • 1990: Beer strongly preferred
    • 2015: wine preferred
13. Belarus:
    • 1990: Spirits strongly preferred
    • 2015: Spirits preferred
14. Turkey:
    • 1990: Beer Preferred
    • 2015: Beer Strongly Preferred
15. Netherlands:
    • 1990: Beer Strongly Preferred
    • 2015: Beer Strongly Preferred
16. Switzerland :
    • 1990: Wine Strongly Preferred
    • 2015: Wine Preferred
17. Slovakia:
    • 1990: Beer Preferred
    • 2015: Spirits Preferred
18. Iceland:
    • 1990: Spirits strongly preferred
    • 2015: Beer strongly preferred
19. Norway:
    • 1990: Beer strongly preferred
    • 2015: Beer preferred
20. Georgia:
    • 1990: Wine strongly preferred
    • 2015: Wine preferred
21. Armenia:
    • 1990: Wine strongly preferred
    • 2015: Spirits strongly preferred
22. Azerbaijan:
    • 1990: Wine strongly preferred
    • 2015: Spirits preferred
23. Ukraine:
    • 1990: Spirits strongly preferred
      2015: Spirits preferred
24. Romania:
    • 1990: Wine preferred
    • 2015: Beer strongly preferred
25. Slovenia:
    • 1990: Wine strongly preferred
    • 2015: Beer preferred
26. Croatia:
    • 1990: Wine preferred
    • 2015: Beer preferred
27. Bosnia:
    • 1990: Spirits strongly preferred
    • 2015: Beer strongly preferred
28. Bulgaria:
    • 1990: Beer preferred
    • 2015: Spirits preferred

Countries that did not change their alcoholic beverage preference:

1. France:
   • 1990: Wine strongly preferred
   • 2015: Wine strongly preferred
2. Italy:
   • 1990: Wine strongly preferred
   • 2015: Wine strongly preferred
3. Czech Republic (Czechia):
   • 1991: Beer strongly preferred
   • 2015: Beer strongly preferred
4. Austria:
   • 1990: Beer strongly preferred
   • 2015: Beer strongly preferred
5. Portugal:
   • 1990: Wine strongly preferred
   • 2015: Wine strongly preferred
6. Hungary:
   • 1990: Beer Preferred
   • 2015: Beer Preferred
7. Estonia:
   • 1990: Spirits strongly preferred
   • 2015: Spirits strongly preferred
8. Greece:
   • 1990: Wine preferred
   • 2015: Wine preferred
9. Kazakhstan: 
   • 1990: Spirits strongly preferred
   • 2015: Spirits strongly preferred
10. Moldova:
    • 1990: Wine strongly preferred
    • 2015: Wine strongly preferred
11. Albania:
    • 1990: Spirits preferred
    • 2015: Spirits preferred

Which is your favourite?