Alcohol consumption among individuals aged 15+, expressed in litres of pure ethanol consumed per person per year.
Calculation
Litres of pure alcohol, computed as the sum of alcohol production and imports, less alcohol exports, divided by the adult population (aged 15 years and older).
Relevant dimensions and subgroups
Calendar year
Country
Preferred data type and data source
Preferred data type
Administrative reporting systems
Preferred data source
WHO, Global Information System on Alcohol and Health (GISAH)
Data availability
Currently (August 2010) not many (meta-)data have been uploaded yet into GISAH for this indicator. Update is expected soon (summer 2010).
Data periodicity
Annual
Rationale
Harmful use of alcohol is related to many diseases and health conditions, including chronic diseases such as alcohol dependence, cancer and liver cirrhosis, and acute health problems such as injuries. The level of per capita consumption of alcohol across the population aged 15 years and older is one of the key indicators for monitoring the magnitude of alcohol consumption in the population and likely trends in alcohol-related problems (= rationale from WHO indicator compendium; see references). Reducing alcohol related harm is one of the major policy goals of the European Commission.
Remarks
Total alcohol consumption is one of the key indicators identified by the SANCO Committee on Alcohol Data, Indicators and Definitions. For the other indicator identified by this Committee; see references.
Alcohol consumption (the number of litres of pure alcohol per person a year, HIS based estimate) is one of the indicators of the health and long-term care strand of the Open Method of Coordination (OMC) on Social Inclusion and Social Protection.
In the Global Information System on Alcohol and Health (GISAH), next to the indicator of interest here (‘Recorded adult (15+) per capita consumption in litres’), multiple other indicators on level of alcohol consumption as well as on consumption patterns are available. For ‘Recorded adult (15+) per capita consumption in litres’ breakdowns are available according to type of alcoholic drink (beer, wine, spirits).
WHO indicator compendium (see references): Recorded adult per capita consumption of pure alcohol is based on data from different sources, including government statistics, alcohol industry statistics in the public domain and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations' statistical database (FAOSTAT).
WHO indicator compendium (see references): It is important to note that these figures comprise, in most cases, the recorded alcohol consumption only. Factors that influence the accuracy of per capita data are: informal production, tourist and overseas consumption, stockpiling, waste and spillage, smuggling, duty-free sales, and variations in beverage strength and the quality of the data on which it is based.
Add details on (meta-)data availability to documentation sheet after update GISAH.
Check with WHO experts whether alcohol production for fuel could be disturbing the figures in GISAH. Or are these two strictly separated production processes, with separate administrative systems?
ECHIM Products website, version 1.3,
February 2011, ECHIM project.
Definition
