Beer, like coffee, is one of the most consumed beverages in the world. Although it is now a great social drink, hundreds and thousands of years ago beer was something of a ‘liquid bread’. Its nutritional and caloric contribution was vital to the survival of civilisations, and there were nations such as the Romans who had a very strong beer industry to keep the legions supplied. Today, the beer industry is global, interconnected and common to many countries around the world.

And this chart by Visual Capitalist shows which countries consume the most beer, with a leader that has remained the same for almost 20 years.

Most beer loversThe data comes from the Kirin group (a Japanese holding company that owns a beer (Kirin) that is not bad at all if you like light flavors) and reflects the state of the market in 2022. The state of world beer in 2023, but the countries that drink the most beer are:

Asia leader. China has led the market for 20 consecutive years, and what is unique is that it has experienced a 1% annual increase. Japan also ranks first in beer consumption, up 2.5% year-on-year. The Asian market overall grew by 4.9% compared to 2021, reaching a global market share of 33.9%. China is the country driving consumption, accounting for 21.9% of global beer consumption alone.

Europe is looking closely. The Old Continent is not far away (nobody coughs on us for general alcohol consumption). Europe has a great beer tradition (currently aiming to become a powerhouse in non-alcoholic beer production) and world consumption is 25.8%. Where Europeans lead is in beer consumption per capita. Since nine of the top ten places in the ranking are occupied by European countries, the numbers are… intriguing.

When you analyze the data, interesting readings emerge. For example, the Czech Republic has been at the top of this list for 30 years, and Ireland, which we might think of as traditionally at the top due to clichés, has moved from 15th place in 2021 to fourth place in 2022.

Differences between markets. Focusing on the three countries that consume the most beer, we see that China consumes a little more (we are talking about 1%), the United States much less (4.2%) and Brazil much more, up 3.6%. %. Mexico also grew by a huge 14.5%, making it the fourth largest beer-consuming market, with 5.2% of the total. But let’s focus on three main ones, because together they account for 40% of the world total:

• Chinese: Leading with an iron fist and being the world’s largest producer as well as the largest consumer. In 2023 alone, 7,000 beer-related companies were established, the most popular being the national beverage with brands such as Snow Beer and Tsingtao. Local industrial consumption represents 90% of the total, and revenue is expected to reach $124.2 billion this year.
• America: They have an appetite for all kinds of beer. Modelo Especial (Mexico) is the most popular, but outside of brands they prefer national beer (63.6% share), but imported beer (23.2%) and craft beer (13.3%) stand out. The market is expected to reach $116.9 billion this year.
• Brazil: The most popular is blonde beer, the most valuable brand is Brahma. The Brazilian market is expected to generate a total revenue of $49.3 billion by 2024.

The impact of war. And it’s interesting to see how war affects absolutely any area. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine began in February 2022, and Kirin data shows that Ukraine, which ranked 18th in consumption by country (not per capita) in 2021, fell to 27th place in 2022, with a 25.7% decrease. Russia also saw a much smaller decrease of 4.9% than Ukraine, due to the specifics of the war.

At Xataka | In the United States, beer is made with water from showers and sinks. And for good reason