Top 20 beer drinking countries in the world 2024

Beer, an alcoholic drink, is one of the oldest beverages in the world, having been invented before written language, and is the most widely consumed alcoholic beverage on Earth. Interestingly, it is the third most popular drink after water and tea. All around the world this beverage is enjoyed and plays a key role in many nations and cultures, as it is often a drink that is drunk in communal spaces.

Beer consumption is measured by volume and per capita. The former expresses the amount of beer a country drinks in liters, while the latter takes that number and divides it by the population to show the liters of beer consumed per person. Beer is usually brewed from malted barley, though it can also be made from wheat, maize, or rice. The brewing of beer is a multi-stage process that first converts the starches in grain into sugars and then ferments them with yeast to produce beer.

All beers are either lagers or ales, depending on the type of yeast used during the fermentation process. Lagers are made with yeast that ferments at lower temperatures and collects at the bottom of the beer mixture, and ales are made with yeast that ferments at warmer temperatures and creates foam at the top of the fermentation chamber.

Beers are further categorized by their style, which considers factors including color and appearance, flavor, aroma, strength, mouthfeel, ingredients (grains, yeasts, fruits, spices, etc.), origin, and production method. Popular beer styles include pale ales, dark ales, pilsners, India pale ales (IPAs), porters, stouts, wheat beers, goses/sours, lambics, dubbels, saisons, maibocks, marzens, bitters, and more.

Here are the top 20 countries with the highest beer consumption in the world.