Total alcohol consumption per capita (Indicator 3)
Published
The indicator describes the following: Total recorded alcohol sales per capita (aged 15+) during one calendar year, in litres of pure alcohol.
This indicator is part of Target (2): At least a 10 per cent reduction in harmful alcohol consumption.
Alcohol consumption may be divided into two main parts. The first is what is often called “recorded consumption”, that is, consumption recorded by way of alcohol sales at shops, off-licences, cafes, restaurants, bars etc. The second part includes unrecorded consumption derived from a combination of: legal tourist imports and home distillation, legal or illegal border trading, illegal import (smuggling) and illegal home distillation.
Here we present the sum of recorded alcohol consumption, divided by the number of individuals aged 15+.
Results
Total sales of alcohol per person aged 15+ were relatively stable until the middle of the 1990s but increased substantially up to 2008. This may be mainly attributed to the rise in wine sales. Sales of beer and spirits have somewhat declined over the last few years. There has been an overall decline in recorded alcohol consumption in recent years.
Figure 1: Annual alcohol sales per person aged 15+, in litres of pure alcohol. Source: Statistics on alcohol sales, Statistics Norway. (Statistics Norway did not publish sales figures for 1998.) See tables accompanying the figure below.
Data source: Statistics Norway
The data source for this indicator is the Statistics on alcohol sales compiled by Statistics Norway. A description and definitions follow below.
Description
The statistics compiled by Statistics Norway include recorded sales of alcohol, and are based on data from the Directorate of Customs and Excise, as well as recorded imports.
Link: Alcohol sales 2016
Effect measure
- Average reported alcohol sales per person aged 15+, in litres of pure alcohol (alcohol litres) per year.
Unrecorded consumption in the form of home-distilled alcohol, tourist imports, duty-free sales or smuggled goods is not included.
Tables accompanying Figure 1
Alcohol consumption 1980-1999:
|
|
1980 |
1981 |
1982 |
1983 |
1984 |
1985 |
1986 |
1987 |
1988 |
1989 |
1990 |
1991 |
1992 |
1993 |
1994 |
1995 |
1996 |
1997 |
1998 |
1999 |
|
Alcohol |
5.98 |
5.32 |
4.83 |
4.85 |
4.98 |
5.22 |
5.27 |
5.38 |
5.26 |
5.08 |
4.99 |
4.9 |
4.67 |
4.55 |
4.74 |
4.79 |
5.04 |
5.28 |
|
5.45 |
|
Spirits |
2.46 |
2.06 |
1.57 |
1.63 |
1.62 |
1.77 |
1.61 |
1.63 |
1.45 |
1.33 |
1.24 |
1.12 |
1 |
0.96 |
1 |
1 |
1.02 |
1.01 |
|
1.05 |
|
Wine |
0.75 |
0.69 |
0.57 |
0.65 |
0.71 |
0.82 |
0.83 |
0.93 |
0.97 |
0.97 |
0.95 |
0.93 |
0.91 |
0.92 |
0.99 |
1.04 |
1.12 |
1.28 |
|
1.49 |
|
Beer |
2.77 |
2.57 |
2.69 |
2.57 |
2.65 |
2.63 |
2.83 |
2.82 |
2.84 |
2.78 |
2.81 |
2.85 |
2.76 |
2.67 |
2.75 |
2.75 |
2.88 |
2.95 |
|
2.84 |
|
Alcopop |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
0.02 |
0.04 |
|
0.06 |
Alcohol consumption 2000-2016:
|
|
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
|
Total alcohol |
5.66 |
5.49 |
5.89 |
6.03 |
6.22 |
6.37 |
6.46 |
6.6 |
6.75 |
6.68 |
6.59 |
6.43 |
6.21 |
6.22 |
6.06 |
5.97 |
6.03 |
|
Spirits |
1.05 |
1 |
1.12 |
1.22 |
1.25 |
1.28 |
1.3 |
1.35 |
1.33 |
1.31 |
1.25 |
1.18 |
1.11 |
1.09 |
1.04 |
1.03 |
1.01 |
|
Wine |
1.62 |
1.6 |
1.81 |
1.84 |
1.9 |
2 |
2.05 |
2.11 |
2.23 |
2.28 |
2.29 |
2.3 |
2.29 |
2.3 |
2.25 |
2.22 |
2.21 |
|
Beer |
2.93 |
2.82 |
2.89 |
2.76 |
2.96 |
2.98 |
3.01 |
3.02 |
3.06 |
2.96 |
2.91 |
2.83 |
2.67 |
2.68 |
2.62 |
2.57 |
2.65 |
|
Alcopop |
0.07 |
0.07 |
0.07 |
0.22 |
0.11 |
0.11 |
0.11 |
0.12 |
0.13 |
0.13 |
0.14 |
0.13 |
0.14 |
0.14 |
0.15 |
0.15 |
0.16 |
Table 1: Annual alcohol sales per person aged 15+, in litres of pure alcohol. Source: Statistics on alcohol sales, Statistics Norway. (Statistics Norway did not publish the sales figures for 1998.)
National adaptation to global indicators
WHO’s definition of the indicator
Indicator 3. Total (recorded and unrecorded) alcohol per capita (aged 15+ years old) consumption within a calendar year in litres of pure alcohol, as appropriate, within the national context.
National adaptation
WHO’s indicator applies to both recorded and unrecorded total alcohol consumption per capita per year. The Norwegian indicator only covers recorded alcohol consumption.
Authors and contacts
Text compiled by the Departments of Alcohol, Tobacco and Drugs and the Department of Non-Communicable Diseases at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health