Eurostat: Bulgarians Are Among Moderate Drinkers in the EU

People in Bulgaria buy less and less alcohol, Eurostat data show. Last year, households in Bulgaria allocated an average of 1.6% of their incomes for alcoholic drinks.

 For comparison in 2006, Bulgarian families spent 2.1 per cent on alcohol. The biggest drop in spending on whiskey, vodka and beer, however, is in Lithuania, where for 10 years the population has cut their spending by 1%. 

European statistics show that annual spending on whiskey and vodka in the Member States is estimated at 130 billion euros, equivalent to 0.9% of EU GDP. This means that every year one person spends an average of 250 euros for alcohol, writes Monitor.

In this account, however,  beer and alcoholic drinks in restaurants and hotels are not included. Costs of home-made alcohol are also not included in the statistics.

The data show that Bulgarians are in the middle of the beer and alcohol cost list.

The largest share of their alcohol income is spent in Estonia, where an average of 5.6% of household money goes to alcoholic beverages. Although in the last decade alcohol costs in Lithuania and Latvia have fallen, these two countries are still among the leaders in spending on whiskey and vodka.

According to a World Health Organization (WHO) report, Bulgarians consume an average of 11.4 liters of alcohol per year.

According to the Organization, men in Bulgaria drink about 18 liters of alcohol per year, while women are limited to 5.3 liters. The report also shows that every Bulgarian drinks 37 grams of alcohol per day. The most popular alcoholic drinks in our country are the so-called ''rakia'' and mastika.