[bergkampf]

According to this listing, Australia is not even in the top 20: Luxembourg, Ireland and Hungary seem to be the top three.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_alcohol_co...

[adulau]

I'm wondering if the article in Wikipedia is really based on "alcohol consumption" and not Alcohol reported to be sold in the country?

There is a clear reason why Luxembourg is on top. The taxes on alcohol is (very) low in Luxembourg and a lot of people from the countries closed to Luxembourg (Belgium, France and Germany) are buying their alcohol there. We don't forget the travellers (Luxembourg is a crossroad in EU) making a stop in Luxembourg...

[qq66]

That explanation could work for Luxembourg. But Ireland?

[RK]

I hang out a couple times a year in Europe with a group of primarily Irish, Germans, and Danes and the Danes are the only ones I ever see drinking at breakfast. They're also the only ones who've ever commented on the fact that I wasn't having a beer at lunch...

[jussij]

> According to this listing, Australia is not even in the top 20:

That was back in 2003.

These days Australians take their drinking far more seriously:

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/foo_alc_con-food-alcohol-c...

[nreece]

  SOURCE: OECD Health Data 2005

That data set is not very recent as well.

[fnid2]

That list doesn't account for the type of alcohol. A liter of whiskey would do more than a liter of beer. Point: Australia could be drunker if they drink relatively more hard alcohol than those higher on the list, giving mahmud the win.

[winter_blue]

I'm pretty sure they count only the quantity of ethanol consumed.

[philf]

Yes. It lists 12l of alcohol for Germany where the average person drinks more than a hundred liters of beer.

[mahmud]

That answers it. Half of my social circle in .au are Irishmen ;-)