The world’s boozing habits revealed

Here are some surprises

By Terrence McCoy, WashPost, Updated: April 25 at 4:59 am

Does booze play a part in world events? Don’t tell your kids — or your parents — but probably yes. Take England, a proud kingdom of saucing. Over the past year, the number of people who needed medical attention from violence plunged 12 percent to roughly 235,000 cases. Though the decrease mirrors trends across the Western world, a new study this week said the real reason may be booze. Or the lack of it.

Tough economic times has meant fewer pints. “Binge drinking has become less frequent, and the proportion of youth who don’t drink alcohol at all has risen sharply,” explained lead researcher Jonathan Shepherd. “For people most prone to involvement in violence … falls in disposable income are probably an important factor.”

Findings involving alcohol are one of the few things that are translatable across the world. Alcohol — with the clear exception of some Muslim countries — spans class, culture and profession. But between every country, there are differences. And there are surprises.

For instance, according to data compiled by the World Health Organization, no nation has harder-drinking women than Zambia, where 41 percent binge drink at least once per every week. In the U.S., only 3 percent of women on average do the same. But, as you can see from the charts below, Zambia isn’t the only country that’s deep in its cups.

(More here.)