Differences in the levels of total consumption between regions of the world and between
countries are the result of complex interactions between a wide range of factors. These
include sociodemographic factors (see Chapter 1), prevalence rates of abstention (see
section 2.2.1), level of economic development (see section 2.2.4.4), culture, such as
predominance of Islam religion, and the preferred beverage types (see section 2.1.3). For
example, only 5.4% of the population in the Eastern Mediterranean Region had consumed
alcohol in the past 12 months, contributing to the fact that the Eastern Mediterranean
Region’s share of the total alcohol consumption in the world is significantly less than the
population size might suggest. Conversely, the WHO European Region is home to 14.7%
of the world’s population aged 15+ years, but consumes more than a quarter (25.7%) of
the total alcohol consumed worldwide.