The World Health Organization records alcohol consumption around the globe, and the leading consumers on a per capita basis are almost exclusively European. This makes Uganda, the global leader in consumption, a surprising outlier.
As of 2003, Uganda was the world's highest per-capita consumer of alcohol. At 17.6 liters per person per year, the average Ugandan consumes twice as much alcohol as the average American, and more than twice the amount of a resident of any of Uganda's neighboring countries. And this number probably doesn't tell the whole story, since Uganda also has one of the highest estimated levels of unrecorded consumption--that is, smuggled, imported, or home-brewed alcohol--in the world.
An Outlier Among Nations
The general trend, worldwide and in Africa, is a correlation between wealth and alcohol consumption: the higher a nation's per capita GDP, the higher its per capita alcohol consumption.
But in 2003, Uganda was a clear outlier from this trend (see Figure 1). There are a number of contributing factors, including alcohol's deeply rooted importance in Ugandan culture. However, political instability and poverty in Uganda have also played a big role, with effects contrary to the norm--increasing alcohol use rather than decreasing it.
Figure 1. GDP and Alcohol Consumption, 2003
Red box indicates Uganda.
Source: EarthTrends, 2008
Alcohol and Culture
Alcohol is an important part of Ugandan culture. It is served at events such as death, birth, marriage, and circumcision ceremonies. And alcohol is readily available: about 10 percent of state revenue comes from beer factories, and household alcohol production is a valued skill, handed down from generation to generation. There are many drinking clubs where these home brews are shared and which charge membership fees.
But Uganda's history of political instability and poverty has also been a contributor to heavy drinking. Protracted war in Uganda has demoralized many, likely leading some to drink more heavily. And the problem is cyclical--drinking contributes to low economic productivity and more poverty.
And alcohol is tightly woven into the economy of many regions. Home-brewing and distilling alcohol is not only a cultural activity but a large part of many families' incomes, which families use to pay school fees and household expenses. Women and children are often involved in the sale of home-brewed alcohol, due to a lack of income-generating alternatives. Research has indicated that economic involvement of women and children increases their alcohol consumption, and that some children begin drinking as early as age 8.
Health and Social Costs
Such widespread use is not without costs. An estimated 5-10 percent of the population of Uganda is dependent on alcohol. This contributes to a number of social and public health problems, dividing families, contributing to disease, and playing a role in Uganda's high number of traffic deaths--the fourth-highest in Africa.
Worldwide, alcohol directly contributes to 3.2 percent of all deaths and 4 percent of diseases, according to the WHO. About half of the deaths are by injury. In developing countries with low mortality, alcohol use is the number one risk factor for disability and lost years of life, contributing to heart disease, injuries, depression, and alcoholism.
And though the amount of alcohol consumed per capita worldwide has been relatively constant, it has been increasing in developing countries (see Figure 2).
Figure 2. Per Capita Alcohol Consumption in Developing Countries, 1961-2003
Source: EarthTrends, 2008
Alcohol is thus a major public health issue in developing countries, and with these trends, of growing concern for the future. Later this week we'll examine the case of India, a rapidly developing country with a very different alcohol culture from Uganda's.
Top photo by islandgyrl via Flickr
RELATED LINKS:
Uganda Alcohol Country Profile, WHO
"Alcohol, Gender and Drinking Problems"
EarthTrends
Alcohol Consumption per capita, by country
