Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Australia
Australia: Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days was 44.8% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Australia, 2000–2020
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Australia stood at 44.8%.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and down 3.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Australia peaked at 48.3% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 44.8%, in 2019.
That places Australia 75th out of 187 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 21 years of available data.
Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Australia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 48.3% | — |
| 2001 | 47.6% | -1.6% |
| 2002 | 47.6% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 47.5% | -0.3% |
| 2004 | 47.2% | -0.7% |
| 2005 | 47.3% | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 47.1% | -0.4% |
| 2007 | 47.2% | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 47.1% | -0.0% |
| 2009 | 46.9% | -0.4% |
| 2010 | 46.6% | -0.7% |
| 2011 | 46.3% | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 46.0% | -0.8% |
| 2013 | 45.9% | -0.2% |
| 2014 | 45.7% | -0.5% |
| 2015 | 45.3% | -0.9% |
| 2016 | 45.2% | -0.1% |
| 2017 | 44.9% | -0.8% |
| 2018 | 44.8% | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 44.8% | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 44.8% | +0.1% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 44.8% is above the median for high income countries, which is 38.1%, 1.2× the median. (60 countries reporting)
- Australia's 44.8% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 48.7%, 92% of the median. (28 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 47.4% | 46.9% | 48.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 45.6% | 44.8% | 46.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 44.8% | 44.8% | 44.8% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More reference data data for Australia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.21 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 28.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 38.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 38.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.07 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 6.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 118.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 170.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 13.9 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Australia?
- Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Australia was 44.8% in 2020, according to World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 48.3% in 2000.
- What is the lowest share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 44.8% in 2019.
- How does Australia rank for share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days?
- Australia ranks 75th out of 187 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Heavy episodic drinking (drinkers only) is defined as the proportion of adult drinkers (15+ years) who have had at least 60 grams or more of pure alcohol on at least one occasion in the past 30 days. A consumption of 60 grams of pure alcohol corresponds approximately to 6 standard alcoholic drinks.