Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Iran
Iran: Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days was 25.7% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Iran, 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 Iran stood at 25.7%.
The figure is up 4.3% on the previous year and down 15.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Iran peaked at 31.7% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 16.7%, in 2001.
That places Iran 160th out of 187 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.
Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Iran, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 17.2% | — |
| 2001 | 16.7% | -3.1% |
| 2002 | 17.9% | +7.1% |
| 2003 | 19.5% | +8.9% |
| 2004 | 20.1% | +3.2% |
| 2005 | 21.2% | +5.6% |
| 2006 | 22.0% | +3.6% |
| 2007 | 23.0% | +4.5% |
| 2008 | 23.2% | +1.1% |
| 2009 | 23.3% | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 30.3% | +29.7% |
| 2011 | 31.7% | +4.8% |
| 2012 | 29.8% | -6.1% |
| 2013 | 29.4% | -1.1% |
| 2014 | 19.4% | -34.0% |
| 2015 | 20.2% | +4.0% |
| 2016 | 29.2% | +44.7% |
| 2017 | 29.1% | -0.3% |
| 2018 | 26.2% | -10.0% |
| 2019 | 24.6% | -6.1% |
| 2020 | 25.7% | +4.3% |
Iran compared with similar countries
- Iran's 25.7% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 40.3%, 64% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
- Iran's 25.7% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 22.3%, 1.2× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Iran changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | +44.7% | 20.2% | 29.2% |
| 2014 | -34.0% | 29.4% | 19.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 20.4% | 16.7% | 23.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 27.0% | 19.4% | 31.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 25.7% | 25.7% | 25.7% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Iran
More reference data data for Iran
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 12.01 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.34 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.47 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 26.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 26.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Direct emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 8.15 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Enteric Fermentation 35,629 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Crop Residues 1,936 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Direct emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 34.53 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Burning - Crop residues 281.19 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Iran?
- Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Iran was 25.7% 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 Iran?
- The highest recorded value was 31.7% in 2011.
- What is the lowest share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days recorded in Iran?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.7% in 2001.
- How does Iran rank for share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days?
- Iran ranks 160th 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 Iran?
- Over the last ten years it is down 15.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iran 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.