According to a recent European study on alcohol consumption, Croats drink below the European average, shattering last year’s results where Croats were labeled as above-average lovers of good wine.
Croatia belongs to the group of countries that enjoy alcohol less than the European average, according to new research published by RARHA, an EU-funded health program that aims to reduce alcohol-related harm, reports tportal.hr on June 21, 2017. The survey included the 28 EU member states as well as Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland and was coordinated by the Portuguese institution SEAS.
The survey showed that 78.1 percent of respondents in Croatia said that they drank alcohol in the past year, of which 85.3 percent were men and 71 percent were women.
When looking at age, alcohol was enjoyed by 85 percent of 18-34-year-olds, 76.7 percent of 35-49-year-olds, and 72.7 percent over the age of 50.
When analyzing the frequency of consumption, daily alcohol drinking was enjoyed by 24.3 percent of men and only 4.1 percent of women. Weekly alcohol consumption was enjoyed by 35.6 percent of men and 16.3 percent women, while on a monthly basis, women (21 percent) drank more than men (14.4 percent). 10.9 percent of male respondents said that they rarely drink alcohol, while 29.5 percent of women stated that they rarely drink alcohol. 14.8 percent of Croatian men stated that they never had alcohol compared to 29.1 percent of Croatian women.
21.9 percent of respondents in Croatia reported that in the last 12 months they did not drink alcohol, of which 13.9 have abstained from alcohol their entire life. 8 percent of these respondents have had alcohol, but not in the last 12 months.
Statistically speaking, 66.2 percent of the respondents prefer beer, followed by wine (58.2 percent), and spirits (45.4 percent).
When looking at alcohol consumption in the last 12 months in Croatia, 29.7 percent of respondents enjoyed drinking at home once a week, 29.5 percent of respondents enjoyed drinking with friends, colleagues and acquaintances, and 25.1 percent of respondents drank with food and with family members.
Those who drank in the last 12 months in Croatia said they did it for fun, while those who abstained from drinking alcohol did so because they consider it harmful to their health.
The RARHA SEAS study was attended by 19 countries and 33,237 respondents. The Croatian sample included 1,500 respondents aged 18-64 years, of which 49.9 percent were men and 50.1 percent were women.
The data was collected through personal interviews in households from May 26, 2015, to June 14, 2015.
