Everyone in the World Is Drinking Less Except Americans

You might not know it from your crippling Friday morning hangover, but people around the world are actually drinking less booze for the first time in at least 15 years. It's almost unbelievable, particularly given that the inevitable forward march of progress has gotten us to the point that you can buy a handle of shitty vodka from your corner liquor store for under 12 bucks.

But while the world as a whole is drinking in moderation more often, one country is picking up the slack and throwing back booze like there's no tomorrow: America, the beautiful.

Worldwide consumption of alcohol fell from 249.7 billion liters in 2014 to 248 billion liters in 2015, marking the first decline on record since Euromonitor International began tracking global booze consumption in 2001. Until now, global alcohol consumption was on a steady climb.

Euromonitor points to economic reasons for why people are drinking less, rather than some crisis of health consciousness. China, which has had a topsy-turvy economic climate lately, drank two billion fewer liters of booze last year than the year before, down from about 60 billion liters. Brazil, likewise rocked by economic woes, drank about half a billion liters fewer of alcohol.

But good ol' (North) Americans are, as usual, taking care of business for the rest of the world, buying 33.8 billion liters of alcohol in 2015, up from 33.1 billion in 2014. Spiros Malandrakis, an analyst for Euromoniter, told Market Watch the growth was partly fueled by the continuing surge of microbreweries and craft beer.

Vodka and rum were hit the hardest, with vodka sales dropping by 100 million liters and rum by 20 million liters. The data provided by Euromonitor shows that vodka and rum are by far the most popular spirits globally. While 400 million liters of whiskey and bourbon were sold last year, there were 3.2 billion liters of vodka sold.

Part of the decline could also be due to the fact that people are seeking out better booze. Consumers want more complex spirits, Jonny Forsyth, an analyst at the research firm Mintel, told Market Watch. You weren't just imagining that everyone seems to be drinking negronis these days. And US whiskey sales are on the rise, too, up 13 million liters.

We'll have to wait for next year to see if the drop in booze consumption is a one-time event.

World, you can do better. But if not, when the world needs them, Americans will answer the call.