Statistics Netherlands: excessive drinking decreased in 2018

19 March 2019

In 2018, 80.4 percent of the adult Dutch population said they consumed alcoholic beverages during the previous twelve months, while 8.5% said they are life time abstainers. The percentage of excessive drinkers* has fallen in 2018 : from 9.2% in 2017 to 8.2% in 2018.

Self-reported alcohol consumption among young people aged 12 to 18 also decreased in 2018. The percentage of young people who drink slightly fell from 30.9% in 2017 to 30.5% in 2018. 2.2% of these young drinkers drink excessively. In 2017 that was 6.6%.

Source: cbs.nl.

The definition of excessive drinking is: consuming more than 21 glasses (10 grams ethanol) per week (men) or drinking more than 14 glasses per week (women).

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