dpa | In Germany, fewer and fewer people are drinking alcohol. According to a survey by the polling institute YouGov, 68 percent consumed alcoholic drinks last year. In 2015 it was 78 percent.
The reasons for the decline are varied. 38 percent of those surveyed who have reduced or stopped drinking in the past five years say that the main reason is that alcohol is fundamentally unhealthy. 26 percent say they can have fun even without alcohol. 25 percent abstain for specific health reasons such as illness and 21 percent want to be sober more often.
“Alcohol is becoming increasingly less commonplace, and health aspects are becoming more important in purchasing decisions,” says YouGov market researcher Anouk Buskens. Alcohol is more often deliberately avoided. In September, YouGov surveyed a good 2,000 people aged 18 and over in Germany about their consumption habits.
Baby boomers are less likely to go without for health reasons
The declining trend is evident in all age groups. The proportion is lowest among younger people. In Generation Z, which includes those born between 1997 and 2007, only 61 percent say they drink alcohol. One in four of this group says they have reduced or stopped drinking in the past five years. Every second person justifies this by saying that alcohol is unhealthy.
Among Millennials (1981-1996) and Generation This age group is the least likely to go without for health reasons. Only 30 percent cite this as a motivation for drinking less or not drinking at all.
“Dry January”: The trend for abstaining from alcohol is increasing
For several years now, many consumers have been doing without in January – the so-called „Dry January“ – temporarily consciously abstain from alcohol or reduce their consumption. The number of monthly Buyers of beer, wine, spirits or other alcoholic beverages fell from 57.7 to 51.2 million between January 2022 and January 2025, according to YouGov.
Alcoholic drinks are very cheap in Germany compared to other European countries. According to the Federal Statistical Office, the prices for wine, spirits and beer in this country are 14 percent below the average in the European Union. Only in Italy is alcohol cheaper.
According to older figures from the World Health Organization (WHO), alcohol consumption is comparatively high in this country. In 2022, each person aged 15 and over drank an average of 11.2 liters of pure alcohol. In Europe, Germany is in ninth place together with France and Portugal. Ten years earlier, per capita consumption was around one liter higher.