15.03.2024 - Alcohol consumption fell by 2.7% in 2023 compared to 2022, measured in pure alcohol. This is according to preliminary data from CAN (The Swedish Council for Information on Alcohol and Other Drugs).
"This shows that the economic situation in 2023 also affected the purchase of alcohol," says Björn Trolldal, an investigator and researcher at CAN.
Both the sales at Systembolaget (the government-owned chain of liquor stores) and the import by travelers decreased over the year.
"Apart from the pandemic year of 2020, this is the biggest decrease in a single year since 2014," Björn Trolldal further states.
The table presents the total alcohol consumption divided by the different sources' shares in 2023, in pure alcohol per inhabitant aged 15 and older, preliminary data:
Source | Share 2023 |
Systembolaget | 71% |
Restaurants | 11% |
Import by travelers | 7% |
Retail beer sales | 4% |
Home production | 3% |
Purchase of smuggled alcohol | 2% |
Internet shopping* | 2% |
Total | 100% |
*Online sales at Systembolaget are not included in the internet shopping category.
Background
The monitor measurements started in the year 2000 and have been ongoing continuously since then. The main purpose is to calculate the total alcohol consumption in Sweden and changes between different years.
The measurements compile both the registered sales of alcohol (Systembolaget, restaurants, and grocery stores) and the unregistered part, which consists of import by travelers, purchase of smuggled alcohol, purchases via the internet, and home production. The unregistered quantities are captured in the questionnaire survey administered by CAN, as part of the monitor measurements. In the measurements, the registered and unregistered quantities are summed up to give a picture of the total consumption in Sweden.
The information about the unregistered part is based from the year 2020 on both self-administered questionnaire responses and telephone interviews conducted continuously among people aged 17–84 in Sweden. Approximately 18,000 people participate each year. Since the start, more than 410,000 people have participated. The presented data are based on the quantities of pure alcohol per inhabitant aged 15 and older in the country.
Read the report here