By Editor The amount of alcohol that is consumed every single year in India can quite literally blow your mind. For a fact, like back in 2022, India’s overall alcohol consumption in a year surpassed the mark of 3.1 billion liters of pure alcohol. But when you look at the map of India and compare this data between the states, you’ll clearly see a disparity. Like, there are clearly some states whose overall consumption is much higher than others, like you must have heard that Goa’s alcohol consumption is much higher than any other state in India, right? Well, if all of this sounds super intriguing to you, then no doubt, our list of the Top 10 Most Alcohol Consumption States in India will be a fun read for you. Let’s get straight to it then.
1. Goa
Goa? Isn’t it the smallest state in India and still ranks as the most alcohol consumption in the country? Well, pretty much! As many of you already know that Goa is known for its party vibes, so no doubt, Goa had to rank higher on this list, and looking at how many people visit this state just for the alcohol consumption, it all makes sense. Don’t you think? Talking about the actual numbers, see, this beachy heaven keeps the record for the highest male drinking rate in India with 59.1% of adult men consuming alcohol. But the twist is this: Goa charges more tax per drink than any other state. Therefore, while tourists may come for the beaches and nightlife, it is still alcohol that makes the state fiscals happy all the time.
2. Arunachal Pradesh
Not a lot of people know this, but Arunachal Pradesh comes next at the second position in our ranking, where alcohol consumption is not a matter of shame but rather a matter of pride. Somewhat hard to believe, but that’s how it is, like, nearly 56.6% of males and 17.8% of females from Arunachal Pradesh are drinkers. The percentage of women is the highest in the country. As per the elaborated report, in this particular state, liquor is an inseparable part of the people’s traditions and lifestyle, and thus it is generally accepted by both males and females.
3. Telangana
While Telangana might not top the list in terms of the percentage of people who consume alcohol, it is the one that has the highest per capita alcohol expenditure in the country. If we go by the data, well, almost 50.0% of the men in this state consume alcohol, while the number for women is much lower, yet significant, which is around 4.9%. And just so you know, the annual average spend goes well beyond ₹1,600 per individual.
4. Manipur
Well, often, when talking about alcohol consumption, people tend to miss this northeastern state of India, but in actuality, the alcohol consumption is much higher here, like as many as 47.9% of the men are alcohol drinkers, but the percentage of women who drink alcohol is much lower, like 1.6% and that’s all! This state is often neglected because of its small size, but now you know how and why it ranks this high on this list, right?
5. Jharkhand
Up next, see, being just on the edge of top 5, Jharkhand has 40.4% of men drinking on a regular basis. In this state though, one of the things that stands out is the equal distribution of the tribal and non-tribal populations, mainly in the rural areas. Even though alcohol is still a part of various social and religious ceremonies, the state’s income from liquor is far from what it should be if the revenue was to correspond to the consumption levels.
6. Odisha
Just after the top 5, there is Odisha with a percentage of 38.4% of adult men consuming alcohol. No doubt, the use of alcohol in this place is not only dominated by modern bars, like, often it is still deeply mixed with tribal rituals and village festivals. The alcohol consumption revenue isn’t super high in this state, but it surely is rising year after year.
7. Chhattisgarh
Number seven is occupied by Chhattisgarh with 35.9% of men reporting alcohol use. And? Well, maybe not a lot of you know that a place like Bastar, for example, is a district where the old-style brews are still highly consumed. Besides that, the per capita spending is more than ₹1,200 which ranks the state among the highest in the country with regard to liquor expenditure.
8. Tamil Nadu
Are you aware of the fact that Tamil Nadu manages the whole alcohol retail system through TASMAC, a state-run chain? So, alcohol is not only quite easy to get but is also very much taxed. Talking about how this state got ranked in this list, well, Tamil Nadu, with the consumption of alcohol by 32.8% of men, thus can keep the total sales and tax revenue at a very high level all the time, you know, in spite of the fact that it doesn’t have the highest percentage of drinkers.
9. Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand has a list of states where the most alcohol is consumed in the male population, like 32.1% of the male population in the state drinks alcohol, so yes, it is ranked ninth in the country. No doubt, at first, the percentage looks quite impressive for a smaller and mostly hilly state. But yes, drinking is a part of many seasonal and cultural traditions in rural and mountainous areas; therefore, the state is continuously gaining from the liquor tax revenue coming from the rural areas.
10. Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh is among the top 10 states not only because of consumption but also because of spending, but how exactly? Well, putting this into data language, see, the state, with 31.2% of men as alcohol consumers and a per capita spend of more than ₹1,300, continues to have a robust alcohol economy. Availability in both the urban and rural areas is the main factor contributing to these figures, pretty much.
Conclusion
That’s about it. We can keep on going with this list, but for the sake of keeping it about just the ten most alcohol consumption states in India, let’s just end it here. And sure enough, this list might have been an eye opener for some of you because you must have thought differently about some of these states, but now you know how much alcohol is usually consumed in these states.