Alcohol

Consumption has been declining for nearly two decades

Over the past twenty years, the use of alcohol among Finns has mainly been declining. Although consumption has decreased, alcohol is still a significant factor affecting health, wellbeing and safety in Finnish society.

Statistics illustrate the overall picture of the alcohol situation from three perspectives:

how much alcoholic beverages are sold and consumed
what the population’s drinking habits are like
what citizens think about the prevailing alcohol policy.

In 2024, the total alcohol consumption was approximately 8.3 litres of 100% alcohol per inhabitant. The decrease is explained particularly by the decrease in recorded consumption, i.e. domestic sales. Most of alcohol (76%) is purchased from retail outlets, such as Alko and grocery stores.
Passenger imports have also remained at a lower level than before the coronavirus pandemic.
Read more: Consumption

Consumption of alcoholic beverages measured as 100% alcohol per resident aged 15 or over 1960-2024, litres.
Year	Total consumption	Recorded consumption	Unrecorded consumption
1960	3,7	2,7	1,0
	3,9	2,9	1,0
	4,0	3,0	1,0
	4,1	3,1	1,0
	4,1	3,1	1,0
	4,3	3,3	1,0
	4,5	3,5	1,0
	4,6	3,6	1,0
	4,9	3,9	1,0
	6,4	5,7	0,7
1970	6,5	5,8	0,7
	7,1	6,4	0,7
	7,6	6,8	0,8
	8,2	7,4	0,8
	9,1	8,4	0,7
	9,0	8,0	1,0
	9,0	8,1	0,9
	9,2	8,2	1,0
	8,9	7,9	1,0
	9,0	7,8	1,2
1980	9,0	7,9	1,1
	9,3	8,0	1,3
	9,2	7,9	1,3
	9,3	7,9	1,4
	9,5	8,1	1,4
	9,4	8,0	1,4
	9,9	8,5	1,4
	10,2	8,8	1,4
	10,4	9,0	1,4
	10,9	9,4	1,5
1990	11,0	9,5	1,5
	10,8	9,2	1,6
	10,3	8,9	1,4
	10,0	8,4	1,6
	9,8	8,2	1,6
	11,0	8,3	2,7
	10,6	8,2	2,4
	10,9	8,6	2,3
	10,8	8,6	2,2
	10,7	8,6	2,1
2000*	9,8	8,6	1,2
	10,0	9,0	1,1
	10,4	9,2	1,1
	10,4	9,3	1,1
	11,8	9,9	1,9
	12,1	10,0	2,1
	11,8	10,1	1,6
	12,0	10,5	1,6
	11,9	10,3	1,6
	11,7	10,0	1,8
2010	11,5	9,7	1,8
	11,6	9,8	1,7
	11,0	9,3	1,7
	11,0	9,1	1,9
	10,6	8,8	1,8
	10,3	8,5	1,8
	10,3	8,4	1,8
	10,0	8,4	1,6
	10,1	8,4	1,7
	9,8	8,2	1,6
	9,2	8,2	1,1
	9,0	8,1	0,8
	8,9	7,6	1,3
	8,7	7,4	1,2
2024	8,3	7,2	1,1

Drinking habits are changing

Weekly alcohol consumption decreased between 2016 and 2023, but binge drinking has not decreased accordingly.

Especially the youngest age group, 20–34-year-olds, has reduced its weekly alcohol consumption, but on the other hand, more severe binge drinking is most common in this particular age group. A significant part of the population still exceeds the limits for risky alcohol use when measured by the AUDIT test.
Read more: Drinking habits

Attitudes to alcohol policy have become stricter

Finnish people’s attitudes towards alcohol policy have become stricter since 2022.

In 2026, an increasing number of people were in favour of stricter regulation: 17 per cent of respondents supported stricter alcohol policy, compared to 8 per cent in 2022.
Views on the sale of wines in grocery stores have also become more restrictive, particularly when potential changes to the retail system are highlighted. If allowing wine sales in grocery stores would also mean permitting the sale of spirits in these outlets, 24 per cent of respondents supported the sale of wines in grocery stores.
Read more: Alcohol policy opinions

A gap in statistics on passenger imports and online purchases

The data collection method for passenger imports and online purchases of alcohol changed at the beginning of 2025. Previous monitoring based on telephone interviews has been replaced with an online panel, which produces estimates that are not comparable with the statistics from previous years.

Due to this methodological change, data on passenger imports and online purchases will not be published as part of the official statistics for the statistical years 2025–2027. The estimates for these years will be published as separate THL working papers.

Based on external sources, there is reason to assume that the online panel produces estimates higher than the actual level. Therefore, the results must be interpreted with caution. External sources include, among others, estimates made by the Estonian Institute of Economic Research on alcohol purchased by Finnish tourists.
Report on the change in the method of collecting data on passenger imports and online purchases of alcohol and the impacts of the change.
Passenger imports and online purchases of alcoholic beverages 2025, working paper (Julkari) (in Finnish)

About the data in more detail

Indicator data in Sotkanet
Online table: Regional data on the sales of alcoholic beverages (see the Consumption tab)

Next publications on the topic

The Alcohol consumption statistics are published annually during the spring following the statistical year. The more exact time will be published in the statistics publication calendar.

The drinking habits of Finns are studied by means of the Drinking Habits Survey conducted approximately every eight years. The latest survey was carried out in 2023.
The opinions of Finns on alcohol policy are mapped annually by means of a survey, and the results are published during the spring of the statistical year. The more exact time will be published in the statistics publication calendar.

No statistics on passenger imports and online purchases of alcohol will be published for the period 2025–2027. The results of the monitoring will be published in working papers but their publication dates will not appear in the publication calendar.
Statistics publication calendar