Move over, Russia! Belarus is the drunkest country in the world

Perhaps surprisingly, Russia is not the drunkest country in the world. That title goes to Belarus, whose residents enjoy just over 2 litres of alcohol more a year than Russians.

Wasted Worldwide, a website that compares drinking habits around the world, created a series of maps that reveal how much and what types of alcohol are most popular in different parts of the world. To create these maps, they used data from the 2014 Global Status Report On Alcohol and Health.

Belarus drinks the most alcohol in the world, with an average consumption of 17.5 litres. Russia comes in second with 15.1 litres. The United States consumes a relatively reasonable average of 9.2 litres, which is less than the UK (11..6 litres) and Ireland (11.9 litres).

Unsurprisingly, countries in the Middle East and northern Africa drink the least: People in Libya and Mauritania drink an average 0.1 litres, Saudi Arabia drinks 0.2 litres, and Egypt drinks 0.4 litres.