Alcohol Consumption Data: Year-End December 2024

Alcohol available for consumption statistics provide information on the volume of alcoholic beverages (beer, wine, spirits, and spirit-based drinks) available for consumption in New Zealand.

Key facts

All comparisons are between the year ended December 2024 and the year ended December 2023, except where otherwise stated.

The total volume of alcoholic beverages available for consumption was up 1.2 percent to 482 million litres.

• The volume of beer rose 5.4 percent to 296 million litres.
• The volume of wine fell 4.1 percent to 95 million litres.
• The volume of spirits (including spirit-based drinks) fell 5.5 percent to 92 million litres.
• The equivalent total volume of pure alcohol in all alcoholic beverages for consumption fell 3.1 percent.
• The volume of available alcohol, expressed in terms of the number of equivalent standard drinks per person aged 18 years and over, fell 4.9 percent to 1.77 standard drinks per person per day.

Volume of alcoholic beverages rises slightly

The total volume of alcoholic beverages available for consumption was up 1.2 percent to 482 million litres. This follows a fall of 4.3 percent in 2023, and a fall of 0.3 percent in 2022.

As a proportion of the total volume of alcoholic beverages available for consumption, between 2010 and 2024:

• beer decreased from 63 percent to 61 percent
• wine decreased from 22 percent to 20 percent
• spirits and spirit-based drinks increased from 15 percent to 19 percent.

Beer volume up 5.4 percent

The total volume of beer available for consumption increased 5.4 percent to 296 million litres in 2024. This follows a fall of 4.4 percent in 2023, and a rise of 0.5 percent in 2022.

The changes in volume in each of the four categories of beer, according to alcoholic content were:

• up to 2.5 percent alcohol - fell 7.9 percent, to 6.0 million litres
• between 2.5 and 4.35 percent - rose 34 percent, to 95 million litres
• between 4.35 and 5 percent - fell 5.7 percent, to 161 million litres
• above 5 percent - rose 3.9 percent, to 34 million litres.

Of the total volume of beer available for consumption in 2024, 88 percent was produced in New Zealand and 12 percent was imported.

In addition to the volume of beer produced in New Zealand that is available for local consumption, a total of 20 million litres of beer was exported in 2024.

Wine volume down 4.1 percent

The total volume of wine available for consumption in 2024 fell 4.1 percent to 95 million litres. This follows a fall of 2.4 percent in 2023, and a fall of 5.9 percent in 2022.

Of the main categories of wine:

• total table wine (wine with an alcohol content up to 14 percent) fell 4.1 percent to 94 million litres
• fortified wine (wine with an alcohol content greater than 14 percent) fell 10 percent to 403,000 litres
• wine made from grapes fell 4.2 percent to 78 million litres
• wine made from other fruit and vegetables, or flavoured with other aromatic substances, fell 3.4 percent to 16 million litres.

Of the total volume of wine available for consumption in 2024, 72 percent was produced in New Zealand and 28 percent was imported.

In addition to the volume of wine produced in New Zealand that is available for local consumption, a total of 241 million litres of wine was exported in 2024.

Volume of spirits and spirit-based drinks down 5.5 percent

The total volume of spirits and spirit-based drinks available for consumption in 2024 fell 5.5 percent from 2023, to 92 million litres, following a fall of 5.7 percent in 2023 and a rise of 3.2 percent in 2022.

The changes by volume of the two categories were:

• spirit-based drinks (containing up to 23 percent alcohol, such as ready-to-drink beverages (RTDs)), down 3.4 percent to 78 million litres
• spirits (containing more than 23 percent alcohol, such as vodka, gin, and whisky), down 16 percent to 14 million litres.

Volume of pure alcohol falls 3.1 percent

The total volume of pure alcohol is a measure of the equivalent amount of alcohol in all alcoholic beverages available for consumption, after taking account of the different alcoholic contents of the various categories of beer, wine, and spirits.

The total volume of pure alcohol in alcoholic beverages available for consumption fell 3.1 percent. This followed a 3.0 percent fall in 2023, and a 0.7 percent fall in 2022.

Of the main categories of alcoholic beverage, the total volume of pure alcohol in:

• beer rose 4.5 percent
• wine fell 4.0 percent
• spirits (including spirit-based drinks) fell 10 percent
  • spirits (with more than 23 percent alcohol content) fell 16 percent
  • spirit-based drinks (with not more than 23 percent alcohol content) fell 3.3 percent.

The proportions of pure alcohol in the various alcoholic beverages available for consumption have changed over time.

Between 2010 and 2024, the proportion available from:

• beer increased from 38 percent to 39 percent
• wine decreased from 34 percent to 29 percent
• spirits (including spirit-based drinks) increased from 28 percent to 32 percent.

Decline in standard drinks available per person

The total volume of pure alcohol in alcoholic beverages available for consumption can be expressed in terms of the number of standard drinks available on a per capita basis.

A standard drink contains 10 grams of alcohol.

In 2024, the average number of standard drinks available per person was:

• 1.8 standard drinks a day (per person aged 18+), down 4.8 percent from 2023, following a 5.4 percent decrease in 2022.

In 2024, the volume of alcohol available per person aged 18 years and over (as measured by the number of standard drinks), continued to fall as it has for the past 4 years.

Access data in Infoshare

Use Infoshare to view and download time-series data for alcohol available for consumption:

Subject category: Industry sectors
Group: Alcohol available for consumption - ALC

BESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswyBESbswy

Definitions and metadata

Alcohol available for consumption - DataInfo+ provides the general methodology used to produce statistics about alcohol available for consumption, and related metadata. 

Alcohol available for consumption concepts - DataInfo+ provides definitions of terms used in this release. 

Technical enquiries

Scott Wernham
[email protected]

ISSN 2230-3278

Next release

Alcohol available for consumption: March 2025 quarter will be released on 23 May 2025.