Booz

The above cartogram redraws each country according to how much alcohol is drunk (figures from 2001). Compare a bloated and distorted Britain with a shrivelled Australia. Sadly in this category, our little island punches above its weight. (image from University of Michigan)

From England's Department of Health:

• In England in 2002, around two fifths (37%) of men had drunk more than 4 units of alcohol on at least one day in the previous week: just over one fifth of women (22%) had drunk more than 3 units of alcohol on at least one day in the previous week.

• In England in 2002, 21% of men had drunk more than 8 units of alcohol on at least one day in the previous week, and 9% of women had drunk more than 6 units.

• In 2002, average weekly alcohol consumption in England was 17.0 units for men and 7.6 units for women.

• In England in 2002, 27% of men and 17% of women aged 16 and over drank on average more than 21 and 14 units a week respectively. Drinking at these levels among men has remained stable at about 27% since 1992: for women it has risen from 12% to 17% in the same period.

• In 2003, a quarter (25%) of pupils in England aged 11-15 had drunk alcohol in the previous week; the proportion doing so has fluctuated around this level since the mid 1990s.

• In the United Kingdom, expenditure on alcohol as a proportion of total household expenditure has fallen from 7.5% in 1980 to 5.7% in 2003.