Nigeria 1st, Namibia ranks 5th for alcohol consumption in africa

Spiral...
Windhoek — Based on the World Health
Organization's (WHO) 2011 Global Status Report
on Alcohol and Health, Namibia is ranked fifth on
the African continent in terms of annual alcohol
consumption with the average Namibian
consuming 9.62 litres of alcohol per year. The
WHO measured this by the amount of pure ethyl
alcohol consumed per capita per year by people
aged 15 and older.
Namibia's alcohol consumption is topped by
Nigeria at number one at 12.28 litres per person
per year, Uganda at number two at 11.93 litres
per person, Rwanda at number three at 9.8 litres
per person and Sierra Leone at number four at
9.72 litres per person per year. According to the
report Namibia has a wide breakdown of
favourite drinks, but beer carries the most weight
with 67 percent of alcohol consumption. Spirits
make up 20 percent, wine makes up 7 percent
and "others" chip are at 6 percent. During the
2012 financial year Namibia Breweries Limited
(NBL) reached a historic milestone by selling over
1 million hectolitres of beer in Namibia.
However, when contacted for this year's
consumption figures an NBL employee said she is
"not comfortable with giving out these figures".
However, speaking to New Era yesterday, NBL's
Managing Director, Wessie van der Westhuizen,
said the company is extremely active in the
National Road Safety Council's Don't Drink and
Drive Campaign. He also mentioned that the
company's Vigo brand is a perfect non-alcoholic
alternative. "There's nothing wrong with enjoying
a beer but we have to educate Namibians to do
so responsibly," added Van der Westhuizen.
In stark contrast to Namibia, in Nigeria beer
makes up just 6 percent of alcohol consumption,
while "other" drinks make up 94 percent due to
the high popularity of home-brewed beverages.
Religious lawmakers in that country make it more
difficult and expensive to produce and sell alcohol
and as a result many Nigerians prefer ogogoro,
which is a homebrew that has a high alcohol
content. Ogogoro has a 30 percent to 60 percent
ethyl alcohol content, depending on how it's
made, and is produced from the juice of raffia
palm trees.