Alcoholic drinks consumption in the world at -1% in volume in first semester 2026: -4% for wine

Another decline, even if not far by stability, is still being absorbed by the global alcoholic beverages market. As it is well known, the sector is not experiencing its best period in terms of consumption, due to changing habits, uncertainty and international tensions, among other factors that continue to weigh on demand. Nevertheless, there are also encouraging signals, starting with the growth of emerging markets, which are gaining ground and partially offsetting the declines seen in some of the world most important markets. As for wine, overall consumption slowed in the first half of 2026, with still wine down 4%, but the category remains resilient and is even showing signs of progress in sparkling wines, particularly Prosecco (+3%). This is according to the latest snapshot of international consumption volumes released by Iwsr, the global leader in alcohol beverage data and analytics, based on first-half 2026 figures across 21 key markets (Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, Spain, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States). Together, these countries account for 76% of global alcoholic beverage consumption and reveal a growing divergence between the world two largest markets (the United States and China), and the rest of the world.
Comparing the first half of 2025 with the first half of 2026 (total beverage alcohol - Tba, ed) consumption volumes declined by 1% across all 21 markets. However, this represented an improvement on the 2% decline recorded between the first halves of 2024 and 2025. Excluding the United States and China, strong growth in Brazil, India, Colombia, South Africa and the United Kingdom was enough to push total consumption volumes back into positive territory, with a +1% increase. Italy was also among the 6 markets which posted smaller declines than the previous year, alongside Germany, Japan, France, Poland and Australia.
According to Iwsr, three categories were primarily responsible for the volume decline in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period in 2025: high-alcohol-content beer (-1%, with a particularly significant impact given its status as the world largest category), still wine (-4%) and domestic spirits (-11%). By contrast, the categories that posted volume growth across the 21 markets were non-alcoholic beer (+8%), Indian whisky (+4%) and Prosecco (+3%).
In the United States, traditional alcoholic beverage consumption fell by 4% between the first half of 2025 and the first half of 2026, driven by declines in beer (-4%), still wine (-6%) and ready-to-drink beverages (-4%). China recorded a similar decline of 3%, mainly due to weaker performances in beer (-2%), still wine (-9%) and domestic spirits (-12%). Emerging markets, however, delivered far brighter results in the first half of 2026. In India, total alcoholic beverage volumes rose by 10% year-on-year, supported by high-alcohol-content beer (+16%), ready-to-drink beverages (+12%) and Indian whisky (+4%). In Brazil, volumes increased by 3%, driven by high-alcohol-content beer (+3%), non-alcoholic beer (+11%) and ready-to-drink beverages (+9%). In Colombia, alcoholic beverage volumes grew by +9%, with strong performances from high-alcohol-content beer (+8%), non-alcoholic beer (+11%) and ready-to-drink beverages, which surged by 110%. Consumption also rose sharply in South Africa (+5%), fuelled by high-alcohol-content beer (+5%), ready-to-drink beverages (+4%) and still wine (+3%). Emerging economies were not the only growth engines, however, as global volumes were also supported by a strong performance in the United Kingdom, where consumption increased by 2%, thanks to high-alcohol-content beer (+2%), non-alcoholic beer (+22%) and ready-to-drink beverages (+25%).
Marten Lodewijks, president and ceo of Iwsr, stated that “global beverage alcohol consumption became increasingly fragmented across both markets and categories during the first half of 2026. Moderation is becoming a structural feature of consumption, but strong growth persists in several key markets such as India and Brazil”. Likewise, while larger and more traditional categories such as still wine and high-alcohol-content beer continued to weigh on total beverage alcohol volumes, this was partly offset in most markets by the growth of ready-to-drink (Rtd) beverages and non-alcoholic beer”.