How widely do alcohol drinkers' habits vary across the world? To get a better understanding of tipplers' preferences, we polled more than 2,000 people in China, Korea, Poland and the United Kingdom — all nations in which people are known to like a drink. The results are sure to be particularly interesting to those in the F&B, entertainment and hospitality sectors.

A powerful thirst
Naturally enough, the first thing we ascertained was whether or not an interview subject drinks alcohol. A considerable 82% of all those surveyed did.

Overall, the Poles turned out to be the biggest boozers, with just about everyone (98%) stating that they liked a drink. Britain weighed in with 91% drinkers, followed by 71% of our Chinese respondents. Koreans were further down the scale, with 66% of those polled admitting to being fond of a tipple.

Make mine a...
Although the Koreans were the least enthusiastic drinkers in terms of percentage of population, those who do drink tend to go for the stronger stuff — a convincing 26% of subjects reported that their favorite tipple was whiskey. This is well above the 9% average of all respondents analysed. Beer was by far the most popular drink in Poland, and wine the most popular in UK and China. Clear spirits such as vodka and gin have quite a following in Poland (11%) and UK (13%), but little penetration in China and Korea.

Cognac and brandy producers might like to consider their approach to marketing — in the nations surveyed anyway. Only 14% of respondents ever drink them, and an average of just 2% named them as their favorite drink. Champagne fared little better, with an average of 5%.

Who drinks how much of what weekly?
On the whole, beer and wine tend to be drunk in moderation, with the vast majority consuming less than 14 units per week. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the British claimed to drink the most — averaging 9 units of beer per week compared to the overall average of 4 units. This trend also applied to wine, brandy and clear spirits. Interestingly, only 20% of British men claimed not to drink beer as opposed to 60% of British women.

Bar room or living room?
We also determined where our drinkers preferred to indulge. Overall, 35% chose to drink at home, 26% outside the home, and 38% don't mind where the drinks are served. An analysis of the breakdown reveals that 50% of Polish drinkers prefer only to drink at home. In Britain, 51% drink inside and outside the home. And in Korea, 53% prefer to drink away from home.

Oddly enough, 4% of respondents in China replied "don't know" when asked where they usually drank. Whether this correlates to the number of drinkers in China who frequently experience blackouts remains unknown.