Countries That Consume the Most Alcohol

(May 15) -- AOL News contributor Ioannis Gatsiounis brings us a grim account today of how scores of Ugandans have died in recent weeks after drinking a home-brewed alcohol known as waragi. The story contains a statistic that might surprise many: Uganda tops the world in alcohol consumption.

That finding is from a 2004 World Health Organization report on global alcohol consumption per capita. The top of the list is packed with Western nations, but no other country comes close to Uganda's drinking rate of 19.47 liters per capita. Luxembourg ranks second, at 17.54 liters. Check out the chart below for the rest of the top 10.

Source: World Health Organization Global Status Report on Alcohol 2004

One unfamiliar name in the top 10 is Reunion, a French island off Africa's east coast that is a tourist destination.

Some notable countries don't crack the top 10. Russia, long stereotyped as a nation of fierce drinkers, ranks 19th, with a rate of 10.58 liters per capita. The U.S. registers at 41, with 8.51 liters. And Canada is close behind at 43, with 8.26.

As Gatsiounis' story makes clear, Uganda's alcohol problem runs deep. The country lacks an alcohol policy, and waragi is so cheap that even destitute people and children can get their hands on it. "Drinking has been made way too easy," one official noted.