YOUNG people in Spain are drinking significantly less alcohol than previous generations, with consumption down by 60% and just one in three drinking each week.
Data released by the Ministry of Health has highlighted that alcohol consumption among 15-24 year olds in Spain has fallen by 60% in the last 20 years representing the age group with the sharpest decline.
The share of young Spaniards drinking alcohol at least once a week has fallen from 48.3% in 2006 to 17.9% today.
A similar trend has been seen in the general population, where weekly drinking dropped from 41.8% to 31.1% over the same period.
Meanwhile, a third of Spaniards said they had not consumed alcohol in the past year, among the highest abstention rates in Europe.
The findings show a clear shift in alcohol consumption habits over the past 20 years, with steady declines in regular drinking, particularly among young people.
However, the report highlights a clear paradox in Spain’s drinking habits: while the country has one of the highest rates of abstinence in Europe, it also ranks second for daily alcohol consumption, behind only Portugal.
The report attributes this to a rise in binge drinking stating that 16.7% of the population reported at least one episode of binge drinking in the past year.
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Meanwhile, 24.7% of minors aged 14 to 18 said they had consumed five or more alcoholic drinks within approximately two hours in the past year.
According to the Ministry of Health, beer is the most popular drink among regular drinkers, accounting for 57.1% of consumption, while wine makes up 30.9%.
The new data comes as young people across Europe are drinking less, driven in part by health concerns and cost of living crises.
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