In 2019, 9% of people aged 15 and over in the EU drank sugar-sweetened soft drinks daily, while 6% drank such beverages 4-6 times a week and 19% drank these 1-3 times a week.
Daily consumption of sugar-sweetened soft drinks was more common for men than for women (12% of men vs. 7% of women). In addition, the older the age group, the lower the frequency of consumption of these beverages: the highest share was recorded among those aged 15 to 24 (14%), while those aged 65 to 74 and people aged 75 and over had the lowest shares (around 5%).
Source dataset: hlth_ehis_fv7e
Share of people drinking sugar-sweetened soft drinks daily: highest in Belgium, lowest in Estonia
Among the EU Member States, the share of people who reported that they drank sugar-sweetened soft drinks at least once a day was highest in Belgium (20%), followed by Malta, Germany, Hungary, Poland and Bulgaria (all around 12%).
In contrast, the lowest share was recorded in Estonia (2%), followed by Lithuania, Finland, Latvia and Romania (all around 3%).
Source dataset: hlth_ehis_fv7e
For more information:
- Eurostat dedicated section on health statistics
- Eurostat database on health statistics
- The data presented in this article are the first results of the third wave of the European Health Interview Survey (EHIS). You can read more about the EHIS in the methodological Statistics Explained article.
- The indicator presented in this article shows the frequency of drinking regular soft drinks, whether carbonated or not carbonated, bottled ice tea, energy drinks, syrup-based drinks and similar or any other non-alcoholic soft drinks that contain (a lot of) sugar. All kinds of light, diet or artificially sweetened soft drinks are not included, neither are coffee and tea, even if sweetened with some sugar.
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