Leading countries and segments
The largest market in Europe for alcoholic beverages was the United Kingdom. In 2022, the revenue of alcoholic drinks in the UK amounted to approximately 31 billion U.S. dollars, three billion more than Germany, the second-largest market with a revenue of 28 billion dollars. France and Italy are the third- and fourth-largest markets in Europe, with revenues of 25.8 and 12.6 billion euros respectively.The most popular alcoholic drink in Europe is beer, with a market share of roughly 34 percent of all alcohol sold in 2022. Wine and spirits had market shares of 33 and 25 percent respectively. In 2022, the combined sales volume of beer in Europe was over 33 billion liters. In recent years, the number of microbreweries in Europe has exploded. Whereas there were roughly 2,400 small breweries in 2009, this number had increased to nearly 9,000 in 2022. Microbreweries account for nearly three quarters of all of Europe's breweries.