Chew on this: The World in Food Numbers May 15, 2008

We all have stereotypes of different countries. The French drink a lot of wine, the Russians a lot of vodka and the Mexicans a lot of Corona. Boy, are we wrong (well, at least in terms of who do it the most).

Read these random facts and figures (food-related, of course) from the The Economist Pocket World in Figures (2008 Edition):

World’s Greatest Beer Guzzlers (Off-trade sales, liters per head of pop.)

1. Czech Republic (You were thinking Germany, eh?) – 82.4
2. Venezuela – 71.6
3. Australia – (68.7)

Top Global Smokers (Average Annual Consumption of cigarettes per head per day)

1. Greece (!) – 8.4 (Who knew that these Mediterranean denizens were such smokers?)
2. Macedonia – 7.1
3. Russia – 6.8

World Winos (Off-trade sales, liters of head of pop.)

1. Portugal – 32.1
2. Switzerland – 29.5 (They may be neutral, but they’re not sober!)
3. Italy – 29.4

Spirited, they are: Greatest Consumers of Alcoholic Drinks (Off-trade sales, liters per head of pop.)

1. Australia – 99.2 (those Aussies really put it away!)
2. Czech Republic – 98.2
3. Germany – 96.2

(The U.S., by the way, is #12, with 73.8)

Pass the Lipitor (Cardiovascular Deaths per 100,000 population, age standardized, 2002)

(Basically, living incountries that end in “stan” is not good for your heart!)

1. Turkmenistan (and you thought the U.S. with its diabesity crisis was #1!) – 844
2. Tajikistan – 753
3. Kazakhstan – 713
4. Afghanistan – 706

Where’s the Sugar? (Diabetes rates, % of population aged 20-79, 2007)

(Looks like living in an oil-rich country is hazardous to your health!)

1. United Arab Emirates – 19.5
2. Saudi Arabia – 16.7
3. Kuwait – 14.4
4. Oman – 13.1