Prevalence

Alcohol is the most widely used psychoactive drug in Australia [40728]. In 2019 about 35%of  Australians over the age of 14 reported drinking alcohol in the past week. However the proportion of people who drink alcohol has been declining since 2001 [40728].

Information from surveys indicate that:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are less likely to drink alcohol than non-Indigenous people [42101][39231][34063]
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who do drink, are more likely to drink at levels that cause harm to their health than non-Indigenous people
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men are more likely than women to consume alcohol at levels that pose lifetime risk to their health

Key surveys containing information on prevalence of alcohol use are: the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS) and the National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS) which can be found under publications in this section. For a summary of statistical information updated yearly on alcohol use among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, see also our latest Overview of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health status.