Overview
- The Ministerio de Sanidad’s monograph using ESdE2023 data shows weekly alcohol prevalence in Spain fell from 48.4% in 2006 to 31.1% in 2023, and 33.2% of people reported no alcohol in the past year.
- Among 15–24-year-olds habitual use dropped from 43.8% to 17.9%, a decline of roughly 60% compared with earlier surveys.
- Intensive episodic drinking has risen even as habitual use falls, with 16.7% reporting at least one binge episode in the prior 12 months and average daily intake among regular drinkers concentrated on weekends where it can triple weekday levels.
- Patterns vary by sex and social factors: higher risk and volumes cluster among men with lower education, the unemployed, and retirees, while some measures are higher in women with university studies and in more advantaged social groups.
- The findings create a mixed policy picture because falling routine drinking may reduce chronic harms but rising weekend binges and persistent inequalities raise acute risks and point to a need for targeted prevention and equity‑focused interventions.