German households spent 45% of beverage budgets on alcohol in 2023

German households spent about €75 a month on beverages in 2023, and 45% of that total went to alcoholic drinks, according to new figures from the Federal Statistical Office, or Destatis.

The data, published Tuesday and drawn from the 2023 Income and Expenditure Survey, show that nonalcoholic drinks accounted for the larger share of beverage spending at 55%, or a little more than €40 a month. Alcoholic drinks represented just under €35 a month on average across households.

Within total beverage spending, soft drinks and mineral water made up the largest single category at 24%. Wine, including nonalcoholic wine, and wine-based drinks accounted for 20%, while coffee and tea represented 19%. Beer, including nonalcoholic beer, made up 16% of beverage spending.

The figures offer a detailed snapshot of at-home consumption in Europe’s largest economy and suggest that alcohol still holds a large place in household beverage budgets even as nonalcoholic products take the bigger overall share. For wine and beer producers, distributors and retailers, the breakdown may help refine demand forecasts and product mix decisions, especially because wine-related drinks and beer together account for more than a third of beverage spending in the survey.

Destatis said the results come from a subsample of the 2023 survey focused on detailed recording of spending on food, beverages and tobacco. A total of 9,965 households tracked those purchases over 14 days. The averages cover all household types, from one-person homes to large families and from lower-income to higher-income households.

The agency said restaurant, café and cafeteria spending was not included, meaning the numbers reflect purchases for home consumption rather than drinking out.

The same survey found that private households in Germany spent about €335 a month on food in 2023. Meat and sausages, fish and seafood accounted for 22% of food spending, the largest share. Grain products such as bread, rice and pasta represented 17%, matching the share for milk, dairy products and eggs. Vegetables, potatoes and similar items accounted for 14%, fruit and nuts for 9%, and sugar and confectionery for 8%.

Destatis conducts the Income and Expenditure Survey every five years and describes it as the largest voluntary household survey in official statistics. The agency said the 2023 edition introduced a broad redesign and moved to an updated classification system for income and spending. It also changed the way households recorded purchases and allowed participants for the first time to document all entries digitally through mobile or web apps.

According to Destatis, those changes led to more consistent and precise recording of spending across categories. But the agency also cautioned that the revisions limit direct comparisons with earlier years.