10 Countries That Spend the Most on Food, Alcohol and Tobacco

Spoiler alert: the United States isn't on the list

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Americans have the largest disposable incomes in the world, but that doesn’t mean they’re dropping the most cash on food, alcohol and tobacco. Analyzing data from the USDA and EuroMonitor International, the folks over at the Huffington Post noted that as a whole, Americans spend a smaller portion of their incomes on food than their peers in other developed nations. In a more comprehensive ranking, which factors in all money spent on food eaten at home, dining out, alcohol and tobacco, the U.S. places just nineteenth.

Of course, this doesn’t mean Americans just don’t like eating, drinking and smoking as much as everyone else. Obviously Americans hold these activities very dear. However, higher taxes and shipping costs, among other factors, mean that the same items just happen to cost more in other countries. Or, maybe Americans just like to eat, drink and smoke cheap things.

Either way, here are the top 10 nations that spent the most on these items last year:

  1. Switzerland — $8,024 per person
  2. Norway — $7,624 per person
  3. Australia — $7277 per person
  4. Japan — $6,556 per person
  5. Sweden — $5,666 per person
  6. New Zealand — $5,656 per person
  7. Finland — $5,351 per person
  8. Austria — $5,239 per person
  9. Spain — $5,160 per person
  10. Hong Kong — $5,128 per person

MORE: Which Cities Spend the Most on Snack Foods?