Shocking amount South Africans spent on alcohol in December
If you think South Africans spent millions over the festive period, think again. It was far more.
According to the DG Murray Trust's (DGMT) Rethink Your Drink Campaign, South Africans are among the world's heaviest drinkers.
South Africans consume an average of around 33.5 grams of pure alcohol per day, which is 6.5 grams more than the global average of 27 grams.
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"A significant portion of this drinking is binge drinking, defined as consuming 60g or more of pure alcohol, about five or more standard drinks, in one sitting," said DGMT.
How much South Africans spent on alcohol in December
On average, South Africans' drinking habits amount to a spend of about R400 million a day.
According to the Rethink Your Drink Campaign, South Africans spend billions of rand on alcohol over the 2025 festive period, averaging about R1 billion a day.
This is almost triple the normal average spend.
Campaign manager Kashifa Ancer said South Africans spend about R150 billion a year on alcohol.
This figure represents total consumer spending on beer, wine, spirits and ready-to-drink, pre-mixed alcoholic beverages across retail stores, taverns, bars and restaurants.
In December 2024, South Africans spent R7.7 billion on alcohol between 25 December 2024 and 1 January 2025.
Rethink your drink campaign
Rethink Your Drink is a reimagined alcohol harm-reduction campaign by DGMT that aims to challenge the norms, policies and industry practices that promote and normalise heavy drinking.
The campaign does not oppose alcohol consumption entirely. Instead, it targets the conditions that make excessive drinking widespread, especially among young people and in under-resourced communities.
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Although alcohol sales contribute about 3% to South Africa's GDP, the harm to the economy is far greater.
"A 2014 study estimated the total social and economic cost of harmful alcohol use at R277 billion annually."
"Adjusted for inflation, this figure rises to an estimated R433 billion by 2023, equivalent to around 10 to 12% of the country's GDP."
"These costs include health care, crime and violence, road crashes, and lost productivity."
Best buy strategies for alcohol
The Rethink Your Drink Campaign's work is rooted in the World Health Organisation's five "best buy" strategies to reduce alcohol-related harm.
These include:
- Banning alcohol advertising, except at the point of sale, with protections to ensure it is not visible to under-18s.
- Increasing the price of alcohol through excise tax reform and a minimum price per unit of pure alcohol.
- Lowering the legal blood alcohol limit for driving to 0.02g per 100ml or less.
- Restricting the availability of alcohol by reducing outlet density, limiting trading hours and stopping the sale of oversized containers.
- Expanding access to treatment and counselling for alcohol dependence.
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