Which Country has the Cheapest Beer in the World?

I was in Slovakia a few weeks ago and went to the pub for a beer. Low on cash, I only intended on stopping for one beer. Then I found out that I was only paying 70 pence ($1.12), so I ordered a whole load more.

Across the world, backpackers travel on shoestring budgets, struggling to afford decent meals and avoiding expensive excursions. Yet still they manage to drink. When funds are limited and every penny counts, an important question must be asked. Which country has the cheapest beer in the world?

I have scoured the internet and found various sites claiming to have found the cheapest beer in the world. The Sun cited a 10 pence ($0.16) pint in Somalia as the cheapest in the world, while many others claim Tajikistan holds the key to the cheapest pint. Pint Price supports this claim, claiming that Tadjikistan (an alternate, slightly unusual spelling of Tajikistan) has an average pint price of 30 pence ($0.48). However, having only six users contributing to this price (and misspelling the country name), I found it somewhat unreliable and decided on putting my trust in numbeo as it has considerably more users contributing to the values. Incidentally, numbeo lists the average beer in a bar price as £1.21 ($1.95) in Tajikistan which is considerably higher that the price claimed by Pint Price.

Thus I have compiled a list of the cheapest countries according to the average price of a beer at the bar. Bare in mind that this is the average price of a beer across the whole country using data supplied by people who have visited / lived in the countries on the list. If you visit the capital of a country expect to pay considerably more for a beer when in a bar. The list is based upon the price for a 0.5 litre domestic beer.

The list below gives the cheapest five countries according to bar / restaurant beer price. All prices are based upon a half litre, domestic beer.

In joint fourth place…

Cambodia Vietnam Ukraine Panama Ecuador Moldova

Cambodia, Vietnam, Ukraine, Panama, Ecuador, and Moldova. £0.62 ($1) per beer

Spread over the world between Eastern Europe, South-East Asia, and the Americas, six countries average out at one dollar beers helping you to save your pennies all around the world.

In third place…

Philippines1

Philippines £0.53 ($0.85) per beer

With more than 7,000 islands in the Philippines, it seems that there must be an awful lot of beer flowing to keep everybody cool in the tropical climate.

In joint first place, the two countries that sell the cheapest beer are…

Saudi-Arabia Uzbekistan

Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan £0.50 ($0.81) per beer

So the cheapest countries in the world for buying beer are Uzbekistan and.. Saudi Arabia?! Alcohol in Saudi Arabia is strictly illegal and punishable by public lashing. It is quite possible that the illegal alcohol trade in Saudi Arabia is responsible for the reported cheap price. As for Uzbekistan, I have no idea. Help me out here!!   If you have any idea why the results have come out as they did or you think that they are wrong, please comment below. I’m as surprised as you are.

By | 2018-02-25T09:58:39+00:00 December 5th, 2012|Advice|2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Antoine 06/12/2012 at 01:33 - Reply

    Love the idea! You should have done it among your own experiences 😉

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