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This Map Shows Every Country's Favorite Beer — And One Reigns Over All The Rest

What’s the world’s favorite beer, you say?

two glass of beer in hand. Beer glasses clinking in bar or pub
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There seem to be two kinds of people in the world when it comes to beer. You're either repulsed by the idea of beer and have hated every brand you've tried, or you consider yourself a beer enthusiast who will debate which beer is the best with anyone who tries to question your taste — whether it be craft beer or the latest ultra-lite offering from Anheuser-Busch. But have you ever wondered which is the favorite in other countries? Thankfully, we have answers.

Analysts at BusinessFinancing wanted to find out more about beer preferences around the world. More specifically, they were curious about which beer was the favorite in the world and which countries have the same taste in beer.

To find each country's favorite beer brand, BusinessFinancing gathered data in March 2022, looking at consumer brand lists from business publications, industry journals, and reports. Then, they took the list and used Google Ads API to find the search volume data for each brand in nearly every country. What they created is a fun beer map with one obvious worldwide favorite.

"Beer brands have a strong association with the country from which they originated, but aren't always most popular in their homeland," BusinessFinancing says.

Of note: These seem to be big beer brands, not the smaller, craft brews. So they might not be the best beers out there — though who doesn’t love a Pilsner Urquell? — but they’re allegedly the most popular. Whether or not you agree with this map, we’re just the messenger!

Key findings from the data analysis on favorite beers around the world:

BusinessFinancing
  • Heineken tops the list of most favorite beers. It's a top pick in 77 countries, including Finland, Russia, Brazil, Australia, Congo, and Greece.
  • In second place is Guinness, which is most popular in 20 countries. It's the favorite in Dominica, Bahamas, Ghana, Uganda, and the UK.
  • Guinness, which is from Ireland, isn't the country's favorite beer. Instead, Ireland prefers the Scottish brand Brew Dog.
  • Colombian beer brand Aguila is the third most popular beer in the world, with it listed as a favorite in 11 countries.
  • Fourth place goes to Budweiser, the most popular beer brand in the U.S. and eight other countries.
  • Fifth place goes to Brahma, a Brazilian beer. Like with Guinness in Ireland, Brahma isn't Brazil's favorite beer.

If you haven't found your favorite beer brand yet, discovering it might be more fun than you think. There have been a lot of estimates thrown around trying to guess how many beer brands there are throughout the world. Some have said there are probably more than 20,000, but other estimates go as high as nearly a million.

With that many beers out there, there's probably a fair chance that even beer haters will find one they love. And if you ever visit any of these countries, try their favorite beers!