Despite a decline, binge drinking among young people remains at a high level

Despite positive developments in alcohol consumption among minors and young adults, so-called binge drinking among young people remains at a high level. There are big gender differences. This is the result of the 2025 drug affinity study on alcohol consumption among young people in Germany, which was presented by the Federal Institute for Public Health (BIÖG).

Regular alcohol consumption is more unpopular among young adults than ever before. 34.7 percent of young men and 14.3 percent of young women said they had drunk alcohol at least once a week in the last twelve months before the survey. This is the lowest level since the surveys began in 1973. Among 12- to 17-year-old boys, 9.2 percent said they drank at least once a week, while 4.1 percent of girls said they drank.

Excessive drinking more common among men

In addition, the average age at the first glass of alcohol has increased. Specifically, the figures show that 60.7 percent of male and 57 percent of female young people between the ages of twelve and 17 had drunk alcohol at least once in their life in the past year - around a third fewer than in 2001.

However, almost half of all young men in Germany tend to consume excessive alcohol at least at times. Accordingly, so-called binge drinking occurred in 45.8 percent of men between the ages of 18 and 25 in 2025. In the previous survey in 2023 it was 46.2 percent. Despite a slight decline, the value remains at a high level according to BIÖG. Only during the 2021 corona pandemic did binge drinking among young men decline to 37.8 percent.

According to BIÖG, binge drinking among young women fell from 32.0 to 26.1 percent between 2023 and 2025.

Streeck continues to call for the abolition of “accompanied drinking”

According to the Federal Government Commissioner for Addiction and Drug Issues, Hendrik Streeck, developments are going in the right direction. "Young people drink less often these days, they start drinking alcohol later and regular consumption is at an all-time low. That's encouraging," said the CDU politician. “But it would be wrong to derive an all-clear from this.”