Legality
Alcohol legal status by country
Countries where the legal status of Alcohol has been confirmed against a primary source. Legal information, not legal advice; drug laws change, so confirm with the destination’s embassy or drug authority before you travel.
Confirmed legal status
Each row links to the full detail for Alcohol in that country, including consequences and the primary source.
- Aceh (Indonesia)Prohibited (diverges from national Indonesia) — under the Qanun Jinayat (Qanun Aceh No. 6 of 2014), alcohol...
- AustraliaLegal — alcohol (ethanol) is a state/territory-licensed, age-regulated beverage, not a controlled drug;...
- BahrainLegal / licensed (the liberal Gulf exception) — alcohol (ethanol) is a licensed, age-regulated beverage...
- BangladeshRestricted / permit-based — alcohol (ethanol) is not freely legal; the Narcotics Control Act licenses...
- BrazilLegal — alcohol (ethanol) is a freely-sold, age-regulated beverage, not a controlled drug; minimum purchase...
- BruneiProhibited for sale / restricted personal import — alcohol (ethanol) has no legal public sale anywhere in...
- CambodiaLegal — alcohol (ethanol) is a lightly-regulated, freely-sold beverage, not a controlled drug; no strictly...
- CanadaLegal — alcohol (ethanol) is a provincially-licensed, age-regulated commodity, not a controlled drug; minimum...
- ChinaLegal — alcohol (ethanol) is a freely-sold, lightly-regulated beverage, not a controlled drug; nominal...
- CubaLegal — alcohol (ethanol) is a freely-sold, culturally-embedded beverage (rum), not a controlled drug;...
- EgyptLegal / licensed — alcohol (ethanol) is a licensed, age-regulated beverage (minimum age 21), not a controlled...
- FranceLegal — alcohol (ethanol) is a licensed, age-regulated beverage, not a controlled drug; sale to under-18s...
- GermanyLegal — alcohol (ethanol) is an age-regulated retail commodity, not a controlled drug; Jugendschutzgesetz...
- GreeceLegal — alcohol (ethanol) is a licensed, age-regulated commodity, not a controlled drug; minimum age for sale...
- IndiaLegal but state-regulated — alcohol (ethanol) is a State-List subject; most states license sale with a...
- IndonesiaLegal but restricted (national) — alcohol (ethanol) is a licensed beverage, not a controlled drug; a 2015...
- IranProhibited — alcohol (ethanol) consumption is a hadd crime under the Islamic Penal Code; Article 265 sets 80...
- IraqProhibited (import/sale/production) — a 2016 Municipal Revenues Law (Article 14), gazetted and enforced from...
- IrelandLegal — alcohol (ethanol) is a licensed, age-regulated beverage, not a controlled drug; sale governed by the...
- ItalyLegal — alcohol (ethanol) is an age-regulated beverage, not a controlled drug; minimum age for sale and...
- JapanLegal — alcohol (ethanol) is a licensed, age-regulated beverage, not a controlled drug; minimum drinking and...
- JordanLegal / licensed — alcohol (ethanol) is a licensed, age-regulated beverage (minimum age 18), not a controlled...
- KuwaitProhibited — alcohol (ethanol) is under a total national ban (since 1965); production, import, sale,...
- LaosLegal — alcohol (ethanol) is a freely-sold, lightly-regulated beverage, not a controlled drug.
- LibyaProhibited — alcohol (ethanol) is banned under Islamic law; production, import, sale and consumption are all...
- MalaysiaLegal for non-Muslims / Sharia-prohibited for Muslims — alcohol (ethanol) is a licensed, age-regulated...
- MaldivesProhibited on inhabited islands / tourist-resort exception — alcohol (ethanol) is banned for the general...
- MexicoLegal — alcohol (ethanol) is a licensed, age-regulated beverage, not a controlled drug; minimum purchase age...
- MyanmarLegal — alcohol (ethanol) is a licensed beverage, not a controlled drug; retail governed by liquor-licensing...
- NetherlandsLegal — alcohol (ethanol) is a licensed, age-regulated commodity, not a controlled drug; the Drank- en...
- New ZealandLegal — alcohol (ethanol) is a licensed, age-regulated commodity under the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act,...
- NigeriaSplit regime — alcohol (ethanol) is a legal, freely-sold beverage across the Christian/secular south, but the...
- North KoreaLegal — alcohol (ethanol) is a legal, state-produced beverage (soju, Taedonggang beer), not a controlled drug.
- OmanLicensed / permit-restricted — alcohol (ethanol) is legal but controlled; residents need a personal liquor...
- PakistanProhibited for Muslims / permit for non-Muslims — alcohol (ethanol) is banned for the Muslim majority under...
- PhilippinesLegal — alcohol (ethanol) is a licensed, age-regulated beverage, not a controlled drug; minimum purchase age...
- PolandLegal — alcohol (ethanol) is a licensed, age-regulated beverage, not a controlled drug; minimum purchase age...
- PortugalLegal — alcohol (ethanol) is an age-regulated retail beverage, not a controlled drug; minimum age raised to...
- QatarLicensed / restricted — alcohol (ethanol) is legal only through tightly-controlled channels; sale is limited...
- Saudi ArabiaProhibited — alcohol (ethanol) is subject to a total national ban (in force since 1952); production, import,...
- SingaporeLegal but restricted — alcohol (ethanol) is a licensed, age-regulated beverage (minimum age 18), not a...
- South KoreaLegal — alcohol (ethanol) is a licensed, age-regulated beverage, not a controlled drug; minimum age 19 (by...
- South SudanLegal — alcohol (ethanol) is a legal, openly-available beverage in the Christian/animist-majority state, not...
- SpainLegal — alcohol (ethanol) is a licensed, age-regulated commodity, not a controlled drug; minimum purchase and...
- Sri LankaLegal — alcohol (ethanol) is a licensed, age-regulated beverage under the Excise Ordinance, not a controlled...
- State of PalestineSplit regime — alcohol (ethanol) is legal and licensed in parts of the West Bank (notably Christian towns...
- SudanProhibited for Muslims / permitted for non-Muslims (2020 reform) — alcohol (ethanol) was banned nationwide...
- SwedenLegal but state-monopolised — spirits, wine and strong beer (ethanol) are sold only through the Systembolaget...
- SwitzerlandLegal — alcohol (ethanol) is an age-regulated beverage, not a controlled drug; federal law sets 16 for...
- SyriaLegal / licensed (historically secular) — alcohol (ethanol) has been a licensed, openly-sold beverage under...
- TaiwanLegal — alcohol (ethanol) is a licensed, age-regulated beverage, not a controlled drug; minimum purchase age...
- ThailandLegal — alcohol (ethanol) is a licensed, age-regulated beverage under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, not...
- TurkeyLegal but restricted — alcohol (ethanol) is a licensed, age-regulated beverage (minimum age 18), not a...
- United Arab EmiratesLicensed with restrictions — alcohol (ethanol) is legal but tightly regulated; Federal Decree-Law No. 15 of...
- United KingdomLegal — alcohol (ethanol) is a licensed, age-regulated commodity, not a controlled drug; retail and...
- VietnamLegal — alcohol (ethanol) is a licensed, age-regulated beverage under the 2019 Law on Prevention and Control...
- YemenProhibited — alcohol (ethanol) is banned under Sharia-based law; production, sale and consumption are...
Not individually verified
For these 167 countries the governing national drug law is known and cited, but we have not verified that Alcohol specifically is scheduled under it. These are not legal answers and are deliberately not published as their own pages. Confirm with the country’s drug authority or your embassy.
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Algeria
- American Samoa (US)
- Andorra
- Angola
- Anguilla (UK)
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Armenia
- Aruba (Netherlands)
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Bahamas
- Barbados
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Belize
- Benin
- Bermuda (UK)
- Bhutan
- Bolivia
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Botswana
- British Virgin Islands (UK)
- Bulgaria
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cabo Verde
- Cameroon
- Caribbean Netherlands (BES)
- Cayman Islands (UK)
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Chile
- Colombia
- Comoros
- Congo
- Cook Islands
- Costa Rica
- Côte d'Ivoire
- Croatia
- Curaçao (Netherlands)
- Cyprus
- Czechia
- Denmark
- Djibouti
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- DR Congo
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Estonia
- Eswatini
- Ethiopia
- Falkland Islands (UK)
- Faroe Islands (Denmark)
- Fiji
- Finland
- French Polynesia (France)
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Georgia
- Ghana
- Gibraltar (UK)
- Grenada
- Guam (US)
- Guatemala
- Guernsey (UK Crown Dependency)
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Holy See
- Honduras
- Hong Kong
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Isle of Man (UK Crown Dependency)
- Israel
- Jamaica
- Jersey (UK Crown Dependency)
- Kazakhstan
- Kenya
- Kiribati
- Kosovo
- Kyrgyzstan
- Latvia
- Lebanon
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Macau
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mali
- Malta
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Micronesia
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Montserrat (UK)
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Nauru
- Nepal
- New Caledonia (France)
- Nicaragua
- Niger
- North Macedonia
- Northern Mariana Islands (US)
- Norway
- Palau
- Panama
- Papua New Guinea
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Puerto Rico (US)
- Romania
- Russia
- Rwanda
- Saint Helena (UK)
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Samoa
- San Marino
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Senegal
- Serbia
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Sint Maarten (Netherlands)
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Solomon Islands
- Somalia
- South Africa
- Suriname
- Tajikistan
- Tanzania
- Timor-Leste
- Togo
- Tonga
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tunisia
- Turkmenistan
- Turks and Caicos Islands (UK)
- Tuvalu
- U.S. Virgin Islands (US)
- Uganda
- Ukraine
- Uruguay
- Uzbekistan
- Vanuatu
- Venezuela
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe