In all the Nordic countries except Denmark, alcoholic beverages are only available in government-owned store chains. This applies to all beverages with higher alcohol content; low alcohol drinks are thus available in regular supermarkets and convenience stores. These strict laws are in place to prevent alcoholism and the negative health effects of heavy drinking on health. In Sweden, Systembolaget is regulating alcohol sales, while in Finland, the corresponding monopoly is called Alko. In Norway, Vinmonopolet took matters into it's own hands. It is, along with the Icelandic Vínbúðin, the oldest government regulated alcoholic beverage retailing chain in Northern Europe, founded in 1922. And even though Denmark isn’t directly included, the Faroe Islands, which are an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, do have their own alcoholic beverage retail monopoly called Rúsdrekkasøla Landsins.
Sweden: Systembolaget
Wine, beer and spirits with an alcohol content higher than 3.5 percent are the main products in the range of the stores of Systembolaget, but low and non-alcoholic drinks are also offered. Systembolaget
generated a net revenue with a value of 38.1 billion Swedish kronor in 2021. The
bestselling beverage is beer. Among all beers sold in Systembolaget, the Swedish Norrlands Guld Export was the
bestseller. The manufacturer is the brewery Spendrups, which is also among the
leading beer suppliers for Systembolaget. Spendrups ranked first, ahead of Carlsberg Sverige, which traded beer with a volume of 64 million liters.
Norway: Vinmonopolet
At Vinmonopolet in Norway, the general
table wine sales volume grew overall and amounted to 97 million liters in 2021. However,
red wine sales decreased until 2019, falling to a volume of 39 million liters that year. With the outbreak of the corona pandemic, the consumption of red wine increased drastically in 2020 and 2021, as in the other Nordic countries.Af of 2021, it reached a sales volume of 53 million liters. Most
red wines at Vinmonopolet are imported from Italy, followed by Spain and France. In Norway,
boxed wines enjoy a growing popularity and with about 1.7 million liters, Falling Feather Ruby Cabernet was the most sold boxed wine brand in Norway in 2021.
Finland: Alko
Vodka consumption has a long tradition in Finland and the domestic brands are also the most popular ones, according to sales figures. The
bestselling sprits brand in Alko stores in 2021 was Leijona Viina, with 2.7 million liters sold. The
sales volume of all products in this category amounted to 13.3 million liters in 2021. Most
vodka and spirits were sold in the region of Uusimaa. All over the country, there are
Alko stores. In 2021, there were 369 stores and 142 pick-up points in Finland, which generated approximately 1.3 billion euros in
revenue.
Iceland: Vínbúðin
The chain Vínbúðin is operated by the State Alcohol and Tobacco Company of Iceland, ÁTVR. Alcohol sales made up for the largest share of the
company’s operating revenue in 2021. That year, value amounted to 35.6 billion Icelandic krónur, in contrast to only 9.4 billion krónur generated with tobacco sales. On national holidays, interest in alcohol predictably rises, and Christmas and New Year's Eve are the
peak occasions for buying alcohol, which is also reflected in the number of customers in Vínbúðin stores. In 2021, the total
annual amount of alcoholic beverages sold by the chain totaled 26.4 billion liters.
Faroe Islands: Rúsdrekkasøla Landsins
The Faroese government owned and regulated alcoholic beverage retailer saw its largest
turnover during July and December. Even though its main focus are alcoholic beverages, the retailer offers
non-alcoholic products too. The sales volume amounted to roughly four liters. Still a small amount, compared to those 270 thousand
liters of spirits and 1.3 million liters of
beer sold in the same year. The
leading beer brand was Royal Export, with a volume of roughly 116 thousand liters sold. The domestic Føroya Bjór Veðr ranked second, with sales of 103 thousand liters.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no
liability for the information given being complete or correct.
Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date
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