British people are drinking less alcohol than three decades ago, despite a huge rise in the amount of booze consumed in large parts of the world, a study has shown.

UK consumption dropped from 12.6 litres of pure alcohol a year per adult in 1990 to 11.4 litres in 2017 – a decline of almost 10 per cent.

It is predicted to fall even further by 2030, dipping to only 11 litres a year per adult, according to a study of almost 200 countries’ alcohol intake published in The Lancet.

Despite the significant decrease in drinking, campaigners warned that four out of five people with an alcohol problem in the UK were still not getting treatment, as they called for more support to be available at an earlier stage.

The new research on international patterns measured alcohol consumption per person between 1990 and 2017 from World Health Organisation (WHO) data and the Global Burden of Disease study.

The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol Show all 10 1 /10 The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol 10. Poland Results from an OECD report The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol 9. Germany Two competitors face off during the 60th annual Bavarian finger wrestling championships (in German: Fingerhakeln) on August 11, 2013 in Feldkirchen-Westerham, Germany. The sport involves two competitors matched in class according to age and weight who sit at a specifically-designed table across from one another and pull at a small leather band with one finger until one player has pulled the other across. The sport is traditional in Bavaria and Austria. The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol 8. Luxembourg Mandatory Credit: Photo by WestEnd61/REX (2694653a) Luxembourg, People sitting near restaurant VARIOUS Rex Features The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol 7. France The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol 6. Hungary Mandatory Credit: Photo by Juergen Hasenkopf/REX (507890e) Hungarian alcohol bottles URGARN, BUDAPEST, HUNGARY Rex Features The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol 5. Russia Russian World War II veterans drink vodka as part of Victory Day celebrations in Vladikavkaz on May 9, 2008. The occasion reflects the trauma of World War II in which millions of Soviet citizens died before driving back the Nazis, but also a large measure of Soviet-style propaganda which airbrushed dark aspects of the story -- not least Stalin's massive wartime repressions. AFP PHOTO / KAZBEK BASAYEV (Photo credit should read KAZBEK BASAYEV/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Images The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol 4. Czech Republic BREZNICE, CZECH REPUBLIC - JULY 19: Competitors down a bottle of lager July 19, 2003 during a beer drinking competition at the Herold Brewery in Breznice, Czech Republic. Pub life and beer are an intrinsic element of Czech culture, and contribute to the Czech Republic's first place world ranking in annual consumption of beer per capita, at 156 liters, well ahead of second-place Ireland (125 liters per head) and third-place Germany (120 liters per head). (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol 3. Estonia Mandatory Credit: Photo by Mood Board/REX (3916338a) MODEL RELEASED Bartenders working at counter in restaurant Tallinn, Estonia VARIOUS Rex Features The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol 2. Austria SALZBURG, AUSTRIA - JULY 27: Ben Becker (Tod) broaches the beer barrel at the launch party at Krimpelstaetter tavern after the 'Jedermann" premiere during the Salzburg Festival on July 27, 2011 in Salzburg, Austria. (Photo by Martin Schalk/Getty Images) Getty Images The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol 1. Lithuania Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite (Rl) and members of her delegation hold glasses of wine on November 22, 2011 during a document-signing ceremony after their talks in Kiev. Grybauskaite is in Ukraine for a one-day working visit to meet with Yanukovych and Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and to attend the fifth session of the Council of Presidents of the Republic of Lithuania and Ukraine. AFP PHOTO/SERGEI SUPINSKY (Photo credit should read SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Images

It showed consumption globally increased by 70 per cent from 20,999 million litres in 1990 to 35,676 million litres in 2017.

Jakob Manthey, the study’s author from the TU Dresden institute in Germany, said there has been a huge increase in the uptake of alcoholic beverages in large parts of Asia, while many Europeans were drinking less.

“Before 1990, most alcohol was consumed in high-income countries, with the highest use levels recorded in Europe.

“However, this pattern has changed substantially, with large reductions across eastern Europe and vast increases in several middle-income countries such as China, India and Vietnam.

He added: “This trend is forecast to continue up to 2030 when Europe is no longer predicted to have the highest level of alcohol use.”

The number of drinks that are equivalent to the measure of pure alcohol differs by country. In the UK a standard drink is 8g of pure alcohol. A measure of 5.9 litres is equivalent to one-and-a-half UK standard drinks per day.

More than one in seven (15 per cent) people in the UK abstained from alcohol in 2017, three in four (77 per cent) had alcohol, and more than one in four (26 per cent) were binge drinking at least once a month.

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Karen Tyrell, of drug and alcohol charity Addaction, warned: “In the UK, four out of five people with an alcohol problem aren’t getting any sort of treatment. We need to make it a lot easier to get help and support at a much earlier stage.

“Alcohol is soaked through our culture. The alcohol industry has set the terms of the debate for too long. Flashy marketing disguises an industry that doesn’t do nearly enough to compensate for the harm it causes. We know that 4 per cent of drinkers consume one-third of the alcohol sold.”

He added: “Helping people make healthier choices is vital but all the evidence shows we need a better policy if we are serious about change.”