European countries still come out on top as drinking the most beer in the world per person.

Czech Republic consumed the highest amount of beer per head with 143 litres and a national total of 1.5 billion litres from 2013 to 2014, according to data released from Euromonitor International.

However, China guzzled the most beer in total with 54 billion litres but consumption was only 4 litres per person due to the country's high population.

Germany, known for its famous annual Oktoberfest, was in second position, with 110 litres downed per person, followed by Austria with 108 litres.

In the UK, only 4.3 billion litres of beer - 67 litres per head - were drunk because of a decrease in lager and beer sales over the last three years, said Spiros Malandrakis, a senior analyst at Euromonitor. But mixed and flavoured beers and cider sales were on the up, (the latter, however was not included as it is not counted as beer).

"It's been declining for a while as consumers get older and the core demographic - the working class - is struggling," said Malandrakis. "On top of that, you have consumers slowly moving into spirits, especially younger consumers.

"A key factor [to explain the decline] in the UK and US is the growth of craft beers - which are not included here and their definition has yet to be decided [officially], though it is small scale production of beer."

Data also revealed that seven out of the 10 nations showing the most rapid beer sale growth were Muslim-majority countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and Iran. This can be attributed to a surge in non-alcoholic sales.

Top 10: Countries listed in order of highest beer consumption per head with national totals

1. Czech Republic: 143 litres (1.5 billon litres)

2. Germany: 110 litres (8.9 billion litres)

3. Austria: 108 litres (920 million litres)

4. Estonia: 104 litres (135 million litres)

5. Poland: 100 litres (3.8 billion litres)

6. Ireland: 93 litres (430 million litres)

7. Romania: 90 litres (1.8 billion litres)

8. Lithuania: 89 litres (260 million litres)

9. Croatia: 82 litres (346 million litres)

10. Belgium: 81 litres (900 million litres)

In the UK, Euromonitor paints a fairly depressing picture with lager, beer, dark beer and standard lager seeing volume fall over the last three years. Only mixed and flavoured beers have seen a rise in sales.

"It's been [declining] for a while as consumers get older and the core demographic - the working class - is struggling," said Malandrakis. "On top of that, you have consumers slowly moving into spirits, especially younger consumers."

"A key factor [to explain the decline] in the UK and US is the growth of craft beers - which are not included here and their definition has yet to be decided [officially], though it is small scale production of beer," he added.