Alcohol and the Sustainable Development Goals – Major Obstacle to Development

Alcohol is an obstacle to achieving 13 out of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 52 of 169 targets. 

A major obstacle to sustainable human development:

• Alcohol kills 3.3 million people worldwide every year, representing 5.9 % of all deaths.
• That means every 10 seconds a human being dies because of alcohol.

Through its multiple negative public health, social and economic impacts, alcohol is a major obstacle to development and all three dimensions of development: social, environmental and economic.

This booklet outlines for each of the 13 SDGs and 52 targets, what the evidence is and how alcohol adversely affects them.