According to a new study by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), young Croats between the ages of 15 and 16 are at the very top of the Europe rankings in terms of alcohol consumption, the Vecernji List daily reported.

Almost half of them (45 percent) consumed a large amount of alcohol at least once in the last month. This alarming percentage places Croatia among the leading European nations in alcohol consumption among young people.

Compared to other countries, the situation in Croatia is extremely bad. In first place in terms of alcohol consumption is Denmark, where 51 percent of young people consume large amounts of alcohol, and Croatia is in fifth place – only Germans, Austrians and Slovaks are ahead of Croatia.

It is surprising that countries such as Norway and Iceland, which are known for stricter alcohol control measures, recorded significantly lower percentages of consumption among young people. Only 16 percent of young Norwegians and 8 percent of young Icelanders reported consuming large amounts of alcohol in the same period.

Among Croatia’s neighboring countries, the list also includes Hungarians with 42 percent, Slovenians with 41, Serbs with 36, Italians with 35 and Montenegrins with 28 percent.

The OECD recently conducted another study, according to which Croatian women were also on the world’s list of the biggest alcoholics, of which only Slovenian women drink more in the region.