Beer’s Global Economic Footprint
Commissioned by World Brewing Alliance
This study measures the global economic footprint of the beer sector in 2023.
The beer sector is truly global, and its impact reaches far beyond brewers. A range of firms are responsible for brewing, marketing, distributing, and selling beer to millions of adults of drinking age across the world. In carrying out these activities, businesses stimulate a significant economic footprint across the global economy.
This study, commissioned by the World Brewing Alliance, assesses the global economic footprint of the beer industry in 2023. By using the Oxford Economics Global Sustainability Model, we were able to trace the complex linkages of how brewers, distributors, vendors, and all the other firms in beer’s global value chain interact. This update to Oxford Economics’ previous study, published in 2022, now provides a first-of-its-kind estimate of the global footprint of the beer sector, covering 100% of the global economy.
Our analysis reveals the global beer sector supported a total contribution of $878 billion to global GDP in 2023, along with a total of 33 million jobs. In turn, this activity supported $376 billion in global tax revenues.