Vietnamese drinkers put down 2.6 billion liters of beer in 2011, ranking first in the Southeast Asian region, followed by Thailand and the Philippines, according to the global market research company Euromonitor International.
>> Beer companies get a buzz in Vietnam
Myanmar had the lowest consumption rate with 30.4 liters of beer, the firm said.
Meanwhile Filipinos, who placed third on the list, drank 1.6 billion litters, nearly double the total amount of beer consumed in Myanmar, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia and Indonesia, ranked from 4th to 9th respectively.
In 2010, the Euromonitor International forecast that beer consumption (by volume) in the Vietnamese market would grow rapidly. Vietnamese consumed 1.6 billion litters of beer in 2009, a surge of 56 percent over 2004.
Earlier this year, Kirin Holdings Company Co, Japan's second largest brewer after Asahi Breweries, reported that Vietnam was among the top 25 beer-drinking nations in the world, with an increase of 15 percent over the last year, just behind Nigeria (17.2 percent), India (17 percent) and Brazil (16 percent).
In related news, Dutch beer company Heineken said it sold 200 million liters in Vietnam in 2010, making the country the third largest out of its 170 markets worldwide behind the US and France.
Meanwhile, the Saigon Beer - Alcohol - Beverage Joint Stock Corporation (SABECO), a domestic brewery, sold 1.088 billion liters of its Saigon brand, as well as other beers, in 2010.