Global leading countries in beer production 2018

China was the leading producer of beer in terms of production volume in 2018. In that year, around 381.2 million hectoliters of beer were brewed in China. The United States was the second leading producer of beer in that year, at 214.61 million hectoliters.

European Beer Production

Despite having a modest level of beer production compared to China, many of the most famous and widely appreciated types of beer have their origins in Europe. For instance, Hefeweizen has its roots in Germany, India Pale Ale was said to have been created by British brewers in the 18th century, and Pilsner is named after a town in modern day Czech Republic. Germany leads Europe in terms of beer production, at about 95 million hectoliters in 2016.

Leading Beer Companies Worldwide

The global beer market is highly concentrated with a few companies controlling a large share of the total market. The Belgian beer giant Anheuser-Busch InBev accounted for 31.4 percent of the global beer production in 2017. The biggest production regions for the company were in Latin America. Heineken, which is based in the Netherlands, also controls a large share of the global beer market, at 11.2 percent in that year.