List of countries with alcohol prohibition

The following countries have or had comprehensive prohibitions against alcohol. Particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic beverages.

  Countries with a nationwide prohibition on alcohol

  Countries with regional prohibitions on alcohol

  Countries with limitations in prohibition on alcohol

Present

Currently, alcohol prohibition is enforced in many Muslim-majority countries and some regions of India.[1]

•  Afghanistan
•  Bahrain (excluding non-Muslims)
•  Bangladesh
•  Brunei Darussalam
•  Djibouti
• Some parts of India (prohibition in the states of Gujarat, Bihar, Nagaland, Mizoram, and the union territory of Lakshadweep. Legal in all other states and territories.)[2][3]
•  Indonesia (total prohibition in the province of Aceh only, excluding non-Muslims elsewhere)
•  Iran
•  Kuwait
•  Libya
•  Maldives (legal for Foreigners at licensed establishments)
•  Mauritania
•  Pakistan (excluding non-Muslims)
•  Qatar (excluding non-Muslims)
•  Saudi Arabia
•  Somalia
•  South Africa (temporary ban during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa)[lower-alpha 1]
•  Sudan (excluding non-Muslims)[6]
•  United Arab Emirates (total prohibition in the emirate of Sharjah only, excluding non-Muslims elsewhere)
•  Yemen (legal in the areas of former communist South Yemen until 1994)

Past

•  Ottoman Empire – 1612–1640 (prohibition by Murad IV)
•  United States – 1920–1933 (see prohibition in the United States)
•  Canada – 1918–1920 (see prohibition in Canada)
•  Faroe Islands – 1907–1992 (see 1907 Faroese alcohol referendum)
•  Russian Empire and the  Soviet Union – July 19, 1914 – August 28, 1925; 1929;
•  Iceland – 1915–1935 (see prohibition in Iceland) – However beer with an alcohol content exceeding 2.25% was prohibited until 1989.
•  Iraq – There was a proposal to ban alcohol in 2016. It was then dropped less than a year later, but a 200% tax on alcohol was introduced in 2018 budget.
•  Norway – 1916–1927
•  Hungarian Soviet Republic – March 21 – August 1, 1919 – Sale and consumption of alcohol was prohibited.
•  Finland – 1919–1932
•  Panama – March 25 – May 8, 2020 – Sale and consumption of alcohol was prohibited as part of the social distancing measures against Covid-19.
•  Philippines – 1966–1986
•  Pitcairn Islands – until 2009
•  North Yemen – 1962–1990

Notes

1. In 2020, South Africa reimposed a ban on alcohol sales in July[4] after an initial ban ended on June 1.[5]

References

1. "Alcohol Prohibition in Foreign Countries". QuitAlcohol.com. Retrieved 2013-10-29.
2. "States with total and phase-wise prohibition of alcohol in India". The Indian Express.
3. "India's Bihar alcohol ban struck down". BBC News. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
4. "Coronavirus: South Africa bans alcohol sales again to combat Covid-19" BBC News. July 13, 2020.
5. "Coronavirus: South Africans cheer as alcohol goes back on sale" BBC News. June 1, 2020.
6. BBC News, Africa, Sudan scraps apostasy law and alcohol ban for non-Muslims, 12 July 2020, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-53379733