The following countries or territories 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.
Currently, alcohol prohibition is enforced in many Muslim majority countries, Indigenous Australian communities (due to alcohol-fuelled violence), certain northern communities in the Canadian territories[1] and some regions of India. They can range from complete ban all the way to bans on sales during certain times.[2]
Afghanistan[3]
Algeria (illegal in public, legal in restaurants, bars, hotels and homes)[4]
Bangladesh (license required; illegal during Ramadan)[5]
Brunei Darussalam (Non-Muslims over 17 years of age may have a limited amount of alcohol, but must declare it to the customs authorities on arrival, and must consume it in private)[6]
Canada
Yukon (in some communities)[citation needed]
Northwest Territories (in some communities)[1]
Nunavut (in some communities)[7]
Quebec (in some communities)[8]
Chile (prohibited in public places, except for bars and restaurants. Sale is banned countrywide on election days.[9]
Comoros (for Muslims during Ramadan)[10]
Djibouti[citation needed]
Egypt illegal to drink in public places and during Ramadan.
India[11]
Indonesia (
Aceh territory only)[15]
Iran (home production legal for Zoroastrians, Jews and Christians; commercial production illegal)[16]
Iraq (parliamentary ban, rarely enforced)[17]
Israel (selling in stores between 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. is illegal; serving at bars, restaurants and clubs always legal,[18][19])
Kuwait (excludes non muslims)[citation needed]
Libya[20]
Malaysia (excluding non-Muslims; some states ban drinking in public)
Maldives (legal for Foreigners at licensed establishments; transport of alcohol illegal)[23]
Mauritania[24]
Morocco (Alcohol must be purchased and consumed in licensed hotels, bars, and tourist areas as well as being sold in most major supermarkets[25])
Norway (Only sold in stores within a certain time period on weekdays. Illegal to drink in public, except at bars and restaurants. Nightclubs and bars are not allowed to serve after 3 a.m. Alcohol stronger than 4.7% is only sold in designated stores (Vinmonopolet), but beer or cider of 4.7% or less can be bought in grocery stores.)[26]
Oman (legal for non-Muslim foreigners at restaurants, hotels and bars; at home with license; illegal in public)[27]
Pakistan (illegal for Muslims; public consumption illegal)[28]
Palestine (De facto illegal in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip only, legal in the West Bank)[citation needed]
Philippines (sales on election day and the day before; foreigners allowed on these days on establishments with permits)[29]
Qatar (legal for tourists at hotels and bars as well as expatriates with permits)[30]
Saudi Arabia[31][32] (excludes foreign diplomats)
Somalia[33]
Sudan (excluding non-Muslims in private)[34]
Tunisia (sales only banned on Fridays and during Ramadan)
Turkmenistan (illegal on trains, airplanes, and ferries as well as sports facilities; sales banned on weekends and holidays unless at bars and restaurants)[35]
United States (dry counties for sales)
United Kingdom (In
Scotland alcohol cannot be sold in stores after 10pm, sales in bars, pubs, nightclubs and other licensed establishments is permitted)
Yemen (illegal, before the war, there were exceptions for tourists at certain hotels in Aden and Sana'a)[36]
United Arab Emirates (illegal in Sharjah; public consumption illegal)[37] |
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Canada – 1918–1920 (see prohibition in Canada)
Faroe Islands – 1907–1992 (see 1907 Faroese alcohol referendum)
Finland – 1919–1932[38]
Hungarian Soviet Republic – March 21 – August 1, 1919 – Sale and consumption of alcohol was prohibited[39] (partial ban from July 23).[40]
Iceland – 1915–1935 (see prohibition in Iceland) – However beer with an alcohol content exceeding 2.25% was prohibited until 1989.[citation needed]
North Yemen – 1962–1990[citation needed] Norway – 1916–1926, distilled spirits banned; 1917-1923 fortified wines banned.[41] [42]
Ottoman Empire – 1612–1640 (prohibition by Murad IV)[citation needed]
Panama – March 25 – May 8, 2020 – Sale and consumption of alcohol was prohibited as part of the social distancing measures against Covid-19.[citation needed]
Philippines – 1966–1986[citation needed]
Pitcairn Islands – 1790-2009[43]
Russian Empire and the 
Soviet Union – July 19, 1914 – August 28, 1925; 1929;[citation needed]
South Africa (temporary ban to prevent drunken violence during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa)[a] United Arab Emirates – In November 2020, the UAE introduced reforms that include the decriminalisation of alcohol for those 21 and over, except the Emirate of Sharjah.[citation needed]
United States – 1920–1933 (see prohibition in the United States)1. §. Mindennemü szeszes ital kimérése, forgalombahozatala és fogyasztása tilos.[§ 1. The sale, distribution and consumption of all alcoholic beverages is prohibited.]
1. §. Minden dolgozó, aki 18-ik életévét betöltötte, naponkint félliter (0'5 l.) bort fogyaszthat.[§ 1. All workers who have reached the age of 18 can consume half a liter (0.5 L) of wine daily.]
