Top 5 Guinness-drinking countries in the world
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Top 5 Guinness-drinking countries in the world

GUINNESS and Ireland are obviously synonymous with one another.

So one would be forgiven for thinking that Ireland consumes the most of the Black Stuff anywhere in the world.

It might surprise you to hear that while we've made the list, we don't take top spot.

So just who are these Guinness-drinking pretenders embarrassing us? Well ...

1st - United Kingdom

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge enjoy a pint of Guinness meet with Irish Guards after attending the St Patrick's Day parade at Cavalry Barracks on March 17, 2019 in Hounslow, England. (Photo by Gareth Fuller - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

The first UK-based brewery opened in 1936 and our neighbours from across haven't looked back since. Guinness is a staple in pretty much every pub, bar and restaurant around the country, and when you consider the thousands upon thousands of Irish folk settled over promoting and drinking the stuff, it's no surprise.

2nd - Nigeria

Credit: TDA Global Cycling

Yep, Nigeria drinks more Guinness than we do. They overtook Ireland as the second-largest market for Guinness as Diageo began to expand the product internationally. Guinness has been sold in the country since 1827, curiously in glass bottles rather than cans or your traditional pint glass, but looking at sales figures, no one can deny Nigeria's claim of the second-largest Guinness consumer.

3rd - Ireland

Guinness account for a quarter of all beer sold in Ireland. Just think about that for a moment. As much as we're all very aware of the stouts's high-profile in the country and prominence in its bars and pubs, there's also plenty of lager and ale on offer too (not to mention a number of different stouts, too). But for every four beers ordered in the Emerald Isle, at least one will be a Guinness. How charmingly predictable.

4th - United States

Barack Obama drinks a pint of Guinness with Henry Healy, an ancestral cousin from Moneygall, Ireland, at The Dubliner pub on March 17, 2012 in Washington. Obama went to the bar to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. AFP PHOTO/Brendan SMIALOWSKI (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Irish culture is embedded in US history, and indeed in present-day America too. Swathes of Irish people emigrated across the Atlantic in the 19th century to escape the perils of the Great Hunger, bringing more than just a yearning for refuge, but the spirit of a nation. Guinness might not be the staple it is in Ireland or the UK, but Irish pubs themselves are more or less littered across every major US city, with Guinness pumps aplenty.

5th - Cameroon

It might surprise you that two African nations have made the list, but around 40% of worldwide total Guinness volume is brewed and sold on the continent these days. Four Guinness breweries are located in Nigeria, while two others are in Ghana and Cameroon.