Comparability

Comparability - geographical

Statistics on the sales of alcohol is also produced in other European countries, e.g. the Norwegian statistical agency produces the quarterly "Statistics on alcohol sales". This statistic follows a calculation method very similar to the Danish. The calculation of the sales of alcohol is not based on EU regulation, thus, there may be some differences in the methods applied across the countries.

Comparability over time

Because of changes to rules and taxes on alcohol, the statistics have multiple data breaks, where comparability across time must be conducted with caution. A change in the tax on beer in 1991 means a smaller break in the calculation of total sales of beer. The consumption of alcohol and tobacco was calculated for 2000 to 2010, where an estimate for cross-border trade was included. Tables ALKO3 and ALKO4 are accessible in the archives. Between 2006 and 2017, alcoholic soda pops was reported separately. During 2010, the average alcohol percentage for wine in tax classes 2 and 3 adjusted upwards. This caused a change in the level of the calculations of pure alcohol for wine, which makes comparability of consumption of pure alcohol for wine before and after 2010 carefully. Up to 2010, alcoholic soda pops did not include cider, which was classified as wine. This was because cider did not have an additional tax contrary to other alcoholic soda pops. Since 1.8.2010, an additional tax was levied on cider products, allowing cider to be identified among wine products. Thus, cider was added with alcoholic soda pops. This change took effect from 2011. Data exists in the Statbank back to 1921.

Coherence - cross domain

The Danish Ministry of Taxation continuously produce reports on cross-border trade based on the same data sources. This statistic is, however, not directly comparability with the Danish Ministry of Taxation's reports. The consumption was, in the period 2000 to 2010, calculated on the assumption, that purchased goods are consumed instantaneously. Hence, there are not estimates for inventories or waste. Nor is illegal import and trade with taxable goods included in the calculations for consumption. This have given reason to fluctuations in consumption, especially when taxes increase where inventory stocks are increased prior to the effect of the tax increase. Consumption has not been estimated since 2010. The statistics on alcoholic soda pops was calculated in the periods 2006-2010 and 2011-2018. Since 2018, the additional tax on alcoholic soda pops was removed, thus removing the basis for the estimations.

Coherence - internal

No relevant for this statistics as all data comes from the same data source.