Almost two in three young Australians pre-drink before a night on the town, a new study has shown.
An international comparison of pre-drinking rates has found 64 per cent of Aussie "nightlife goers" drink before heading to a bar or pub.
The report, co-authored by University of Queensland researcher Jason Ferris, looked at people aged 16 to 35 who had consumed alcohol in the past 12 months and had been to a pub, bar or nightclub in the past year.
Perhaps surprisingly, Australia ranked 13th for pre-drinking levels out of 25 countries analysed.
Greece had the lowest proportion of pre-drinkers at just over 17 per cent, while Ireland the highest at 85 per cent.
High drink prices didn't necessarily cause more people to pre-drink but instead made them more likely to stay home, the research published in the Drug and Alcohol Review found.
"In countries where the price ratio is high, some people would rather drink (heavily) only off-premise without going out afterwards," the report read.
The research relied on data from the 2015 Global Drug Survey, which asked respondents whether they arrived sober at bars or nightclubs.
Some 17 per cent of Australians drink more than two standard drinks a day, placing them at increased risk of alcohol-related illness, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
COUNTRIES WITH THE HIGHEST PRE-DRINKING RATES (per cent)
1. Ireland - 85.4
2. Norway - 80.5
3. Canada - 80.2
4. New Zealand - 78.7
5. Denmark - 76.2
13. Australia - 64.1
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