Irish among the top choco chompers

So often known as a country of drinkers, we are also the second biggest consumers of chocolate in the world.

The research from Leatherhead Food Research really does suggest that the Irish aren’t the best at self-discipline or maybe just far too fond of the good things in life.

Despite not having a history of chocolate making, we are just behind the Swiss when it comes to eating it.

Switzerland, the home of chocolate global giants such as Nestlé and Lindt, eats more chocolate than anyone in the world with per capita consumption of 11.9kg last year.

But what exactly is 11.9kg? It’s a sizeable 240 bars per Swiss man, woman, and child per year. It means that each Swiss person eats at least four-and-a-half bars of chocolate a week.

Meanwhile, the Irish consume 9.9kg per person or 198 bars a year or 3.8 bars per week.

The Irish are just ahead of the British in terms of chocolate eating while the Americans eat a mere 5.5kg per year per person. The Austrians eat 8.8kgs per capita while the French, masters of restraint, eat just over a half the typical Swiss intake at 6.3kg.

Chocolate remains very much a developing world luxury however with Russia the only BRIC country to make it into the top 20 of chocolate lovers.