Milk has long been recognised as a vital source of vitamins and nutrients, but it seems that more and more of us are getting our supplies through milk products, rather than by simply drinking liquid white milk.
Elsevier Food International, Vol. 4, Number 2, May 2001

Those of us who do still enjoy milk as a beverage, however, certainly aren't holding back. Judging by Tetra Compass's figures from last year, Ireland tops the list of leading white milk consumers, downing a whopping 148 litres per capita - two and a half times as much as that of the lowest consumer, Germany. What's interesting is that Ireland and the second-highest consumer of milk Finland are clearly run-away leaders: 33 and 27 litres ahead respectively of the next highest consumer, Spain. Meanwhile, countries renowned for their dairy industries such as Denmark (96 litres per capita), Switzerland (72 litres per capita) and the Netherlands (70 litres per capita) are presumably using their milk in the creation of other products, as opposed to simply consuming it neat. From a global perspective, Europe dominates white milk consumption, followed by Australia, the USA and South America. Notable absentees from the list of consumers include China, Greece and Russia. According to further data provided by Tetra Compass, meanwhile, Japan and Israel - two countries that don't even make it on to the top thirty for white milk consumption - are among the highest consumers in the world of flavoured milk, consuming 10.4 and 10 litres per capita respectively.