Drive Smart

Alcohol Limits by Country

Drink driving is always a sensitive subject and different countries have different views on it. Some show zero tolerance, like Pakistan, Cuba, Indonesia, Romania, Jordan and Nigeria. Countries which have low alcohol limits include China which has a 0.02% Blood/Alcohol Count (BAC) and a potential one-three month license suspension for exceeding it. This rises to a three-six month license suspension and a 15 day prison sentence if you go over 0.08%. Brazil also has a 0.02% BAC. In Brazil if you are involved in an accident and found with more than 0.06% BAC you will be imprisoned. In India the BAC is slightly higher, but not by much at 0.03%. drink drive limits country
Many countries have a 0.05% limit and if you exceed this limit in Hong Kong you can get a fine and up to three years in jail. Other countries with 0.05% BAC are Malaysia, Thailand, Israel, Egypt, South Africa, Argentina, Austria, Denmark, France and Portugal. In Austria the limit is 0.01% for people who have had their licence for less than two years. In the United Kingdom the BAC is 0.08%. If you drive whilst above you are the legal limit or are considered to be unfit because you have been drinking, this carries a minimum 12 months' driving ban, a maximum penalty of six months' imprisonment and a fine of up to £5,000.

The United States driving limit is also 0.08% and the offence of driving under the influence of alcohol is known as a DUI. There is some variance on the laws from state to state however and in Wisconsin the first time you are caught driving drunk it is treated as forfeiture. Canada has the same BAC limit and it is also an offence to refuse to give a breathalyzer sample to a policeman with a $50 fine for this offence mandatory. Mexico has a 0.08% BAC and foreigners who have been convicted of drink driving in the last 10 years are refused entry at the border.
 
* Whilst the limit in Germany is 0.05 (zero for new / professional drivers), should you be involved in a road traffic accident or caught speeding, this limit is reduced to 0.03 and you will be prosecuted accordingly.
CountryRegionMicrograms per 100 millilitres of breathBlood alcohol content/concentration (BAC)
AlbaniaRest of Europe10mg0.01%
AlgeriaAfrica20mg0.02%
AndorraRest of Europe50mg0.05%
AngolaAfrica60mg0.06%
AntiguaCaribbean80mg0.08%
ArgentinaSouth America50mg0.05%
ArubaCaribbean50mg0.05%
AustraliaOceania50mg0.05%
AustriaEurope50mg0.05%
AzerbaijanRest of Europe0mg0%
BahamasCaribbean80mg0.08%
BahrainMiddle East0mg0%
BelarusRest of Europe0mg0%
BelgiumEurope50mg0.05%
BelizeCentral America80mg0.08%
BoliviaSouth America50mg0.05%
Bosnia and HerzegovinaRest of Europe50mg0.05%
BotswanaAfrica80mg0.08%
BrazilSouth America20mg0.02%
BulgariaEurope50mg0.05%
CambodiaSoutheast Asia50mg0.05%
CameroonAfrica80 mg0.08%
ChileSouth America30mg0.03%
ChinaEast Asia80mg0.08%
ColombiaSouth America40mg0.04%
CongoAfrica10mg0.01%
Costa RicaCentral America75mg0.075%
CuracaoCaribbean0mg0%
CyprusEurope50mg0.05%
Czech RepublicEurope0mg0%
DenmarkEurope50mg0.05%
DominicaCaribbean50mg0.05%
Dominican RepublicCaribbean0mg0%
EcuadorSouth America40mg0.04%
EgyptAfrica50mg0.05%
El SalvadorCentral America50 mg0.05%
EnglandEurope80mg0.08%
EstoniaEurope20mg0.02%
Faroe IslandsEurope50mg0.05%
FijiOceania80mg0.08%
FinlandEurope50mg0.05%
FranceEurope50mg0.05%
GabonAfrica80mg0.08%
GermanyEurope50mg0.05%
GibraltarEurope50mg0.05%
GreenlandNorth America50mg0.05%
GrenadaCaribbean80mg0.08%
GuadeloupeCaribbean50mg0.05%
GuamOceania80mg0.08%
GuatemalaCentral America80mg0.08%
GuernseyRest of Europe80mg0.08%
HollandEurope50mg0.05%
HondurasCentral America70mg0.07%
Hong KongEast Asia50mg0.05%
HungaryEurope0mg0%
IbizaEurope50mg0.05%
IbizaEurope50mg0.05%
IcelandEurope50mg0.05%
IndiaSouth Asia30mg0.03%
IndonesiaSoutheast Asia0mg0%
IrelandEurope50mg0.05%
Isle Of ManRest of Europe80mg0.08%
IsraelMiddle East24mg0.024%
ItalyEurope50mg0.05%
JamaicaCaribbean35mg0.035%
JapanEast Asia0mg0%
JerseyRest of Europe80mg0.08%
JordanMiddle East50mg0.05%
KazakhstanAsia0mg0%
KenyaAfrica80mg0.08%
KosovoRest of Europe10mg0.01%
KuwaitMiddle East0mg0%
LanzaroteEurope50mg0.05%
LatviaEurope50mg0.05%
LebanonMiddle East0mg0%
LesothoAfrica80mg0.08%
LuxembourgEurope50mg0.05%
MacedoniaRest of Europe50mg0.05%
MadagascarAfrica80mg0.08%
MalawiAfrica80mg0.08%
MalaysiaSoutheast Asia80mg0.08%
MaliAfrica0mg0%
MallorcaEurope50mg0.05%
MallorcaEurope50mg0.05%
MaltaEurope80mg0.08%
MartiniqueCaribbean50mg0.05%
MauritiusAfrica50mg0.05%
MexicoNorth America80mg0.08%
MoldovaRest of Europe30mg0.03%
MontenegroRest of Europe30mg0.03%
MoroccoAfrica0mg0%
MozambiqueAfrica60mg0.06%
NamibiaAfrica50mg0.05%
NetherlandsEurope50mg0.05%
New CaledoniaOceania50mg0.05%
New ZealandOceania50mg0.05%
NicaraguaCentral America50mg0.05%
NigeriaAfrica50mg0.05%
Northern IrelandEurope35mg0.035%
NorwayEurope20mg0.02%
OmanMiddle East0mg0%
PakistanSouth Asia0mg0%
PanamaCentral America0mg0%
Papua New GuineaOceania80mg0.08%
ParaguaySouth America80mg0.08%
PeruSouth America50mg0.05%
PhilippinesSoutheast Asia50mg0.05%
PolandEurope20mg0.02%
PortugalEurope50mg0.05%
Puerto RicoCaribbean80mg0.08%
QatarMiddle East0mg0%
ReunionCaribbean50mg0.05%
RomaniaEurope0mg0%
RussiaRest of Europe30mg0.03%
SamoaOceania80mg0.08%
Saudi ArabiaMiddle East0mg0%
ScotlandEurope50mg0.05%
SerbiaRest of Europe30mg0.03%
SeychellesAfrica80mg0.08%
SicilyEurope50mg0.05%
SingaporeSoutheast Asia80mg0.08%
SlovakiaEurope0mg0%
SloveniaEurope50mg0.05%
South AfricaAfrica50mg0.05%
South KoreaEast Asia50mg0.05%
SpainEurope50mg0.05%
Sri LankaSouth Asia60mg0.06%
St LuciaCaribbean80mg0.08%
St MaartenCaribbean50mg0.05%
St Vincent and the GrenadinesCaribbean80mg0.08%
SwazilandAfrica50mg0.05%
SwedenEurope20mg0.02%
SwitzerlandEurope50mg0.05%
SyriaMiddle East0mg0%
TaiwanEast Asia50mg0.05%
TanzaniaAfrica80mg0.08%
TasmaniaAustralasia50mg0.05%
TenerifeEurope50mg0.05%
Trinidad and TobagoCaribbean80mg0.08%
TunisiaAfrica0mg0%
TurkeyRest of Europe0mg0%
UAEMiddle East0mg0%
UgandaAfrica80mg0.08%
UKEurope80mg0.08%
UkraineRest of Europe0mg0%
UruguaySouth America0mg0%
VenezuelaSouth America80mg0.08%
VietnamSoutheast Asia0mg0%
WalesEurope80mg0.08%
YemenMiddle East0mg0%
ZambiaAfrica80mg0.08%
ZimbabweAfrica80mg0.08%

World Driving Guides

Visitor Comments

  • 03/11/2019

    Ralph Fischer

    Dear Rhino car hire, As far as I know Ireland updated its limits. It should be 0.05 now. Kind Regards, Ralph
Enter security code:
 Security code