Category: mapping

Your favorite morning beverage may actually be a form of protest—at least in American history. Before the American Revolution, coffee was defiantly adopted as an alternative to British tea. Its popularity has led it to be the national drink of the USA, along with Coca-Cola (and Pepsi), Mug Root Beer, and bourbon.

Many countries have an official—or unofficial—national beverage, whether due to popularity or that the drink(s) contains local ingredients or is served during traditional events.

However, some places struggle to settle on just one national drink, even unofficially, opting instead to be represented by multiple refreshments—or none at all, as you’ll discover on the map below.

View National drinks in a full screen map

National Beverage Types

The 249 national drinks on the map above can be categorized into nine beverage types. The table below shows different types of the world’s national beverages, from beer and coffee to tea and wine.

Type of national drink	Number
Other alcohol	101
Tea	36
Coffee	25
Other	19
Beer	17
Soda	16
Wine	13
Milk or yogurt	13
Fruity	6

Though the worldwide drinking age varies widely, the top types are alcoholic.

Alcoholic National Drinks: Beer, Wine, & Other National Liquors

When it comes to these countries’ national drinks, most can be categorized as alcoholic beverages like liquor or mixed drinks.

Vodka

Many associate vodka with Russia, and it’s true that most Russians identify vodka as their national alcoholic beverage and consider their nation to be vodka’s birthplace… but another central European country believes they are the true point of origin of vodka. Poland considers vodka to be its national beverage and that it was the liquor’s birthplace in the 15th century. The Polish love vodka so much that their other popular drink, Krupnik, is based on vodka and honey.

While Estonia makes no claims to vodka’s heritage, its national drink, Viru Valge is vodka.

Check out the map to see Canada’s national drink, a version of a Bloody Mary that contains vodka, clam broth, and Worcestershire sauce called a Caesar, or to see the gin, and brandy-based national drinks.

Whiskey

Whiskey is most popular in Europe, with Ireland and Scotland each having a variation as their national beverage. Irish whisky is popular, meanwhile, Scotch whisky is by law required to be both produced in Scotland and aged in oak barrels for at least three years.

Of course, other countries have national drinks that contain whiskey, such as the U.S. and Laos, which you can find on the map, along with those based on rum, tequila, or mixed drinks and cocktails like Puerto Rico’s Pina colada and Argentina’s Fernet con cola.

Beer & Wine

There are 17 countries with beer as their national drink. Five are African countries, with Botswana, Burundi, Rwanda, and Zimbabwe having various beers, like Botswana’s Chibuku Shake Shake. And though South Africa has no official drink, beer is common. While the U.S. hasn’t claimed a beer for one of its four national drinks, you can still check out Where U.S. Beer is Brewed.

As for wine, it’s most popular in European countries, including France, which has just two national drinks: red wine and Champagne. Sort the map by the Wine type to see them all, along with popular non-alcoholic types like tea and coffee. Otherwise, let’s move on to other countries like the U.S. and France who just couldn’t choose one—beverage that is.

Italy & Others’ Multiple National Drinks

Like the United States and France, many countries (62 to be exact) have multiple national drinks. These multi-national beverage countries make up almost 62% of the national drinks. One country even has five national beverages (Italy)…

• Cappuccino
• Espresso
• Grappa
• Chinotto
• Wine

Note two different types of coffee as a national drink, along with Chinotto. Chinotto is a soda made with myrtle-leaved orange tree fruit’s juice.

And while Sudan has no official drink, Aradaib (tamarind), Araqi, Gongolez (baobab drink), Hulu-Murr (spiced sorghum beverage), and Roselle tea are all popular. Meanwhile, Eritrea, India, Malta, Singapore, and the United States each have four drinks representing them.

Check out the map to see the countries with two or three national drinks. And for more national statistics, don’t miss our maps of the 317 national foods, national animals, or national sports of every country.

Each year, lucky lottery winners score millions—even billions—in prizes. But to win, you must first play by purchasing Powerball and Mega Million tickets.

That leaves us wondering: how much does the average person spend on lottery tickets per year in any given state? And, perhaps more importantly, how much does any given state dole out in prizes each year? You can take a look at that along with the largest lottery jackpots on the map below.

View Luckiest Lottery States in a full screen map

States That Award Billions in Lottery Prizes

In 2017 alone, $46.7257 billion dollars was awarded by the 44 U.S. states that participate in the lottery. Ranging from 4.6 billion to 14.3 million per state, let’s see which 10 states doled out the most in lottery prizes based on the most comprehensive data from 2017.

• New York: $4.6 billion in lottery prizes awarded
• California: $4 billion
• Florida: $4 billion
• Massachusetts: $3.7 billion
• Texas: $3.3 billion
• Georgia: $2.7 billion
• Pennsylvania: $2.6 billion
• Michigan: $2 billion
• New Jersey: $2 billion
• Ohio: $1.9 billion

Each of the states listed above hands out lottery prizes in the billions. But New York takes the cake with 4.6 billion, as no other state awarded more in 2017. The state also tops the charts in total lottery ticket sales with $8.3 billion, nearly double the amount awarded, answering the question of where does the lottery money come from?

Making the 4.6 billion more impressive is N.Y.’s lottery spending per adult. It’s only the fourth highest ($530.72), while median household income is just 14th in the nation at $67,844. The state also isn’t the most populous, having more people to participate—that’s California.

Both California and Florida have awarded four billion in lottery prizes. While the two states tie there, California sees $6.2 billion in sales versus Florida’s $5.8. C.A. is also more populated than the Sunshine State and the median household income differs, as you’ll see on the map. And thus ends the states giving away four billion or more.

The rest of the top 10 resembles a list of the most populated states, although Massachusetts and New Jersey are surprising additions. And even these top 10 aren’t the end of those in the billions. Illinois, North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina have also awarded that much.

The rest of the states range from $948.3 to $14.3 million in prize money awarded in 2017. Note that Mississippi’s state lottery wasn’t in effect in 2017, while Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, and Utah have no state lottery at the time of writing.

Get more information about top states in Total lottery ticket sales and Lottery spending per adult on the map above. Otherwise, let’s learn about each state’s biggest jackpot.

Each State’s Largest Lottery Jackpots

Hand-in-hand with the states that award the most lottery prizes are the biggest jackpots of each. And while New York gave away the most prize money in total, the state hasn’t had one of the top 10 largest lottery jackpots.

State	Biggest jackpot: cash value (in millions)	Biggest jackpot: tickets	Biggest jackpot: per ticket (in millions)	Biggest jackpot: game	Biggest jackpot: date
California	$997.6	1	$997.6	Powerball	Nov. 7, 2022
Florida	$983.5	3	$327.8	Powerball	Jan. 13, 2016
Tennessee	$983.5	3	$327.8	Powerball	Jan. 13, 2016
South Carolina	$877.8	1	$877.8	Mega Millions	Oct. 23, 2018
Illinois	$780.5	1	$780.5	Mega Millions	Jul. 29, 2022
Michigan	$776.6	1	$776.6	Mega Millions	Jan. 22, 2021
Wisconsin	$477.0	1	$477.0	Powerball	Mar. 27, 2019
Massachusetts	$480.5	1	$480.5	Powerball	Aug. 23, 2017
Maryland	$546.8	1	$546.8	Powerball	Jan. 20, 2021
Iowa	$396.2	2	$198.1	Powerball	Oct. 27, 2018

Instead, California’s 2022 Powerball tops the table, not only for one of the largest lottery jackpots in U.S. history, but in the world. The Golden State is followed by Florida and Tennessee with a two-way tie. However, the $1.5864 billion Powerball prize was split three ways (also with California), reducing the take home of each winner significantly.

As for the biggest jackpot per ticket, South Carolina held the record before CA’s 2022 Powerball. The state gave away $877.8 million to one lucky Mega Millions winner back on Oct. 23, 2018. Since then, both Illinois and Michigan have seen more recent large jackpots per ticket: Illinois with $780.5 in 2022 and Michigan with $776.6 in ’21.

Let’s see how we can manipulate the map to gain other insights.

Identify Only the Data You Want

So far, we’ve shared the 10 states that award the most in lottery prizes and the biggest jackpot of each state.

Yet, what if you want to identify the largest lottery jackpots by a certain game? You’re a fan of the Powerball or you’re feeling lucky about Mega Millions—and you want to know the biggest (or smallest) prizes only from that game.

By selecting multiple Group By filters in the lower left of your maps or the maps of others, you can do just that. Multi-Column Grouping and Filtering works on a map of lottery winners along with any map with multiple columns, like Country by Country Life Expectancy or The Fittest Cities in America.

What does apple pie have in common with hot dogs, hamburgers, turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy? While there’s no official national dish of America, most attribute these popular foods as such.

Aside from a country claiming a national food, a dish may be considered as such because it’s a staple food, contains local ingredient(s), or is served as a festive culinary tradition that forms part of a cultural heritage or as part of a religious practice.

The U.S. isn’t the only country that lacks an official national food. There’s also no national dish of India, though it was rumored that the government planned to designate khichdi, a plate of rice and lentils, as a national dish—though it was later denied by the government.

Still, 315 countries have official national foods. Among many seemingly different ones like Albania’s Tavë kosi lamb dish or Pastel de Belem in Portugal are commonalities. Meat dishes, along with desserts, are among the most common. Additionally, many countries boast multiple national dishes (Russia has 14!) as the map below shows.

View National Dish of America, India, and 315 Others in a full screen map

National Meat Dishes of Argentina & Others

Three meat-based national foods come from Argentina: asado, empanada, and matambre. Asado, much like a barbecue, usually consists of various grilled meat, often beef, pork, and chicken. On the other hand, empanadas, which translates to “enbreaded,” are a baked or fried turnover containing fillings such as meat. Meanwhile, a thin cut of beef known as matambre or fly shaker is the muscle a steer twitches to repel flies.

Additionally, both of Guam’s national dishes are meat-based: Spam and Kelaguen, as are Taiwan’s beef noodle soup and minced pork rice. At the same time, Australia and New Zealand are each home to the same two meat-based national foods: meat pie and roast lamb. France is also home to two popular meat dishes, among six others, including desserts.

French & Canadian Desserts as National Foods

Sweets make up two of France’s eight national foods. The first, a crêpe, originated in the country and is now popular around the world. There are both sweet and savory types. The second popular dessert in France is a custard with clear caramel sauce, called crème caramel.

It should be no surprise that Canada, with 22% French speakers, has an equal number of national desserts. Butter tarts are baked pastry shells filled with butter, sugar, syrup, and egg. Another sweet treat is the Nanaimo bar, named for Nanaimo, British Columbia. This no-bake dessert has three layers: a base (made of wafers, nuts, and coconut), custard icing; and chocolate ganache.

Among national meat and desserts are soups, stews, and noodle dishes (including a Kraft macaroni dinner in Canada), among many others. However, Canada isn’t the only country with multiple national foods of very different varieties: two desserts and one noodle dish.

Russia’s Multiple National Foods

As you’ve seen with Argentina, France, Canada, and many others, countries struggle to choose just one national dish. Whether it’s due to diverse populations or other reasons, a single country is often represented by multiple dishes (up to 14!): some meat, grain, or dessert—others national dishes of the same variety.

• Russia – 14 national foods
• France – 8
• China – 8
• Greece – 7
• Germany – 7
• Switzerland – 6
• Indonesia – 6
• South Korea – 5
• Serbia – 5
• Portugal – 5
• Philippines – 5
• Japan – 5

While a single Russian national drink is easier to pinpoint (vodka), the country has 14 foods that represent it. Four are types of bread: baranki, bublik, karavai, and pirozhki. Baranki and bublik are similar to bagels in their shape; the rings are boiled in water and then baked.

Meanwhile, karavai is a traditional bread most often eaten at weddings and pirozhki are Russian boat-shaped buns full of a variety of fillings sold by street merchants.

Soups made of vegetables like beetroots, cabbage, and pickled cucumbers are also popular in Russia: borscht is a sour, bright red soup made of beetroots. Meanwhile, shchi is a soup made of cabbage and rassolnik comes from pickled cucumbers, among other ingredients. Russian national foods also include two types of dumplings, though it doesn’t end there. The map contains information about Russia’s other five national dishes.

You already know four of France’s eight national foods: two types of meat and two desserts. Check out the rest on the map, along with the other countries with quite a few national dishes.

For more national statistics, be sure not to miss our maps of the national animals or national sports of every country.