Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) Limits Worldwide
Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) represents the amount of ethanol in a given amount of blood and is noted as "weight by volume." The table below lists the maximum BAC levels for driving legislated in a number of countries, expressed in milligrams of ethanol per milliliter of blood (mg/ml). This table is also available in Russian. (Last updated: December 2009)
| Country |
Standard BAC (in mg/ml) |
| Albania |
0.1 |
| Algeria |
0.1 |
| Argentina |
0.5 |
| Armenia |
0.0 |
| Australia |
0.5 |
| Austria |
0.5 |
| Azerbaijan |
0.0 |
| Belarus |
0.5 |
| Belgium |
0.5 |
| Bolivia |
0.7 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina |
0.3 (0.0 mg/ml for bus and truck drivers) |
| Botswana |
0.8 |
| Brazil |
0.0 |
| Bulgaria |
0.5 |
| Cambodia |
0.5 |
| Canada |
0.8 |
| Colombia |
0.0 |
| Costa Rica |
0.49 |
| China |
0.5 |
| Croatia |
0.5 (0.0 mg/ml for professional drivers and drivers under 24 years of age) |
| Czech Republic |
0.0 |
| Denmark |
0.5 |
| Ecuador |
0.7 |
| El Salvador |
0.5 |
| Estonia |
0.2 |
| Ethiopia |
0.0 |
| Finland |
0.5 |
| France |
0.5 |
| Georgia |
0.0 |
| Germany |
0.5 |
| Greece |
0.2 |
| Guatemala |
0.8 |
| Honduras |
0.7 |
| Hungary |
0.0 |
| Iceland |
0.5 |
| India |
0.3 |
| Ireland |
0.8 |
| Israel |
0.5 |
| Italy |
0.5 |
| Japan |
0.3 |
| Kenya |
0.8 |
| Kyrgyzstan |
0.5 |
| Latvia |
0.5 |
| Lithuania |
0.4 |
| Luxembourg |
0.8 |
| Macedonia |
0.5 |
| Malaysia |
0.8 |
| Malta |
0.8 |
| Mauritius |
0.5 |
| Mexico |
0.8 |
| Moldova |
0.3 |
| Mongolia |
0.2 |
| Nepal |
0.0 |
| The Netherlands |
0.5 (0.2 mg/ml for new drivers) |
| New Zealand |
0.8 |
| Nicaragua |
0.8 |
| Norway |
0.2 |
| Panama |
0.0 |
| Paraguay |
0.8 |
| Peru |
0.5 |
| Philippines |
0.5 |
| Poland |
0.2 |
| Portugal |
0.5 |
| Romania |
0.0 |
| Russia |
0.3 |
| Singapore |
0.8 |
| Slovakia |
0.0 |
| Slovenia |
0.5 |
| South Africa |
0.5 (0.2 mg/ml for professional drivers) |
| South Korea, Rep of |
0.52 |
| Spain |
0.5 |
| Sweden |
0.2 |
| Switzerland |
0.5 |
| Thailand |
0.5 |
| Turkey |
0.5 |
| Turkmenistan |
0.3 |
| Uganda |
0.5 |
| United Kingdom |
0.8 |
| United States |
0.8 |
| Uruguay |
0.3 |
| Venezuela |
0.5 |
| Zimbabwe |
0.8 |
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