According to a UN report released on Thursday, there were 316 million drug users globally in 2023.
The report went on to say that, excluding alcohol and tobacco, the figure equates to 6% of the global population between the ages of 15 and 64 who use drugs.
In its 2025 World Drug Report, the Vienna-based UN Office on Drugs and Crime said that it is based on data from 2023 and emphasized that 5.2% of people worldwide used drugs in 2013.
With 244 million users, cannabis continued to be the most popular drug, followed by ecstasy (21 million), cocaine (25 million), amphetamines (30.7 million), opioids (61 million), and cannabis.
The World Drug Report’s latest edition emphasized that organized drug trafficking organizations are still able to adapt, take advantage of international crises, and target vulnerable groups. It also recommended that they make investments in prevention and deal with the underlying issues that lead to the drug trade at every stage of the illegal supply chain.
Ghada Waly, the Executive Director of the UNODC, said that in order to improve responses, they must use technology, improve cross-border collaboration, offer substitute sources of income, and pursue legal action against the main players behind these networks.
According to the report, the illegal cocaine market is expanding at the quickest rate of any narcotic. In 2023, illicit cocaine output reached a record 3,708 tons, up more than a third from the previous year.
It stated that between 2013 and 2023, the number of cocaine users increased from 17 million to 25 million, emphasizing that the surge in cocaine use is causing more drug-related fatalities as well as increased violence between competing criminal organizations engaged in drug smuggling.
About The Author
