Limited data suggest that cannabis use in Africa is higher than the global average, with large differences between women and men.

• Limited data suggest that cannabis use in Africa is higher among the general population aged 15-64 than the global average – driven by relatively high prevalence among men in Africa – while prevalence among women is lower than the global estimate. This underlines a pronounced gender gap in cannabis use in Africa with men being 8.2 times more likely to have used cannabis in the past year than women.
• Prevalence of cannabis use varies by country and is generally higher in West and Central Africa and in some parts of Southern Africa, as well as Morocco and Madagascar. Adolescents aged 15-16 years have a lower prevalence of cannabis use compared to the general population; it is similar to the global average of youth of the same age.
• In the region, and particularly in West and Central Africa, the majority of people in drug-related treatment cite cannabis as the main drug when entering drug treatment.