Availability of internationally controlled pharmaceutical opioids for medical use has stabilized in recent years.Availability of pharmaceutical opioids for medical use more than doubled between 1998 and 2024 – driven by a strong increase until 2013, followed by a decline and partial recovery in…
There remains a large discrepancy between the Global North and the Global South in the availability of internationally controlled pharmaceutical opioids for medical use - even though the gap is declining.Between 2015 and 2024, the per capita availability of pharmaceutical opioids for medical use in…
Cocaine seizures reached new highs in 2024 alongside potential cocaine manufacture.Both cocaine manufacture and seizures hit record levels in 2024. Global potential cocaine manufacture rose more than fourfold over the period 2014-2024, while cocaine seizures, largely driven by seizures in South…
Cocaine purities have increased over time, especially at the retail level.
In most countries, purities at the wholesale level are higher than at the retail level where
cocaine is frequently cut.
Cocaine purities at the wholesale level are higher in or near…
Cocaine seizures continue to rise and remain concentrated in the Americas and Western and Central Europe.In Europe, Spain reported the largest quantities seized in 2024, followed by France, Belgium and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, marking a change from previous years when Belgium reported the…
Trafficking of cocaine remains concentrated in the Americas and Western Europe though data show that all continents are affectedColombia, followed by Peru and Brazil were identified as the main departing countries of cocaine shipments worldwide over the period 2020-2024, but trafficking routes vary…
Heroin and morphine seizures remain concentrated in Asia.In line with the concentration of opium production in Asia, almost two thirds (64 per cent) of global heroin and morphine seizures occurred in Asia in 2024, notably in South-Western Asia and, to a lesser extent, in East and South-East Asia.In…
Seizures of key pharmaceutical opioids show distinct regional patterns by substance.While fentanyl seizures remain overwhelmingly concentrated in North America (> 99 per cent), other pharmaceutical opioids dominate seizures in different regions: codeine in West and Central Africa and South Asia…
The global cocaine market continues to experience strong growth in supply and demand, and organized crime groups continue to funnel continue to funnel increasingly large quantities of cocaine towards established and emerging destination markets.Taking potential cocaine manufacture and seizures into…
Global illicit opium production remained more than 70 per cent below 2022 levels in 2025Global illicit opium production remained at lower levels in 2025 at 2,100 tons, more than 70 per cent below 2022 (mainly due to Afghanistan’s opium ban) and almost 80 per cent below its 2017 peak.A doubling of…
Cocaine use and related harms have increased globally over the past two decades, despite recent disruptions.Approximately 25 million people worldwide are estimated to have used cocaine in 2024 (or 0.47 per cent of the population aged 15-64), with lower estimated use among women (0.24 per cent) than…
Seven substances dominate the global availability of opioids under international control for medical consumption.Expressed in S-DDDs (defined daily doses for statistical purposes), methadone, followed by hydrocodone, fentanyl, buprenorphine, oxycodone, codeine (including preparations) and morphine…
