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Illegal drug users - Global prevalence 1990-2016
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Illegal drug users - Global prevalence 1990-2016
Prevalence of illegal drug use among the global population from 1990 to 2016*
by John Elflein,
last edited
Sep 19, 2019
It is estimated that around 5.6 percent of the global population uses illicit drugs. Use of illicit drugs varies by country and region as countries enact their own laws regarding such substances. Access to illicit drugs also differs by country and region and culture plays a role in how acceptable drug use is.
Global drug use
Worldwide, cannabis is by far the most used type of illicit drug, followed by opioids and amphetamines. It is estimated that around 275 million people worldwide consume illegal drugs and 30.5 million could be considered addicts or problem drug users. Drug addiction and abuse can negatively impact relationships, increases the risk of a number of diseases, and can ultimately lead to death.Opioid epidemic in the U.S.
The United States has a long and complicated history with illegal drugs, once going so far as to fight a “War on Drugs”. Today, the U.S. is experiencing what has been called an opioid epidemic. This has been characterized by an increase in overdose deaths from prescription opioids, heroin and, more recently, illegally manufactured synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl. In 2017, there were a record 47,600 opioid deaths in the United States.Prevalence of illegal drug use among the global population from 1990 to 2016*
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by John Elflein,
last edited
Sep 19, 2019
It is estimated that around 5.6 percent of the global population uses illicit drugs. Use of illicit drugs varies by country and region as countries enact their own laws regarding such substances. Access to illicit drugs also differs by country and region and culture plays a role in how acceptable drug use is.
Global drug use
Worldwide, cannabis is by far the most used type of illicit drug, followed by opioids and amphetamines. It is estimated that around 275 million people worldwide consume illegal drugs and 30.5 million could be considered addicts or problem drug users. Drug addiction and abuse can negatively impact relationships, increases the risk of a number of diseases, and can ultimately lead to death.Opioid epidemic in the U.S.
The United States has a long and complicated history with illegal drugs, once going so far as to fight a “War on Drugs”. Today, the U.S. is experiencing what has been called an opioid epidemic. This has been characterized by an increase in overdose deaths from prescription opioids, heroin and, more recently, illegally manufactured synthetic opioids, such as fentanyl. In 2017, there were a record 47,600 opioid deaths in the United States.- Show sources information
- Show publisher information
- Release date
- June 2018
- Region
- Worldwide
- Survey time period
- 1990 to 2016
- Age group
- 15-64 years
- Supplementary notes
- * All figures are estimated mean values. This statistic was assembled from several editions of the World Drug Report. The source gives no data on problem drug usage prevalence before 2004, or for 2014, 2015, or 2016.
- Open this statistic in...
Source
- Show sources information
- Show publisher information
- Release date
- June 2018
More information
- Region
- Worldwide
- Survey time period
- 1990 to 2016
- Age group
- 15-64 years
- Supplementary notes
- * All figures are estimated mean values. This statistic was assembled from several editions of the World Drug Report. The source gives no data on problem drug usage prevalence before 2004, or for 2014, 2015, or 2016.
- Open this statistic in...
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Statistics on "Global drug use"
- Users
The most important statistics
- Addicts and consumers of illegal drugs worldwide from 1990 to 2016 (in millions)Addicts and consumers of illegal drugs worldwide 1990-2016
- Prevalence of illegal drug use among the global population from 1990 to 2016*Illegal drug users - Global prevalence 1990-2016
- Percentage of illicit drug use in global population by drug type 2017Global population share of illicit drug use by drug 2017
- Number of illicit drug users in the world by drug type 2017* (in thousands)Number of global illicit drug users by drug 2017
- Estimated number of illicit drug users worldwide from 2011 to 2017, by drug (in millions)*Number of illicit drug users worldwide by drug 2011-2017
- Percentage of global drug users that have used either legal or illegal drugs within selected time periods as of 2017Global use of illegal and legal drug types as of 2017
- Percentage of drug users that have used select drugs within the past 12 months as of 2017Global use of select types of drugs within the past year as of 2017
- Percentage of global drug users that have used select drugs within their lifetime as of 2017Global lifetime drug use of select types of drugs as of 2017
- Cannabis
The most important statistics
- Estimated number of cannabis users worldwide from 2009 to 2017, by region (in millions)*Number of cannabis users worldwide by region 2009-2017
- Percentage of global cannabis users that used cannabis in select forms as of 2017, preferred vs. most common methodsMost common methods of cannabis use among global cannabis users as of 2017
- Percentage of cannabis users that used cannabis for a select number of days within the past 12 months as of 2016Cannabis users number of days cannabis was used in last 12 months 2016
- Percentage of cannabis users globally that aim to use less cannabis within the next year as of 2017Percentage of cannabis users that aim to reduce cannabis use as of 2017
- Opioids
The most important statistics
- Number of opiate consumers worldwide by continent from 2011 to 2017 (in millions)Opiate - number of consumers worldwide 2011-2017
- Number of opioid users worldwide from 2015 to 2017, by region (in millions)Number of worldwide users of opioids 2015 to 2017, by region
- Consumption of major synthetic opioids worldwide from 2013 to 2016 (in kilograms)Global consumption of major synthetic opioids by type 2013-2016
- Distribution of fentanyl consumption globally in 2017, by countryShare of global fentanyl consumption in 2017, by country
- Distribution of codeine consumption globally by country in 2017*Share of global codeine consumption by country 2017
- Distribution of morphine consumption globally by region in 2017Share of global morphine consumption by region 2017
- Other drugs
The most important statistics
- Estimated number of amphetamine users worldwide from 2011 to 2017, by region (in millions)*Amphetamine users worldwide by region 2011-2017
- Number of cocaine users worldwide from 2011 to 2017, by region (in millions)*Number of worldwide users of cocaine by region 2011-2017
- Estimated number of ecstasy consumers worldwide from 2011 to 2017, by region (in millions)*Ecstasy consumers worldwide by region 2011-2017
- Estimated number of ecstasy consumers worldwide from 2009 to 2017, by structured region*Ecstasy consumers worldwide by structured region 2009-2017
- New psychoactive substances
The most important statistics
- Number of new psychoactive substances worldwide from 2009 to 2017Number of new psychoactive drugs worldwide 2009 to 2017
- Distribution of new psychoactive substances worldwide as of 2016, by substance categoryShare of new psychoactive drugs worldwide 2016, by substance category
- Distribution of new psychoactive substances worldwide as of 2018, by psychoactive effectShare of new psychoactive drugs worldwide 2018, by psychoactive effect
- Deaths
The most important statistics
- Global estimated number of drug deaths from 2000 to 2015Estimated number of drug deaths worldwide from 2000 to 2015
- Distribution of global deaths resulting from drug use disorders in 2015, by ageShare of drug use disorder deaths globally in 2015, by age
- Distribution of leading causes of deaths attributable to drug use worldwide as of 2016Share of leading causes of drug-related deaths globally as of 2016
- Treatment
The most important statistics
- Distribution of people in treatment for drug abuse worldwide in 2015, by drug typeShare of people in treatment for drug use worldwide 2015, by drug type
- Percentage of drug users that have sought emergency medical treatment for select drugs as of 2017Global drug users seeking emergency medical treatment for select drug use as of 2017
- Percentage of drug users of select drugs that have sought emergency medical treatment as of 2017, by genderDrug users that sought emergency medical treatment for drug use as of 2017, by gender
- Percentage of cannabis users seeking emergency medical care following use of cannabis from 2013 to 2016Trend of cannabis users seeking emergency medical treatment 2013-2016
- Drug injection and HIV
The most important statistics
- Global estimated percentage of people who inject drugs in 2017, by region*Global prevalence of people who currently inject drugs by region 2017
- Global estimated number of people who inject drugs as of 2017, by regionGlobal number of people who inject drugs by region 2017
- Prevalence of HIV among drug users in 2017, by world region*Prevalence of HIV among drug users by world region 2017
- Number of drug users with HIV infections in 2017, by world region*Drug users infected with HIV by world region 2017
- Number of people globally who were injecting drugs while living with HIV, hepatitis C, or both as of 2017 (in millions)Number of people injecting drugs with HIV or hepatitis C worldwide in 2017
- Miscellaneous
The most important statistics
- Percentage of people that claimed select reasons were important for their psychedelic drug use over their lifetime as of 2016Motivations for the use of psychedelic drugs globally as of 2016
- Percentage of synthetic cannabinoid users that tried various preparations of this drug from 2015 to 2017Synthetic cannabinoid users that tried various preparations of this drug 2015-2017
- Percentage of synthetic cannabinoid users that sourced this drug from select sources as of 2016Sources of synthetic cannabinoids for purchase worldwide 2016
- Manufacture of opium alkaloids and their derivatives worldwide from 2013 to 2017, by type (in kilograms)Manufacture of global opium alkaloids and derivatives by type 2013-2017
- Manufacture of other synthetic opioids worldwide from 2013 to 2017, by type (in kilograms)Global manufacture of other synthetic opioids by type 2013-2017
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- Global estimated number of drug-related deaths by region 2014
- Global prevalence HIV among people who currently inject drugs by select cities 2014
- Share of selected drugs used by young adults in Norway 2017
- Drug-related deaths in Wales in 2012, by implicated drug
- Share of selected drugs used by young adults in Finland 2016
- Prevalence of people using ketamine in their life time by country 2015
- Drug use in Spain 2017, by type of drug
- Prevalence of people using ketamine in the past year by country 2015
- Italy: individuals using drugs 2017, by gender and occupation
- Drugs - amount seized worldwide
- Number of new psychoactive substances worldwide 2009-2014
- Opiates - distribution of the global market 2009
- Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls metro area population in the U.S. 2010-2018
- Romania: monthly financial situation of consumers for the next 12 months in 2017-2018
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Statistics on "Global drug use"
- Addicts and consumers of illegal drugs worldwide 1990-2016
- Illegal drug users - Global prevalence 1990-2016
- Global population share of illicit drug use by drug 2017
- Number of global illicit drug users by drug 2017
- Number of illicit drug users worldwide by drug 2011-2017
- Global use of illegal and legal drug types as of 2017
- Global use of select types of drugs within the past year as of 2017
- Global lifetime drug use of select types of drugs as of 2017
- Number of cannabis users worldwide by region 2009-2017
- Most common methods of cannabis use among global cannabis users as of 2017
- Cannabis users number of days cannabis was used in last 12 months 2016
- Percentage of cannabis users that aim to reduce cannabis use as of 2017
- Opiate - number of consumers worldwide 2011-2017
- Number of worldwide users of opioids 2015 to 2017, by region
- Global consumption of major synthetic opioids by type 2013-2016
- Share of global fentanyl consumption in 2017, by country
- Share of global codeine consumption by country 2017
- Share of global morphine consumption by region 2017
- Amphetamine users worldwide by region 2011-2017
- Number of worldwide users of cocaine by region 2011-2017
- Ecstasy consumers worldwide by region 2011-2017
- Ecstasy consumers worldwide by structured region 2009-2017
- Number of new psychoactive drugs worldwide 2009 to 2017
- Share of new psychoactive drugs worldwide 2016, by substance category
- Share of new psychoactive drugs worldwide 2018, by psychoactive effect
- Estimated number of drug deaths worldwide from 2000 to 2015
- Share of drug use disorder deaths globally in 2015, by age
- Share of leading causes of drug-related deaths globally as of 2016
- Share of people in treatment for drug use worldwide 2015, by drug type
- Global drug users seeking emergency medical treatment for select drug use as of 2017
- Drug users that sought emergency medical treatment for drug use as of 2017, by gender
- Trend of cannabis users seeking emergency medical treatment 2013-2016
- Global prevalence of people who currently inject drugs by region 2017
- Global number of people who inject drugs by region 2017
- Prevalence of HIV among drug users by world region 2017
- Drug users infected with HIV by world region 2017
- Number of people injecting drugs with HIV or hepatitis C worldwide in 2017
- Motivations for the use of psychedelic drugs globally as of 2016
- Synthetic cannabinoid users that tried various preparations of this drug 2015-2017
- Sources of synthetic cannabinoids for purchase worldwide 2016
- Manufacture of global opium alkaloids and derivatives by type 2013-2017
- Global manufacture of other synthetic opioids by type 2013-2017
- Number of offenses for international drug trafficking in France 2005-2010
- Number of drug offenses in France 2005-2010
- Global estimated drug-related mortality rate by region 2014
- Global estimated number of drug-related deaths by region 2014
- Global prevalence HIV among people who currently inject drugs by select cities 2014
- Share of selected drugs used by young adults in Norway 2017
- Drug-related deaths in Wales in 2012, by implicated drug
- Share of selected drugs used by young adults in Finland 2016
- Prevalence of people using ketamine in their life time by country 2015
- Drug use in Spain 2017, by type of drug
- Prevalence of people using ketamine in the past year by country 2015
- Italy: individuals using drugs 2017, by gender and occupation
- Drugs - amount seized worldwide
- Number of new psychoactive substances worldwide 2009-2014
- Opiates - distribution of the global market 2009
- Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls metro area population in the U.S. 2010-2018
- Romania: monthly financial situation of consumers for the next 12 months in 2017-2018
- Opinion of Europeans concerning the breeding of animals for their fur 2012-2013
- Leading gifts luxury buyers in the U.S. plan to purchase 2015
- Portugal: monthly financial situation of consumers for the next 12 months in 2017-18
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