This statistic shows the worldwide prevalence of illicit drugs as a percentage of the global population aged between 15 and 64 years, from 1990 to 2016. In 1990, an estimated 4.8 percent of the global population used illicit drugs. This figure had increased to some 5.6 percent by the year 2016.
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Illegal drug users - Global prevalence 1990-2016
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Prevalence of illegal drug use among the global population from 1990 to 2016*
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This statistic shows the worldwide prevalence of illicit drugs as a percentage of the global population aged between 15 and 64 years, from 1990 to 2016. In 1990, an estimated 4.8 percent of the global population used illicit drugs. This figure had increased to some 5.6 percent by the year 2016.
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Description
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This statistic shows the worldwide prevalence of illicit drugs as a percentage of the global population aged between 15 and 64 years, from 1990 to 2016. In 1990, an estimated 4.8 percent of the global population used illicit drugs. This figure had increased to some 5.6 percent by the year 2016.
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- 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.
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.
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