The millions of lives destroyed by drug abuse

331 million

people were estimated to have used a drug in 2024, according to the UN. This is 34 % more than a decade earlier, partly a result of population growth and greater availability of data, but it also reflects an increase in the prevalence of use. The World Drug Report lists the following numbers:

• cannabis: 256 million
• opioids: 63 million
• amphetamines: 32 million
• cocaine: 25 million
• “ecstasy”: 21 million

Source
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime: World Drug Report 2026, Special points of interest.

2.5 billion

people above 15 years of age use alcoholic beverages, according to latest estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Source
WHO, 2024: Global status report on alcohol and health and treatment of substance use disorders.

1.25 billion

people in the world smoke tobacco, according to WHO estimates.

Source
WHO, 2024: Global status report on alcohol and health and treatment of substance use disorders.

14 to 32 %

of drug users are female, depending on the drug:

• 14 % opiates, 
• 25 % cocaine, 
• 24 % cannabis, 
• 32 % “ecstasy”-type substances, 
• 28 % amphetamines.

Source 
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime: World Drug Report 2026, Special points of interest.

63 million

people were living with drug use disorders in 2024. Only one in 12 of these people was in treatment.

Source 
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime: World Drug Report 2026, Special points of interest.

112

countries explicitly refer to reducing the harm of drug use in national policy documents, according to the civil society organisation Harm Reduction International. Newly reported countries include Ghana, Fiji, Trinidad & Tobago and the Philippines.

Source 
Harm Reduction International: Global State of Harm Reduction: 2025 Update to Key Data.

6.9 million

of the 14 million people who inject drugs are living with hepatitis C, while 1.7 million of them are living with HIV and 1.5 million are living with both HIV and hepatitis C.

Source 
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime: World Drug Report 2026, Special points of interest.

Almost 500.000

deaths were attributed to drug use in 2023 worldwide – 29 % more than a decade earlier. Cirrhosis and other liver diseases resulting from hepatitis C are the leading cause of indirect deaths attributed to drug use, while opioid use disorders account for most direct deaths.

Sources 
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime: World Drug Report 2026, Special points of interest.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime: World Drug Report 2026, Highlights.

The primary drug

of people in drug treatment varies depending on the world region. In Asia and Oceania, amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) are the main drug, while it is cannabis in Africa and opioids in the Americas and in Europe.

Source 
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime: World Drug Report 2026, Special points of interest.

Isah Shafiq is a student of political science at Goethe University Frankfurt and a student assistant at D+C.
euz.editor@dandc.eu