Global Cocaine Market Surges to Record Highs in 2023
COLOMBIA, JUN 26 – Illegal cocaine production rose 34% to 3,708 tons in 2023, with 25 million users worldwide and expanding markets in Asia and Africa, UN Office on Drugs and Crime reported.
- In 2023, global levels of cocaine manufacturing, confiscations, and consumption reached all-time peaks, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime .
- This surge followed increased coca bush cultivation, mainly in Colombia, and global instability that empowered organized crime and complicated drug control efforts.
- The largest cocaine markets continue to be found in regions including North America, Europe , and South America, even as traffickers increasingly target new areas in Asia and Africa, aided by the rising influence of crime organizations from the Western Balkans.
- Global cocaine production rose by nearly 34% to 3,708 tons in 2023, seizures reached 2,275 tons with a 68% increase over four years, and users grew from 17 million to 25 million in a decade.
- The report implies urgent need for stronger cross-border cooperation, technology use, alternative livelihoods, and judicial action targeting key actors to break this 'vicious cycle' of rising use and production.
134 Articles
134 Articles
Colombia Is At The Heart Of a Record-Breaking Global Cocaine Boom
The Latin Times spoke to drug and security experts in Colombia to find out what lies behind the country's cocaine boom and what it means for a nation already struggling with internal security issues.
Global cocaine production hits record high as drug use and deaths surge
In a stark warning on the state of the world’s drug crisis, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has revealed that global cocaine production surged to an unprecedented all-time high in 2023. The UN’s annual report, released on June 26’ 2025 highlights a disturbing escalation not only in the production of cocaine but also in its use, seizures, and associated health impacts. The report paints a grim picture of a drug epidemic fueli…
The international sale and consumption of cocaine has never been higher, the UN notes.
Associated Press LIMA (AP) — The Peruvian government reported Friday that the area cultivated with coca leaves, used to make cocaine, decreased 3.2% in 2024 compared to the previous year, maintaining a decline for the second consecutive year. The Peruvian anti-drug agency DEVIDA said in a report that 24 areas of Peruvian territory were monitored in 2024 and that a total of 89,755 hectares of coca cultivation were detected. In 2023, 92,784 hectar…
The Australian
Global cocaine market hit new record highs: UNODC
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