Drug Use & Overdose Deaths
An estimated 292 million people used a drug in 2022, up 20% over the past decade. Cannabis is the most-used drug with 228 million users, while 64 million people live with drug use disorders — yet only about 1 in 11 receives treatment. Opioids, led by fentanyl, drive the great majority of overdose deaths.
Key Drug Use Insights
Drug Use Keeps Rising
The number of people who used a drug in the past year reached 292 million in 2022, a 20% increase over the decade as global population grew and markets expanded. Cannabis remains by far the most-used drug at 228 million users, followed by opioids (60 million), amphetamines (30 million), cocaine (23 million) and ecstasy (20 million).
A Wide Treatment Gap
About 64 million people worldwide suffered from drug use disorders in 2022, but only around 1 in 11 received any treatment. The gap is even starker for women: while women make up an estimated one in five people who use drugs, they are far less likely than men to access treatment services.
Opioids Drive Overdose Deaths
Drugs were linked to roughly half a million deaths in 2021. Of the deaths attributed directly to drug use disorders, opioids account for close to 70%. In the United States, synthetic opioids — chiefly illicitly made fentanyl — were involved in about 73,000 of the 105,000 overdose deaths recorded in 2023.
US Overdoses Peaked Then Fell
US drug overdose deaths climbed to a record 107,941 in 2022 before easing to 105,007 in 2023 and dropping sharply to 79,384 in 2024 — a 26% fall, the largest annual decline on record. Deaths involving synthetic opioids fell from about 72,800 to 47,700 over the same period.
People Who Used Drugs in the Past Year (2012–2022)
Millions of past-year users worldwide
Key Finding: Past-year drug use rose from an estimated 243 million in 2012 to 292 million in 2022 — a roughly 20% increase, outpacing population growth.
Past-Year Users by Drug Type (2022)
Millions of users worldwide
Key Finding: Cannabis dominates with 228 million users, well ahead of opioids (60 million), amphetamines (30 million), cocaine (23 million) and ecstasy (20 million).
The Drug Treatment Gap (2022)
People with disorders vs people in treatment
Key Finding: Of about 64 million people with drug use disorders, only around 1 in 11 — roughly 6 million — receive any form of treatment.
US Drug Overdose Deaths & the Fentanyl Share (2015–2024)
Annual deaths in the United States
Key Finding: US overdose deaths peaked at 107,941 in 2022, with synthetic opioids involved in the large majority, before falling 26% to 79,384 in 2024.
Global Deaths Attributable to Drug Use Disorders
Thousands of deaths per year
Key Finding: Deaths attributable to drug use disorders rose from about 350,000 in 2011 to nearly 494,000 by 2021, with opioids responsible for most of the toll.
Understanding Drug Use Data
Past-year use vs use disorders
Past-year (annual prevalence) use counts everyone who used an illicit drug at least once in the previous 12 months — the 292 million figure. A much smaller group, an estimated 64 million people, has a drug use disorder: a clinical pattern of harmful or dependent use. Most past-year users do not have a disorder, so the two numbers should not be confused.
How the estimates are modelled
UNODC builds global and regional estimates by combining national household surveys, treatment and arrest records, drug-seizure data and indirect indicators, then extrapolating to countries that lack recent surveys. Mortality estimates draw on WHO and the Global Burden of Disease study. Figures published here use 2022 as the main reference year, with death estimates anchored to 2019–2021.
Why illicit-drug data is uncertain
Because drug use is hidden and criminalised, people under-report it and many countries have no recent survey. Estimates therefore carry wide uncertainty ranges, especially in Africa and parts of Asia where survey coverage is thin. Reported increases can partly reflect better measurement rather than a real rise in use.
Caveats
Trajectory points between documented years are interpolated for illustration; treat individual mid-decade values as indicative. US overdose counts come from CDC/NCHS and 2024 figures are provisional and subject to revision. Country and regional comparisons are affected by differing surveillance and drug-classification practices.