Opium/Heroin Market Value: $64.82 Billion
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates the total value of the global opium and heroin market to be valued at $64.82 billion.
Number of heroin users worldwide: 11.1 million.
Source: United Nations, ” 2005 World Drug Report,” Office on Drugs and Crime, June 2005, pg. 132.
Opium Value in Afghanistan
According to the United States Department of State, the export value of Afghanistan’s 2006 opium export was $3.1 billion.
Source: 2007 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, “Southwest Asia: Afghanistan,” United States Department of State, March 2007.
90 percent of opiates smuggled into Russia from Afghanistan
Source: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, “Illicit Drug Trends in the Russian Federation,” April 2008.
28.7 percent of opium farmers in Afghanistan cite poverty for growing
28.7 percent of opium farmers claimed poverty alleviation as the reason for growing opium in Afghanistan.
Source: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, “Illicit Drug Trends in Afghanistan,” April 2008.
920,000 drug users in Afghanistan
4 percent of the population, or 920,000 people, are estimated drug users in Afghanistan.
Source: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, “Illicit Drug Trends in Afghanistan,” April 2008.
34 percent average increase in poppy cultivation in Post-Taliban era
Opium poppy cultivation has increased on average by 34 percent every year since the Taliban was disposed of in 2001.
Source: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, “Illicit Drug Trends in Afghanistan,” April 2008.
North Korea produces 44 tons of opium a year
In 2005, available estimates of the North Korean drug trade placed opium production at 44 tons a year.
Source: Matthew Quirk, “The world in numbers: The New Opium War,” The Atlantic Monthly, March 2005, pg. 52-53.
3 million opiate users in Iran
According to the 2006 International Narcotic Control Strategy, there are an estimated 3 million opiate users in Iran, with “60 percent reported as addicted to various opiates and 40 percent reported as casual users.”
Source: United States Department of State, 2006 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, “Africa and the Middle East”, March 2006.
Myanmar is the world’s second largest supplier of opium
Burma/Myanmar is the world’s second largest producer of illicit opium after Afghanistan, accounting for more than 90 percent of heroin in Southeast Asia.
Source: United States Department of State, “2006 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report,” Southeast Asia: Burma, March 2006.
32,800 hectares of opium in Burma
n the 2006 World Drug Report, the UN estimates the area of opium poppy cultivation to be at 32,800 hectares. The total estimated production of opium in 2005 was estimated at 312 metric tons.
Source:nited Nations, “2006 World Drug Report,” Office on Drugs and Crime, June 2006, pg. 209.
