The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates the total value of the global cocaine market to be valued at $70.45 billion.

Estimated number of cocaine users worldwide: 14.3 million.

Source: United Nations, ” 2005 World Drug Report,” Office on Drugs and Crime, June 2005, pg. 130.

A report by the House of Commons found that between 25 to 30 tons of cocaine enters the United Kingdom each year.  Around 3.5 tons of cocaine was seized by law enforcement in 2009.

Source:  Thomas Penny, “Cocaine Seizures Are ‘Woefully Inadequate,’ U.K. Lawmakers Say,” BusinessWeek, March 3, 2010.

The US Department of State reported that in 2009, Bolivia’s cultivation of coca increased by 10 percent over the previous year.

The potential production of cocaine in the country increased to 195 tons, an increase of 50 percent from the 130 tons in 2007.

Source:  AFP, “Mexican drug lords face ‘existential threat,’ US says,” Yahoo News, March 1, 2010.

The British Crime Survey reported that 437,000 people between the ages of 16 to 24 used cocaine within the past year in England and Whales. This translated to 6.6 percent of between within the age bracket using cocaine, an increase from 5.1 percent the year before.

Source: Amardeep Bassey, “Teen cocaine use on the rise as more seek treatment,” BBC News, March 1, 2010.

According to the United Nations, in 2008 South America had 167,600 hectares devoted to cocaine production, a decrease of 8 percent of 2007.

The cultivation area of Colombia accounted for 430 tons of cocaine, or 48.3 percent of the total amount cultivated in South America. Peru accounted for 302 tons, or 33.5 percent of the total amount.

Source: “Peru may overtake Colombia in cocaine output: U.N.,” Reuters, February 23, 2010.

Between September 2007 and September 2008, the United States Drug Enforcement Administration reported that the average price of a gram of cocaine increased from $132 to $182.

Source:  Chris Hawley, “Drug cartels tighten grip; Mexico becoming ‘narco-state’,” Arizona Republc, February 7, 2010.

Up to 9 percent of the cocaine entering the United States is believed to be trafficked through Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Source:  Chris Hawley, “Experts: Haiti chaos may lead to rise in drug trafficking,” Arizona Republic, February 8, 2010.

63 tons of cocaine was seized in Ecuador in 2009, double the amount seized in 2008. In addition, 7 drug processing labs were destroyed in 2009, up from 2 in 2009.

There were also an increase of 15 percent in the number of arrests of drug smuggling “mules”.

Source:  Chris Kraul, “Cocaine trafficking keeps Ecuador anti-drug authorities busy,” Los Angeles Times, February 3, 2010.

Up to one-third of all cocaine produced in Colombia is believed to be trafficked through Ecuador in 2009, four times more than the amount transported earlier.

Source:  Chris Kraul, “Cocaine trafficking keeps Ecuador anti-drug authorities busy,” Los Angeles Times, February 3, 2010.

At the start of 2010, Colombia was the largest producer of Cocaine in the world, followed by Peru.

Source: Luis Andres Henao, “Latin America rejects old U.S. approach in drugs war,” Reuters, January 29, 2010.