An estimated 3 % of the global population;; or 185 million people consume illicit drugs annually. Among this population are people from almost every country on earth and from every walk of life. Countless more people;; around the world;; are involved in the production and trafficking of illicit drugs;; and still more are touched by the devastating social and economic costs of this trade. These people live in both developed and developing countries;; are rich and poor;; healthy and unhealthy;; citizens and refugees. Illicit drugs are a truly global phenomenon. Partially a consequence of this pervasiveness;; and partially a consequence of the illicit and hidden nature of this trade;; reliable analysis and statistics on the production;; trafficking and consumption of illicit drugs are rare. In cooperation with Member States;; the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has endeavoured to fill the gaps. In this first edition of the new two volume World Drug Report;; UNODC presents more quantitative data than ever before in an effort to increase the amount of factual evidence available in a field which is so notoriously difficult to quantify. This year;; the analysis of trends;; some going back ten years or more;; is presented in Volume 1. Detailed statistics are presented in Volume 2. Taken together these volumes will provide the most complete picture yet on today's illicit drug situation.

The 21st century is witnessing a profound shift in global dynamics;; driven by the fast-rising new powers of the developing world. China has overtaken Japan as the world's second biggest economy;; lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty in the process. India is reshaping its future with new entrepreneurial creativity and social policy innovation. Brazil is raising its living standards by expanding international relationships and antipoverty programmes that are emulated worldwide. But the “Rise of the South” is a much larger phenomenon. Indonesia;; Mexico;; South Africa;; Thailand;; Turkey and other developing countries are becoming leading actors on the world stage. The 2013 Human Development Report identifies more than 40 developing countries that have done better than expected in human development in recent decades;; with their progress accelerating markedly over the past 10 years.

The 2011 Human Development Report argues that the urgent global challenges of sustainability and equity must be addressed together – and identifies policies on the national and global level that could spur mutually reinforcing progress towards these interlinked goals. Past Reports have shown that living standards in most countries have been rising - and converging - for several decades now. Yet the 2011 Report projects a disturbing reversal of those trends if environmental deterioration and social inequalities continue to intensify;; with the least developed countries diverging downwards from global patterns of progress by 2050. The Report shows further how the world's most disadvantaged people suffer the most from environmental degradation;; including in their immediate personal environment;; and disproportionately lack political power;; making it all the harder for the world community to reach agreement on needed global policy changes. The Report also outlines great potential for positive synergies in the quest for greater equality and sustainability;; especially at the national level. The Report further emphasizes the human right to a healthy environment;; the importance of integrating social equity into environmental policies;; and the critical importance of public participation and official accountability. The 2011 Report concludes with a call for bold new approaches to global development financing and environmental controls;; arguing that these measures are both essential and feasible.