Afghanistan Drops to Second Place in Global Opium Production Rankings

The United Nations Office on Narcotic Drugs has declared Myanmar as the world’s leading producer of opium, surpassing Afghanistan.

The United Nations Office on Narcotic Drugs announced that Myanmar outpaced Afghanistan in opium production in 2023.

According to the organization, Afghanistan has experienced a sharp 95% decrease in poppy cultivation and opium production since the Taliban ban.

A recent report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reveals an 18% surge in poppy cultivation across 116,400 hectares of land in Myanmar from 2022 to 2023.

Previously, the United Nations had said that Afghanistan is still at the top of the list of opium-producing countries, but the production of this substance in Myanmar after the military coup in February 2021 has made this country the first producer of opium in the world.