Six in ten people in the EU, or 60%, see drug trafficking and drug use as a serious problem in the area where they live, the first survey by the European Union Drugs Agency shows.
Bulgaria ranks third in the EU at 73%. Only Cyprus (78%) and Luxembourg (75%) are higher. The fewest people see a problem in Denmark (44%), Poland (48%) and Finland (49%).
The agency spoke to 95,883 people aged 15 and over in 35 countries. These are the 27 EU states, Norway, Turkey, Moldova, North Macedonia, Serbia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. The results given here cover the 76,766 people surveyed in the EU.
Almost half of them, 49%, think drug trafficking in their area has grown over the past five years. About 48% say they could easily find cannabis near the media.
For 39%, mental health is the biggest health problem linked to drugs. For 30%, the main public safety problem is that children and teenagers get drawn into drug trafficking.
Some 45% of those surveyed back help and support for people who use drugs and have come into contact with the justice system.
The agency was set up in 2024 to replace the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. Like its predecessor, it is based in Lisbon.