Organized crime is responsible for an estimated 95,000 homicides each year globally, a figure strikingly close to the approximately 92,000 annual deaths caused by armed conflicts, according to United Nations estimates since 2000. This comparison highlights the significant yet often overlooked threat posed by transnational organized crime.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres emphasized the broad and damaging impact of these criminal activities, stating, “The activities of transnational organized crime take many forms, but the ramifications are the same: weakened governance, misconduct and lawlessness, open violence, death and destruction.”
Research by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reveals that organized criminal networks account for about one-fifth of all intentional homicides worldwide, with this proportion rising to nearly half in parts of the Western Hemisphere. Drug trafficking contributes to hundreds of thousands of overdose deaths annually, including around 600,000 linked to opioids, as reported by the UN’s World Health Organization (WHO).
Violence against journalists, community leaders, and human rights defenders further undermines institutions and erodes public trust. In Haiti, UNODC analysis indicates that gangs controlled an estimated 85 percent of the capital, Port-au-Prince, by 2024.
Cyber-enabled crime is also on the rise, with online scams in East and Southeast Asia causing estimated losses between US $18 billion and $37 billion in 2023 alone.
These findings underscore the extensive and multifaceted challenges posed by organized crime worldwide, which rivals the deadly impact of armed conflict but receives comparatively less international attention.
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