Statistical activities, surveys and standards

A core mission by UNODC is to produce and disseminate high quality statistics on drugs, crime and criminal justice at the international level. UNODC also works to strengthen national capacities to produce, disseminate and use drugs, crime and criminal justice statistics within the framework of official statistics.

Data

UNODC regularly updates global statistical series on crime, criminal justice, drug trafficking and prices, drug production, and drug use. These data are available at dataUNODC

Data collections

UNODC uses different instruments to collect data on drugs, crime and criminal justice from Member States. These instruments are all contributing to providing data for monitoring progress towards different international agreements such as the International Drugs Control Conventions or the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. These instruments also contribute to the improvement and harmonization of drugs, crime and criminal justice statistics at the global level.

Statistical briefs

A new series of short analytical briefs that illustrate selected policy issues on the basis of the most recent available data. DATA MATTERS is the title of this series, as data are important to put topics in the right context and to foster debate on a range of themes that are key to achieve the Agenda 2030.

METHODOLOGY & STANDARDS

Statistical standards and guidelines are developed by UNODC in the field of crime, criminal justice and illicit drugs in collaboration with national experts and relevant international organizations. The objective is to enhance the comparability of statistics at international level and to support countries in their efforts to produce national statistics on drugs, crime and criminal justice.

Survey guidelines

Manual on Corruption surveys: Methodological guidelines on the measurement of bribery and other forms of corruption through sample surveys Arabic, English, French, Russian
Latin America and the Caribbean Crime Victimization Survey Initiative (LACSI) – English, French, Spanish, Portuguese
Manual on victimization surveys (2010) - English. French, Spanish, Russian

Methodological standards and other documents

Series of guidelines for the production of statistical data in the criminal justice system
Guidelines for the governance of statistical data in the criminal justice system (2024)
Guidelines for the production of statistical data by the prison system (2024) - English, Spanish
Statistical framework to measure corruption
International classification standard for administrative data on trafficking in persons
Guidelines for the production of statistical data by the prosecution service and the courts (2023) - English, French, Spanish
Guidelines for the production of statistical data by the police (2022) - English, French, Spanish
Statistical framework for measuring the gender-related killing of women and girls (also referred to as “femicide/feminicide”) – English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish
International classification of crimes for statistical purposes (ICCS) (2015)
Conceptual framework for the Statistical Measurement of Illicit Financial Flows - English, Spanish (2020)
Manual for the Development of a System of Criminal Justice Statistics (2003)- Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish
Guidance for the measurement of drug treatment demand - Toolkit Module 8 (2006) - English
Ethical Challenges in drug epidemiology: issues, principles and guidelines - Toolkit Module 7 (2004) - Arabic, English, Spanish, Russian
Focus Assessment Studies: A Qualitative Approach to Data Collection - Toolkit Module 6 (2004) - English

CAPACITY BUILDING

Online training on measuring SDG16 in Africa

Series of webinars held in November-December 2020 to exchange practices and methodological tools on the monitoring of SDG 16 indicators in African countries.

Centres of Excellence

The UNODC-INEGI Centre of Excellence on Statistical Information on Government, Crime, Victimization and Justice is a joint project by UNODC and the Statistical Office of Mexico (INEGI). It contributes to the development of methodologies and best practices in the area of crime and criminal justice statistics. It provides technical assistance and training for countries in the Latin America and the Caribbean.

The UNODC-KOSTAT Centre of Excellence for Statistics on Crime and Criminal Justice in Asia and Pacific is a joint project by UNODC and the Statistical Office of the Republic of Korea (KOSTAT). It contributes to the development of methodologies and best practices in the area of crime and criminal justice statistics. It provides technical assistance and training for countries in Asia and the Pacific.