Drug Use By Students and Young People in the European Union

"The average prevalence of lifetime use of illicit drugs was 13 %, with considerable variation across ESPAD countries. It should be noted that this mainly relates to cannabis use (average lifetime prevalence of 12 %), with an average lifetime prevalence of any illicit drug use other than cannabis considerably lower, standing at 5 %. The highest proportions of students reporting lifetime use of any illicit drug were found in Liechtenstein (25 %) and Czechia (24 %), and the lowest in Georgia and Moldova (both 3.9 %). Regarding illicit drug use other than cannabis, rates varied from 1.7 % in Georgia to 9.9 % in Cyprus, with relatively high prevalence rates also reported in Iceland (7.9 %) and Montenegro (7.6 %).

"Overall, only a small gender disparity was observed, with 14 % of boys and 12 % of girls reporting lifetime use of illicit drugs. A relatively large 8-percentage-point difference was observed between boys and girls in Ukraine. Malta stood out, where lifetime prevalence among girls exceeded that of boys by 6 percentage points (15 % versus 9.3 %)."