Although war is as deadly and as powerful as governments, global organized crime still remains in the shadows

When people think of the world’s deadliest threats, armed conflict usually comes to mind first. Yet every year, organized crime quietly claims a comparable number of lives.

Since 2000, the UN estimates that organized criminal groups have been linked to around 95,000 murders annually. The figure is very close to the average annual death toll from armed conflict worldwide, which is estimated at around 92,000 people.

This comparison raises an obvious question: if organized crime kills as many people as war, why does it receive so little international attention?

As the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned, “Transnational organized criminal activity takes many forms, but its impacts remain the same: weakening of government, corruption and lawlessness, open violence, death and destruction.”

But behind these global patterns lies a reality that is often less visible: People’s lives are shaped by these networks, and their experiences rarely appear in headlines or statistics.

Victims of human trafficking

At age 17, Mary left Benin City, Nigeria, believing she was traveling to Europe for a job in a restaurant and a better future. After transiting through Libya, it became clear that he was involved in a human trafficking operation.

She was subjected to coercion, sexual violence, and exploitation, and found herself unable to contact her family or escape the conditions imposed on her.

Looking back on her experience, Mary described its long-term psychological impact: “What I am experiencing now is so big, so serious, I see myself as an adult. I miss childhood.”

But amidst the trauma, she also expressed her fragile feelings about the possibility, saying, “One day I will have my documents, I will have an education, I will have a job.”

Her words reflect a broader reality in which survivors often carry deep trauma and uncertain hopes.

As another trafficking victim said, “I often meet girls who dream of going to Turkey and Dubai, to earn more. I tell them, ‘please don’t go. There is nothing good for you there.'”

Hidden global impact

In contrast to armed conflicts that occur openly and dominate global headlines, organized crime operates clandestinely, embedded in communities, economies and sometimes legitimate institutions.

Often, criminal groups do more than simply make a profit or exploit new technology; they shape local power structures, influence public life, and sometimes rival the state itself.

According to research by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Organized criminal networks are responsible for one-fifth of all intentional homicides worldwide, and the number rises to about half in the Western Hemisphere.

But the number of victims is far greater than the murders. Drug trafficking causes hundreds of thousands of overdose deaths, including nearby 600,000 were related to opioids according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO), while violence against journalists, public figures, and human rights defenders weakens institutions and erodes public trust.

In contrast to war, which leaves scars that attract international attention, the harm caused by organized crime is often less visible but far-reaching.

While death tolls can be calculated, the broader economic, social and governance costs remain difficult to quantify.

Why don’t we see it

One reason why organized crime gets less attention than armed conflict is because powerful criminal groups profit by remaining invisible.

Rather than relying solely on violence, they are embedded in social and economic structures, making their influence more difficult to detect.

According to UNODC Based on the analysis, criminal organizations often enforce their own rules and resolve disputes internally.

The result is a workable parallel governance model de facto control while presenting itself as a legitimate government structure.

Criminal networks often operate through legal businesses, professional service providers, recruitment agencies and formal supply chains, making them more difficult to identify and dismantle.

Criminal networks increasingly function as decentralized systems rather than rigid hierarchies, allowing large-scale operations to develop without a clear central authority.

UNODC is also aware that organized crime also experiences problems in media coverage. The war produced images that immediately captured the public’s attention: tanks crossing the border, missile attacks, cities being bombarded. Criminal networks rarely offer such moments to be captured on camera.

As a result, organized crime often receives far less media coverage than armed conflict, even though the death toll is as high.

This lack of visibility is also reflected in gaps in public awareness surrounding human trafficking and other forms of organized crime.

One trafficking victim pointed to the broader problem of limited awareness, and emphasized that “to stop trafficking in women and girls, we must provide information to society about the full consequences of human trafficking and how to detect the signs. It is important to start raising awareness about this in schools, starting from a young age, so that they do not become victims.”

Parallel system

In some parts of the world, organized criminal groups exercise forms of authority traditionally associated with the state.

Through a combination of coercion, corruption, fraud, market control, and selective service delivery, these organizations can establish alternative systems of regulation and law enforcement.

According to UNODC analysis, by 2024, gangs in Haiti are expected to control 85 percent of the capital Port-au-Prince.

They exploit weak state institutions to seize key infrastructure, and use violence, extortion, and arms trafficking to establish authority over regions of the country.

Money matters

Much of the influence of organized crime comes from the large profits it generates. Most of organized crime’s revenues come from black markets involving illegal drugs, firearms, migrants, wildlife, natural resources, cultural property, counterfeit drugs, fuel and other commodities.

According to UNODC, drug trafficking remains the financial backbone of most transnational criminal organizations, generating hundreds of billions of dollars annually.

The trade routes of the Balkan people in Eastern Europe illustrate the large profits obtained. Between 2019 and 2022, illicit financial flows related to the opiate and methamphetamine trade are estimated by the UNODC at US$3.4 billion to US$6.9 billion per year.

Technology is increasingly changing organized crime. New communications tools allow criminal groups to operate across borders with ease, while fraud, extortion and fraud networks can target victims in many countries simultaneously.

Cyber-enabled crime is increasingly profitable: in East and Southeast Asia alone, online fraud causes losses of an estimated US$18 billion to US$37 billion by 2023, according to the UN.

Although less visible than armed conflict, organized crime takes a comparable toll of lives and quietly reshapes communities, economies, and institutions around the world.

Viewing organized crime only from the perspective of law enforcement is unable to overcome the existing problems. The impacts span public health, governance, economic development, and social cohesion, weakening individuals and the institutions on which they depend.