You are here: / / Facts on Narcotics Anonymous

NA Info Center

Facts about Narcotics Anonymous

NA member clean time

Thanks to regular attendance at NA meetings, many members have been sober for many years: an average of 8,86 years uninterrupted clean.

2018 Membership Survey (n=28.495 worldwide) – data relates to NA members surveyed in Europe.

Age distribution of NA members

NA has members of all ages.

The average age of the surveyed members is 44 years.

2018 Membership Survey (n=28.495 worldwide) – data relates to NA members surveyed in Europe.

Gender Distribution of NA Members

39% of the members are female, 60% male and 1% indicated diverse.

2018 Membership Survey (n=28.495 worldwide) – data relates to NA members surveyed in Europe.

Erwerbstatigkeit

A large proportion of NA members work full-time (56%) or part-time (16%).

The members surveyed work in a wide variety of professional fields.

2018 Membership Survey (n=28.495 worldwide) – data relates to NA members surveyed in Europe.

Reasons to attend the first NA meeting

The top factors cited for attending the first NA meeting were:

  1. another NA member (54%)
  2. Therapy facility/counseling center (43%)
  3. family member (20%)

2018 Membership Survey (n=28.495 worldwide) – data relates to NA members surveyed in Europe.

Most used drugs

The most commonly used drugs were:

  • Opiates (29%)
  • Alcohol (22%)
  • Cannabis(15%)
  • Stimulants (13%)
  • cocaine (9%)

2018 Membership Survey (n=28.495 worldwide) – data relates to NA members surveyed in Europe.

NA members in substitution programs

15% of members surveyed say they were in a substitution program at their first meeting.

In contrast, only 2% of members report continuing to take drug replacement therapy medications while in recovery.

2018 Membership Survey (n=28.495 worldwide) – data relates to NA members surveyed in Europe.

NA Members and Medicines

40% of members surveyed say they need medication even during recovery.

The most important reasons given were:

  • mental illness (41%)
  • medical health measures (37%) and
  • chronic diseases (16%)

2018 Membership Survey (n=28.495 worldwide) – data relates to NA members surveyed in Europe.

relapse in recovery

A relapse into NA is not a disgrace but an opportunity—being and staying clean is not a requirement for participating in NA.

However, it is encouraged to come back after a relapse and come back clean if possible.

As a result, 46% return to meetings after relapsing.

2018 Membership Survey (n=28.495 worldwide) – data relates to NA members surveyed in Europe.

level of education

90% of the members surveyed have an educational qualification:

  • High school or junior high school (30%)
  • Apprenticeship or vocational college or similar (20%)
  • University degree (27%)
  • higher academic degree (13%)

2018 Membership Survey (n=28.495 worldwide) – data relates to NA members surveyed in Europe.

Enhancements by Narcotics Anonymous

The surveyed members state that they experience an improvement in all areas of life, especially in

  • family relationships (87%)
  • social connectedness (88%)
  • Interests and hobbies (80%)
  • Housing situation (67%)
  • Work (68%) and education (53%)

2018 Membership Survey (n=28.495 worldwide) – data relates to NA members surveyed in Europe.

Frequency of meeting attendance

89% of members report attending NA meetings weekly.

Members attend an average of 1,57 meetings per week.

2018 Membership Survey (n=28.495 worldwide) – data relates to NA members surveyed in Europe.

Reasons to stay with NA

There are many reasons to stay with NA! The most important are:

  • Identification with other NA members (87%)
  • a warm, supportive group (66%)
  • other NA members (59%)

2018 Membership Survey (n=28.495 worldwide) – data relates to NA members surveyed in Europe.

Historical background

Narcotics Anonymous is one of the oldest and most widespread self-help groups in the world.

Key Features of Narcotics Anonymous

These are some of the key features of Narcotics Anonymous:

NA Meetings Features

NA meetings are

  • Regular meetings at fixed times and places
  • "closed meetings” – only for self-affected (addicts)
  • "open meetings” – interested non-addicts are also welcome
  • voluntarily and free of charge

An NA meeting is also characterized by various characteristics :

NA Cultural Adaptability

Narcotics Anonymous is (as of 2020) represented in 144 countries with over 76.000 meetings. NA owes this, among other things, to its great cultural adaptability:

  • everyone is welcome, regardless of religion, skin color, social status, social background or gender identity
  • there is NA literature in over 55 languages
  • NA meetings are held in 76 languages

Collaborative offerings from Narcotics Anonymous

Narcotics Anonymous cooperates with therapy facilities, experts and politicians in different ways:

EnglishFrenchGermanItalian