Coca leaf cultivation in Bolivia rose 7% in 2025, U.N. says

Bolivia’s coca cultivation expanded by 2,400 hectares in 2025, reaching 36,400 hectares from 34,000 the previous year, according to a United Nations report. The 7% increase pushed cultivation 14,400 hectares above the 22,000 hectares permitted under Bolivian law.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime presented its Coca Cultivation Monitoring Report 2025 in an event attended by Bolivia’s foreign, defense and interior ministers. The study covered the final 10 months of Luis Arce’s government and the first two months of Rodrigo Paz’s administration, which began on Nov. 8 of the previous year.

The largest increase occurred in the central Chapare region of Cochabamba, where cultivation rose 22%, from 14,275 hectares to 17,460. In the Yungas subtropical area of La Paz, cultivation fell 4%, from 19,230 hectares to 18,430. Northern La Paz recorded a moderate 4% increase, from 478 to 496 hectares.

Coca cultivation in protected areas and national parks rose 17%, from 515 hectares to 605. At the same time, eradicated or rationalized cultivation dropped 77%, from 10,000 hectares in 2024 to 2,273 hectares in 2025.

UNODC representative in Bolivia Mónica Mendoza recommended that the government strengthen control strategies, particularly in protected areas. She also called for development measures alongside eradication efforts and closer coordination among institutions. Coca leaf has traditional, medicinal and cultural uses recognized by Bolivia’s Constitution, although some production is diverted to drug trafficking for cocaine production. A 2017 law expanded the legal cultivation area from 12,000 to 22,000 hectares, and Bolivia’s return to the 1961 U.N. drug convention includes a reservation allowing traditional coca consumption, including infusions and chewing.