In 2023, around 72,776 people in the United States died from a drug overdose that involved fentanyl. This was the second-highest number of fentanyl overdose deaths ever recorded in the United States, and a significant increase from the number of deaths reported in 2019. Fentanyl overdoses are now the driving force behind the opioid epidemic, accounting for the majority of overdose deaths in the United States. What is fentanyl? Fentanyl is an extremely potent synthetic opioid similar to morphine, but more powerful. It is a prescription drug but is also manufactured illegally and is sometimes mixed with other illicit drugs such as heroin and cocaine, often without the user’s knowledge. The potency of fentanyl makes it very addictive and puts users at a high risk for overdose. Illegally manufactured fentanyl has become more prevalent in the United States in recent years, leading to a huge increase in drug overdose deaths. In 2022, the rate of drug overdose death involving fentanyl was 22.7 per 100,000 population, compared to a rate of just one per 100,000 population in the year 2013. Fentanyl overdoses by gender and race/ethnicity As of 2022, the rate of drug overdose deaths involving fentanyl in the United States is over two times higher among men than women. Rates of overdose death involving fentanyl were low for both men and women until around the year 2014 when they began to quickly increase, especially for men. In 2022, there were around 19,880 drug overdose deaths among women that involved fentanyl compared to 53,958 such deaths among men. At that time, the rate of fentanyl overdose deaths was highest among non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaska Natives and lowest among non-Hispanic Asians. However, from the years 2014 to 2018, non-Hispanic whites had the highest fentanyl overdose death rates.

The graph illustrates the number of deaths from fentanyl in the United States from 1999 to 2022. The x-axis represents the years, spanning from '99 to '22, while the y-axis displays the annual number of fentanyl-related fatalities. Over this 24-year period, deaths rise dramatically from 730 in 1999 to a peak of 73,838 in 2022. Notable milestones include an increase to 1,742 deaths in 2005, a significant jump to 9,580 in 2015, and a sharp escalation to 70,601 deaths by 2021. The data reveals a consistent and severe upward trend in fentanyl-related deaths, particularly accelerating in the mid-2010s. This information is presented in a line graph format, effectively highlighting the dramatic increase in fatalities due to fentanyl across the United States over the specified years.

In 2022, there were around ** overdose deaths involving fentanyl among non-Hispanic whites in the United States per 100,000 population. This statistic presents the rate of drug overdose deaths involving fentanyl in the U.S. from 1999 to 2022, by race/ethnicity.

Data on drug overdose death rates, by drug type and selected population characteristics. Please refer to the PDF or Excel version of this table in the HUS 2019 Data Finder (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus/contents2019.htm) for critical information about measures, definitions, and changes over time. SOURCE: NCHS, National Vital Statistics System, numerator data from annual public-use Mortality Files; denominator data from U.S. Census Bureau national population estimates; and Murphy SL, Xu JQ, Kochanek KD, Arias E, Tejada-Vera B. Deaths: Final data for 2018. National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 69 no 13. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.2021. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/nvsr.htm. For more information on the National Vital Statistics System, see the corresponding Appendix entry at https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus19-appendix-508.pdf.

West Virginia is currently the state with the highest drug overdose death rate in the United States, with ** deaths per 100,000 population in 2022. Although West Virginia had the highest drug overdose death rate at that time, California was the state where the most people died from drug overdose. In 2022, around ****** people in California died from a drug overdose. The main perpetrator Opioids account for the majority of all drug overdose deaths in the United States. Opioids include illegal drugs such as heroin, legal prescription drugs like oxycodone, and illicitly manufactured synthetic drugs like fentanyl. The abuse of opioids has increased in recent years, leading to an increased number of drug overdose deaths. The death rate from heroin overdose hit an all-time high of *** per 100,000 population in 2016 and 2017, but has decreased in recent years. Now, illicitly manufactured synthetic opioids such as fentanyl account for the majority of opioid overdose deaths in the United States. Opioid epidemic The sharp rise in overdose deaths from opioids have led many to declare the United States is currently experiencing an opioid epidemic or opioid crisis. The causes of this epidemic are complicated but involve a combination of a rise in dispensed prescriptions, irresponsible marketing from pharmaceutical companies, a lack of physician-patient communication, increased social acceptance of prescription drugs, and an increased supply of cheap and potent heroin on the streets.

From 1999 to 2022, the number of drug overdose deaths among U.S. females increased from ***** in 1999 to ****** in 2022. Globally, drug use is a general problem. As of 2021, there were an estimated *** million global drug consumers and **** million drug addicts. Opioid use in the United States Among many demographics, drug overdose deaths continue to rise in the United States. Opioids are the most commonly reported substance in drug-related deaths. The number of drug-related deaths in the U.S. due to opioids has dramatically increased since the early 2000s. In 2017, then-President Donald Trump declared a national emergency over the opioid crisis in the United States. Since then, there have been joint efforts among various governmental departments to address the opioid crisis through education and outreach. Substance use treatment Substance abuse treatment is vital in reducing the number of drug overdose deaths in the United States. As of 2020, the state of California had the largest number of substance abuse treatment facilities . However, many states in the U.S. have less than 100 substance abuse treatment facilities.

This data presents provisional counts for drug overdose deaths based on a current flow of mortality data in the National Vital Statistics System. Counts for the most recent final annual data are provided for comparison. National provisional counts include deaths occurring within the 50 states and the District of Columbia as of the date specified and may not include all deaths that occurred during a given time period. Provisional counts are often incomplete and causes of death may be pending investigation resulting in an underestimate relative to final counts. To address this, methods were developed to adjust provisional counts for reporting delays by generating a set of predicted provisional counts. Several data quality metrics, including the percent completeness in overall death reporting, percentage of deaths with cause of death pending further investigation, and the percentage of drug overdose deaths with specific drugs or drug classes reported are included to aid in interpretation of provisional data as these measures are related to the accuracy of provisional counts. Reporting of the specific drugs and drug classes involved in drug overdose deaths varies by jurisdiction, and comparisons of death rates involving specific drugs across selected jurisdictions should not be made. Provisional data presented will be updated on a monthly basis as additional records are received. For more information please visit: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/drug-overdose-data.htm

This indicator includes unintentional overdoses, homicides, and suicides from drug overdose. Death rate has been age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population. ICD-10 codes used to identify drug overdose related deaths are X40-X44, X60-X64, X85, and Y10-Y14.Drug overdose deaths have increased dramatically in the US over the past two decades. The first wave of deaths in the 1990s largely involved prescription opioids and was a consequence of increased prescribing of these drugs by medical providers. In the second wave that began in 2010, there was a rapid increase in the number of deaths involving heroin and, in the current wave that started in 2013, there has been a rise in the number of overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids, particularly illicitly manufactured fentanyl, which can be found in combination with heroin, counterfeit pills, cocaine, and other drugs. In Los Angeles County in recent years, the vast majority of all drug overdose deaths have involved fentanyl. Important inequities have been noted by sociodemographic characteristics, with low-income and Black individuals found to have the highest overdose death rates. Cities and communities can take an active role in preventing overdose deaths by promoting primary prevention and supporting evidence-based harm reduction and treatment strategies.For more information about the Community Health Profiles Data Initiative, please see the initiative homepage.

We collect data and report statistics on opioid, stimulant, and other substance use and their impact on health and well-being.

This statistic displays the number of deaths from fentanyl drug poisoning in England and Wales from 1999 to 2023. The largest number of deaths from fentanyl drug poisoning were recorded in 2017, with 75 deaths recorded. There were 41 deaths recorded in 2023.

Background: Methamphetamine-related deaths have been rising along with those involving synthetic opioids, mostly fentanyl and fentanyl analogs (FAs). However, the extent to which methamphetamine involvement in deaths differs from those changes occurring in synthetic opioid involvement is unknown. Objectives: To determine the patterns and temporal changes in methamphetamine-related deaths with and without other drug involvement. Methods: Data from all methamphetamine-related deaths in West Virginia from 2013 to 2018 were analyzed. Quasi-Poisson regression analyses over time were conducted to compare the rates of change in death counts among methamphetamine and fentanyl//FA subgroups. Results: A total of 815 methamphetamine-related deaths were analyzed; 572 (70.2%) were male and 527 (64.7%) involved an opioid. The proportion of methamphetamine only deaths stayed relatively flat over time although the actual numbers of deaths increased. Combined fentanyl/FAs and methamphetamine were involved in 337 deaths (41.3%) and constituted the largest increase from 2013 to 2018. The modeling of monthly death counts in 2017–2018 found that the average number of deaths involving fentanyl without methamphetamine significantly declined (rate of change −0.025, p

This dataset contains frequencies, rates, and proportions that describe drug toxicity deaths in Nova Scotia over time and space and by certain demographic and contextual characteristics. See usage considerations for further details on these data.

In 2022, those aged between 35 and 44 years had the highest number of drug overdose deaths in the United States, with 27,583 deaths. Opioids are the main driver of overdose deaths in the United States. This statistic presents the number of drug overdose deaths in the U.S. from 2013 to 2022, by age group.

A. SUMMARY This dataset includes unintentional drug overdose death rates by race/ethnicity by year. This dataset is created using data from the California Electronic Death Registration System (CA-EDRS) via the Vital Records Business Intelligence System (VRBIS). Substance-related deaths are identified by reviewing the cause of death. Deaths caused by opioids, methamphetamine, and cocaine are included. Homicides and suicides are excluded. Ethnic and racial groups with fewer than 10 events are not tallied separately for privacy reasons but are included in the “all races” total.

Unintentional drug overdose death rates are calculated by dividing the total number of overdose deaths by race/ethnicity by the total population size for that demographic group and year and then multiplying by 100,000. The total population size is based on estimates from the US Census Bureau County Population Characteristics for San Francisco, 2022 Vintage by age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin.

These data differ from the data shared in the Preliminary Unintentional Drug Overdose Death by Year dataset since this dataset uses finalized counts of overdose deaths associated with cocaine, methamphetamine, and opioids only.

B. HOW THE DATASET IS CREATED This dataset is created by copying data from the Annual Substance Use Trends in San Francisco report from the San Francisco Department of Public Health Center on Substance Use and Health.

C. UPDATE PROCESS This dataset will be updated annually, typically at the end of the year.

D. HOW TO USE THIS DATASET N/A

E. RELATED DATASETS Overdose-Related 911 Responses by Emergency Medical Services Preliminary Unintentional Drug Overdose Deaths San Francisco Department of Public Health Substance Use Services

F. CHANGE LOG

• 12/16/2024 - Updated with 2023 data. Asian/Pacific Islander race/ethnicity group was changed to Asian.
• 12/16/2024 - Past year totals by race/ethnicity were revised after obtaining accurate race/ethnicity for some decedents that were previously marked as “unknown” race/ethnicity.

Rank, number of deaths, percentage of deaths, and age-specific mortality rates for the leading causes of death, by age group and sex, 2000 to most recent year.

Note: This Dataset is updated nightly and contains all downloadable Medical Examiner-Coroner records, January 1, 2018 to current, related to deaths that occurred in the County of Santa Clara under the Medical Examiner-Coroner’s jurisdiction and those deaths reportable to the Medical Examiner-Coroner (non-jurisdictional cases/NJA) but in which the office did not assume jurisdiction.

The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner- Coroner’s Office determines cause and manner of death for those deaths that fall under the jurisdiction of the Medical Examiner-Coroner, as defined by California Government code 27491.

The Medical Examiner-Coroner will not be responsible for data verification, interpretation or misinformation once data has been downloaded and manipulated from the dashboard.

Refer to the following document to know more of which deaths are reportable: https://medicalexaminer.sccgov.org/sites/g/files/exjcpb986/files/Reportable%20Death%20Chart%202018.pdf.

In 2023, there were a total of 8,606 deaths in Canada due to opioid overdose, with around 82 percent of these deaths involving fentanyl. This statistic shows the share of deaths from opioid overdose in Canada from 2016 to 2023 that involved select drugs.

Source: Office of State Medical Examiners (OSME), Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH)