OVERDOSE & DRUG DEATHS
Recently updated!Annual overdose deaths & per-capita rates by country · CDC, Health Canada, UNODC & EMCDDA
DRUG OVERDOSE DEATHS
Drug overdose is a leading cause of preventable death in many developed countries, driven primarily by synthetic opioids (fentanyl) in North America and by opioid use across much of Europe. The U.S. has a CDC provisional estimate of 69,973 deaths in 2025. Country figures may cover different categories (including opioid-only deaths), so they must not be treated as equivalent.
Figures below are drawn from each country's most authoritative public health agency. Where a country does not publish reliable national data it is shown as "Data not publicly available".
Understand the country comparisons
Use deaths per 100,000 people for a population-adjusted view, or total annual deaths to see the reported scale. These figures come from different reporting years and definitions: drug poisoning, overdose and opioid-related deaths are not identical measures. Rankings are descriptive, not strictly like-for-like.
Every country card shows its data year, the substance category reported and its original source. A blank figure means reliable comparable data was not available, not zero deaths. The figures are historical reports, not real-time death counts.
Australia
Data year: 2022
United Kingdom
Data year: 2023
Netherlands
Data year: 2023
United States
Data year: 2025
CDC NCHS provisional estimated drug overdose deaths during 2025, subject to revision. Do not compare to opioid-only deaths directly.
Canada
Data year: 2025
PHAC preliminary 2025 apparent opioid toxicity deaths, NOT all-drug overdose deaths. Additional January–March 2026 figures exist but are not a complete annual total.
Russia
No recent data
Brazil
No recent data
Mexico
No recent data
South Africa
No recent data
Japan
No recent data
Sources & Verification
Educational estimates only — verify all figures against the cited primary source.