Drug-induced deaths

For related content on drug-induced deaths, see also:

Health impacts: Drug-induced deaths

Drug-induced deaths are defined as those that can be directly attributable to drug use (for example, where drug overdose is recorded as the underlying cause of death), as determined by toxicology and pathology reports. In Australia in 2022, there were 1,240 drug-induced deaths in Major cities (age-standardised rate of 6.5 deaths per 100,000 population) and 429 in Regional and remote areas (5.8 deaths per 100,000). Estimates for 2021 and 2022 are expected to rise following standard revision processes.

The following data visualisation shows drug-induced deaths in Australia from 2009 to 2022, by remoteness area and drug type or drug class. Click to view the data as number of drug-induced deaths or age-standardised rate per 100,000 population.

See also the Technical notes.

Figure: Number or age-standardised rate (per 100,000 population) of drug-induced deathsᵃ, by remoteness area and drug type or drug class, 2009 to 2022

This line graph shows that between 2009 and 2022, the rate of drug-induced deaths increased then decreased back to 2009 levels for both regional and remote areas and major cities. Data can be filtered by drug type which shows different trends.

View data tables >

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