Age distribution of drug-induced deaths reported in the European Union, Norway and Türkiye in 2021 (percent)

A more recent version of this page exists: Age distribution (percent) of drug-induced deaths reported in the European Union, Norway and Türkiye in 2022 or the most recent year (updated June 2024).

This chart is part of the European Drug Report 2023, the EMCDDA's annual overview of the drug situation in Europe.

 

Source data

List of tables

Table 1. Characteristics of drug-induced deaths
  Males (%) Females (%) Mean age at death (males) Mean age at death (females) Number EU Number EU+2 Deaths with opioids present (percent)
  79 21 42 48 6166 6677 74
Table 1a. Characteristics of drug-induced deaths: gender (percent)
Gender Percent (%)
Males 79
Females 21
Table 1b. Characteristics of drug-induced deaths: age
Gender Age
Males 42
Females 48
Table 1b. Characteristics of drug-induced deaths: numbers
Region Number
EU 6166
EU+2 6677

Back to list of tables  

Table 2. Age distribution of drug-induced deaths reported in the European Union, Norway and Türkiye in 2021 (%)
Country Year <25 25-44 45-64 65+
Spain 2020 3 36 37 24
Netherlands 2021 5 36 47 12
Portugal 2020 0 42 52 6
Denmark 2020 7 39 38 17
Norway 2021 10 39 43 8
Belgium 2019 6 43 39 11
Czechia 2021 8 44 31 17
France 2016 4 49 32 15
Croatia 2021 1 55 40 4
Italy 2021 6 51 41 2
Sweden 2021 12 46 33 9
Poland 2020 17 41 23 18
Cyprus 2021 10 50 40 0
Luxembourg 2021 0 60 40 0
Slovenia 2021 6 60 26 8
Greece 2019 5 63 31 0
Ireland 2017 6 63 28 3
Bulgaria 2021 10 60 20 10
Germany 2017 9 61 30 0
Lithuania 2021 2 69 27 2
Finland 2021 21 52 22 6
Estonia 2021 15 56 15 13
Austria 2021 23 54 22 0
Hungary 2021 17 64 17 2
Slovakia 2021 21 61 14 4
Türkiye 2021 21 63 16 0
Latvia 2021 6 82 12 0
Romania 2021 3 87 10 0
Malta 2021 0 100 0 0

Back to list of tables  

Table 3. Proportion of drug-induced deaths among males
Country Country code Males
Austria AT 85
Belgium BE 77
Bulgaria BG 90
Croatia HR 84
Cyprus CY 100
Czechia CZ 67
Denmark DK 71
Estonia EE 74
Finland FI 75
France FR 74
Germany DE 83
Greece EL 89
Hungary HU 71
Ireland IE 70
Italy IT 90
Latvia LV 94
Lithuania LT 92
Luxembourg LU 80
Malta MT 100
Netherlands NL 77
Norway NO 67
Poland PL 68
Portugal PT 94
Romania RO 93
Slovakia SK 79
Slovenia SI 85
Spain ES 72
Sweden SE 69
Türkiye TR 91

Back to list of tables  

Table 4. Drug-induced deaths in the European Union: age at death, 2021 or most recent available data (%)
Age range Females Males
<25 7 9
25-44 39 54
45-64 30 33
>64 24 5

Back to list of tables  

Table 5. Proportion of drug-induced deaths cases with opioids mentioned, 2021 or most recent available data
Country Country code Share with opioids (percent)
Austria AT 86
Belgium BE 49
Bulgaria BG 82
Croatia HR 86
Cyprus CY 50
Czechia CZ 28
Denmark DK 96
Estonia EE 67
Finland FI 88
France FR 74
Germany DE 66
Greece EL 83
Hungary HU 40
Ireland IE 87
Italy IT 70
Latvia LV 38
Lithuania LT 80
Luxembourg LU 80
Malta MT 33
Netherlands NL 50
Norway NO 84
Portugal PT 66
Romania RO 87
Slovakia SK 43
Slovenia SI 71
Sweden SE 88
Türkiye TR 36

Back to list of tables  

Table 6. Number of drug-induced deaths reported in the European Union in 2012 and 2021, or the most recent year, by age band
Age range 2012 (Females) 2021 or most recent (Females) 2012 (Males) 2021 or most recent (Males)
15-19 31 27 52 102
20-24 66 55 264 254
25-29 99 82 486 375
30-34 115 116 605 491
35-39 97 114 507 635
40-44 74 108 450 560
45-49 93 92 354 498
50-54 77 86 180 325
55-59 51 69 133 229
60-64 30 52 53 127
65+ 83 169 64 142

Back to list of tables  

Back to list of tables  

Back to list of tables  

Related

Main subject
Keywords
Target audience
Type
  • Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Related assets in the Media library

Chart showing proportion of drug-induced deaths with mention of alcohol and benzodiazepines
Proportion of drug-induced deaths with mention of alcohol and benzodiazepines (last updated June 2025)
Map of Europe showing the proportion of drug-induced deaths with opioids
Proportion of drug-induced deaths with opioids mentioned, 2023 or most recent available data (last updated June 2025)
Graph showing age distribution (percent) of drug-induced deaths reported in the European Union, Norway and Türkiye in 2023
Age distribution (percent) of drug-induced deaths reported in the European Union, Norway and Türkiye in 2023 or the most recent year (last updated June 2025)
Graph showing distribution of the cases with heroin mentioned in Austria, Slovenia and Norway in 2023
Distribution of the cases with heroin mentioned in Austria, Slovenia and Norway in 2023 (last updated June 2025)
map Map indicating percentage of males among drug-induced deaths in each country
Proportion of males among drug-induced deaths in the European Union, Norway and Türkiye in 2023, or most recent year (percent)
Bar chart showing Age distribution (percent) of drug-induced deaths reported in the European Union, Norway and Türkiye in 2022 or the most recent year
Age distribution (percent) of drug-induced deaths reported in the European Union, Norway and Türkiye in 2022 or the most recent year (updated June 2024)
Top