Mortality rates highest in northern Europe

The mortality rate due to overdoses in Europe in 2015 is estimated at 20.3 deaths per million population aged 15–64. The rate among males (32.3 cases per million males) is almost four times that among females (8.4 cases per million females). Overdose mortality rates peak at age 35–39 for males and age 30–34 for females. Mean age at death, however, is lower among males: 38 compared with 41 among females. National mortality rates and trends vary considerably, and are influenced by factors such as prevalence and patterns of drug use as well as by national practices of reporting, recording information and coding overdose cases in national mortality databases. According to the latest data available, rates of over 40 deaths per million population were reported in 8 northern European countries, with the highest rates reported in Estonia (103 per million), Sweden (100 per million), Norway (76 per million) and Ireland (71 per million).