Number of fentanyl overdose deaths U.S. 1999-2021

In 2021, around 70,600 people in the United States died from a drug overdose that involved fentanyl. This was the 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 2021, the rate of drug overdose death involving fentanyl was 21.8 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 2021, 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 2021, there were around 19,571 drug overdose deaths among women that involved fentanyl compared to 51,030 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.