Nearly 107,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year, according to final figures released Thursday.

The official number was 106,699, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. That’s nearly 16% higher than the nearly 92,000 overdose deaths in 2020.

What You Need To Know

  • The official number of Americans who died of drug overdoses last year was 106,699, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a report Thursday

  • Earlier, provisional data suggested there were more than 107,000 overdose deaths last year; numbers may have changed as some additional death records have come in, a CDC spokesman said

  • Accidental injuries — which include drug overdoses — was the fourth leading cause of death last year, after heart disease, cancer and COVID-19, per the CDC report

  • Experts say the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the problem as lockdowns and other restrictions isolated those with drug addictions and made treatment harder to get

Earlier, provisional data suggested there were more than 107,000 overdose deaths last year. The numbers may have changed as some additional death records have come in, a CDC spokesman said. Also, provisional data includes all overdose deaths, while the final numbers are limited to U.S. residents, he noted.

The CDC on Thursday also released a final report for overall U.S. deaths in 2021. As previously reported, more than 3.4 million Americans died that year, or more than 80,000 than the year before. Accidental injuries — which include drug overdoses — was the fourth leading cause of death, after heart disease, cancer and COVID-19. Life expectancy fell to about 76 years, 5 months.

When the provisional data was first published in May, the 2021 estimated total translated to roughly one U.S. overdose death every 5 minutes. The CDC reviews death certificates and then makes an estimate to account for delayed and incomplete reporting.

U.S. overdose deaths have risen most years for more than two decades. The increase began in the 1990s with overdoses involving opioid painkillers, followed by waves of deaths led by other opioids like heroin and — most recently — illicit fentanyl.

Last year, overdoses involving fentanyl and other synthetic opioids surpassed 71,000, up 23% from the year before. There also was a 23% increase in deaths involving cocaine and a 34% increase in deaths involving meth and other stimulants.

Overdose deaths are often attributed to more than one drug. Some people take multiple drugs and inexpensive fentanyl has been increasingly cut into other drugs, often without the buyers’ knowledge, officials say.

Experts say the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the problem as lockdowns and other restrictions isolated those with drug addictions and made treatment harder to get.

Overdose death trends are geographically uneven. Alaska saw a 75% increase in 2021 — the largest jump of any state. In Hawaii, overdose deaths fell by 2%.