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Population and society Health and social protection

Drug-related deaths increased in 2021

review 09/12/2022 | Causes of death 2021

According to Statistics Finland, 287 persons died from drugs in Finland in 2021, which was 29 more than in the previous year. In 2021, the number of drug-related deaths was higher than ever before in the measuring history, that is, since 2006. Deaths increased most in the age group 30 to 44. The median age of those dying from drugs rose from 31 to 35 years.

Stacked vertical bar chart on drug-related deaths in 2006 to 2021 according to the definition of the EMCDDA. The chart shows the shares of accidental poisonings, suicides, poisonings with undetermined intent and deaths related to long-term use of drugs among all drug-related deaths annually. The majority of drug-related deaths are accidental poisonings, the number of poisonings with undetermined intent is very low. Deaths related to long-term drug use have increased since the mid-2010s.

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0 - 14 15 - 19 20 - 24 25 - 29 30 - 34 35 - 39 40 - 44 45 - 49 50 - 54 55 - 59 60 - 64 65 -
Males 0 17 30 30 31 24 27 21 10 12 6 7
Females 0 5 8 10 9 10 8 3 6 4 0 9

	0 - 14	15 - 19	20 - 24	25 - 29	30 - 34	35 - 39	40 - 44	45 - 49	50 - 54	55 - 59	60 - 64	65 -
Males	0	17	30	30	31	24	27	21	10	12	6	7
Females	0	5	8	10	9	10	8	3	6	4	0	9

	0 - 14	15 - 19	20 - 24	25 - 29	30 - 34	35 - 39	40 - 44	45 - 49	50 - 54	55 - 59	60 - 64	65 -
2021	0	22	38	40	40	34	35	24	16	16	6	16
2020	0	26	46	45	30	20	27	21	16	7	10	10

Main causes of death among children under the age of one 2000-2021

	2000	2005	2010	2019	2020	2021
Total deaths	205	179	138	95	87	89
Certain conditions originating in the perinatal period (P00-P96)	84	77	58	36	40	40
Congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99)	78	61	40	32	29	25
Sudden infant death syndrome (R95)	18	19	17	12	3	8
Diseases of the circulatory system (I00-I99)	2	2	3	0	0	6
Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E90)	5	6	3	5	4	4
Diseases of the respiratory system (J00-J99)	2	3	2	2	2	1
Accidents and violence (V01-Y89)	3	2	4	2	2	1

	20 - 24	25 - 29	30 - 34	35 - 39	40 - 44	45 - 49	50 - 54	55 - 59	60 - 64	65 - 69	70 - 74	75 - 79	80 - 84	85 - 89	90 - 94	95 -
2021	1	1	3	7	10	10	13	40	48	74	110	134	163	166	128	44
2020	1	0	1	5	0	3	6	13	13	22	42	78	117	120	104	33

2021M01	2021M02	2021M03	2021M04	2021M05	2021M06	2021M07	2021M08	2021M09	2021M10	2021M11	2021M12
99	65	93	69	41	15	11	42	54	95	179	189

Statistics used in the review

Causes of death

Database tables

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Database tables with background information relevant to the publication

11ay

Deaths, age-standardised and crude deaths rates by underlying cause of death (time series classification) and sex, whole population and persons aged 15-64(External link)

Classifications used:

Sex
Underlying cause of death (time series classification)

Period:

annual

Statistics:

Causes of death

Updated:

09/12/2022

11az

Deaths by underlying cause of death (time series classification), age and sex(External link)

Classifications used:

Sex
Underlying cause of death (time series classification)
Age

Period:

annual

Statistics:

Causes of death

Updated:

09/12/2022

11be

Deaths by underlying cause of death (ICD-10, 3-character level), age and sex(External link)

Classifications used:

Underlying cause of death (ICD-10, 3-character level)
Sex
Age

Period:

annual

Statistics:

Causes of death

Updated:

09/12/2022

13u5

Deaths by underlying cause of death (time series classification) and wellbeing services county(External link)

Classifications used:

Underlying cause of death (time series classification)
Wellbeing services county

Period:

annual

Statistics:

Causes of death

Updated:

09/12/2022

11bf

Deaths by month, underlying cause of death (time series classification) and sex(External link)

Classifications used:

Sex
Underlying cause of death (time series classification)

Period:

month

Statistics:

Causes of death

Updated:

09/12/2022

11b2

Accidental and violent deaths by underlying cause of death (short list of external causes), age and sex, intoxicated separately(External link)

Classifications used:

Sex
Age
Accidents and violence (classification of external causes)

Period:

annual

Statistics:

Causes of death

Updated:

09/12/2022

11bx

Alcohol-related deaths by underlying cause of death, age and sex(External link)

Classifications used:

Sex
Alcohol-related deaths
Age

Period:

annual

Statistics:

Causes of death

Updated:

09/12/2022

12d9

Drug-related deaths (Selection B) by underlying cause of death, age and sex(External link)

Classifications used:

Drug (Selection B)
Age
Sex

Period:

annual

Statistics:

Causes of death

Updated:

09/12/2022

11by

Suicides by age and sex(External link)

Classifications used:

Period:

annual

Statistics:

Causes of death

Updated:

09/12/2022

11bd

Infant deaths and stillbirths by underlying cause of death (ICD-10, 3-character level)(External link)

Classifications used:

Underlying cause of death (ICD-10, 3-character level)

Period:

annual

Statistics:

Causes of death

Updated:

09/12/2022

11c1

Autopsies and other means to determine cause of death by age and sex of deceased(External link)

Classifications used:

Sex
Age
Grounds for investigating the cause of death

Period:

annual

Statistics:

Causes of death

Updated:

09/12/2022

Future releases

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Background information

Documentation

Referencing instructions

Statistical experts

Inquiries primarily

Service email

kuolemansyyt@stat.fi

Airi Pajunen

Senior Statistician

029 551 3605

Other experts

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	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Males	1,523.9	1,488.9	1,470.1	1,485.0	1,414.4	1,414.7	1,365.2	1,315.7	1,279.4	1,247.5	1,253.7	1,183.3	1,193.3	1,159.8	1,221.2	1,116.3	1,082.5	1,046.9	1,004.2	1,017.9	980.6	974.1	942.2	857.9	882.2	828.4	804.0	794.6	784.6	753.1	721.3	709.9	684.2	646.3	628.1	627.8	617.0	587.7	586.1	577.2	555.6	532.6	505.3	487.4	473.5	474.1	448.3	438.7	412.8	411.4	404.9
Females	1,119.9	1,057.4	983.2	1,008.7	926.2	916.3	854.1	837.8	824.2	794.5	807.6	731.4	739.4	714.4	743.8	719.8	692.4	678.0	658.3	641.3	619.8	603.1	616.2	562.2	556.5	531.5	513.7	491.5	482.9	481.2	460.3	462.5	437.3	398.5	392.9	379.5	374.3	367.2	352.3	346.6	328.8	326.0	304.6	299.5	285.8	279.5	263.2	251.2	238.5	230.9	231.1

	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Males	770.6	751.4	764.8	780.4	741.9	785.0	765.2	739.1	736.0	722.1	717.3	691.5	698.8	689.7	733.2	666.9	665.8	654.2	632.8	639.3	605.8	628.3	599.9	554.7	569.0	535.5	508.0	505.1	509.1	488.5	463.4	463.5	432.2	411.6	404.4	401.2	388.0	367.0	362.8	362.7	340.6	320.2	298.9	286.4	279.1	277.1	258.0	248.8	220.6	217.3	216.9
Females	377.5	368.5	354.7	371.2	352.7	366.5	346.1	346.0	357.3	339.9	344.1	326.1	329.7	333.7	346.8	341.2	337.6	339.2	333.2	327.8	317.9	315.1	329.3	304.6	305.0	280.1	270.2	271.9	270.5	268.0	256.3	260.4	244.5	218.4	219.6	206.7	206.9	201.8	184.9	183.7	165.3	163.2	150.2	141.4	134.0	126.0	119.9	109.0	96.9	90.6	89.3

	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Males	475.4	454.6	469.4	454.9	452.8	472.9	453.0	466.2	467.6	465.6	455.4	449.1	449.3	449.2	444.6	420.5	418.7	418.9	416.1	417.8	397.8	408.6	408.5	390.8	387.7	397.9	369.3	377.1	367.1	353.9	357.9	343.4	339.5	337.1	325.8	330.6	318.0	304.4	307.0	311.0	303.7	298.2	294.7	292.3	291.7	290.1	286.8	277.4	282.1	274.9	275.5
Females	249.9	245.8	241.7	244.5	239.7	234.7	239.4	234.4	244.0	229.2	233.4	234.1	237.3	234.2	231.7	234.4	229.5	228.7	231.3	227.7	219.4	224.0	225.2	212.7	217.4	207.4	216.4	211.2	204.5	209.0	203.4	197.8	201.5	195.4	195.3	189.8	189.5	191.6	185.5	192.2	189.3	189.4	188.3	184.1	182.7	185.6	182.8	179.0	180.4	179.4	175.2

	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Males	156.0	145.7	151.5	143.6	138.6	158.1	151.1	152.4	156.7	156.8	155.3	139.6	147.9	138.6	141.8	131.3	128.3	124.1	117.2	120.4	109.6	119.1	112.3	102.9	104.6	101.9	98.8	95.3	89.2	87.6	89.0	83.7	83.1	78.2	78.9	79.8	76.9	71.0	71.0	74.3	67.1	64.9	66.1	60.9	62.3	62.1	61.2	57.9	58.7	53.7	55.4
Females	10.6	11.0	8.9	9.6	10.0	12.0	11.9	11.7	12.1	15.2	13.2	13.1	12.1	14.2	15.7	14.7	14.5	15.0	15.6	15.8	15.5	16.9	15.7	16.6	15.9	17.1	16.8	19.3	17.3	18.6	19.4	18.6	20.2	18.9	19.9	20.0	20.6	22.0	20.9	23.2	23.0	24.5	23.9	25.1	24.6	24.5	23.7	24.4	25.0	25.3	24.7

		1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Males	malignant neoplasm of breast	0.1	0.3	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.1	0.2	0.3	0.1	0.3	0.2	0.1	0.5	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.1	0.4	0.3	0.0	0.2	0.2	0.4	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.4	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.0	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.3	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.2
Males	malignant neoplasm of prostate	54.0	49.9	50.5	47.8	57.6	53.7	58.6	62.2	59.7	65.7	53.8	60.9	59.8	64.0	59.1	61.4	58.9	61.0	61.4	66.7	59.2	68.6	68.6	60.6	65.2	72.2	62.4	69.2	65.2	61.8	62.6	62.4	57.0	57.8	54.9	56.0	53.4	50.9	47.2	48.8	50.2	47.0	44.3	43.5	45.2	42.4	42.6	40.2	40.5	39.0	38.8
Females	malignant neoplasm of breast	30.2	30.3	29.4	32.8	30.7	29.9	33.0	28.9	32.2	31.5	30.2	31.7	34.0	33.8	34.7	34.5	35.3	36.8	34.4	34.2	32.2	33.9	33.8	33.3	35.6	32.7	32.8	32.4	34.1	32.8	33.4	30.5	31.6	30.6	30.9	31.6	30.6	29.5	28.7	31.0	28.3	29.4	28.7	26.6	26.1	27.8	28.5	26.5	26.7	28.1	26.3
Females	malignant neoplasm of prostate	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0

	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Males	25.7	23.1	8.0	17.4	17.3	8.3	10.9	17.5	12.1	20.2	25.5	27.2	32.7	32.9	40.9	46.5	69.3	79.1	85.6	83.8	90.2	95.7	101.8	90.3	88.8	91.7	93.0	97.4	100.2	97.5	104.8	112.2	110.0	107.9	115.9	120.1	120.8	123.4	128.6	141.8	135.5	150.6	159.1	158.6	162.2	172.1	171.1	176.9	175.7	172.5	190.4
Females	29.1	22.4	19.8	21.0	21.0	15.2	12.4	19.6	16.8	15.4	31.3	39.7	42.9	40.0	56.5	60.1	81.9	92.5	90.3	93.5	95.1	96.8	108.7	101.3	106.4	105.3	114.6	110.9	112.0	112.4	109.8	124.8	120.1	114.0	110.4	116.9	118.9	119.9	128.7	135.2	135.8	150.2	153.1	163.0	165.4	170.6	170.1	179.1	172.8	178.4	180.5

	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Males	24.4	24.0	18.8	27.3	28.6	31.5	29.3	27.4	28.7	31.3	30.7	29.5	31.0	31.7	33.6	34.8	37.7	43.0	39.0	45.1	40.2	42.1	41.9	37.9	44.6	47.3	43.5	51.1	47.9	48.4	47.7	47.4	49.7	58.0	61.2	61.4	64.7	63.2	62.8	57.6	53.9	56.1	55.1	52.8	46.9	48.6	41.9	45.9	46.5	47.2	44.8
Females	1.3	1.2	1.6	1.8	2.7	2.5	2.8	3.2	2.8	3.7	3.1	3.7	4.3	4.3	5.3	6.4	6.3	6.4	7.4	8.1	7.4	8.0	7.7	8.0	7.4	8.8	9.5	11.0	10.5	11.0	12.6	11.1	12.3	14.2	16.2	15.7	17.0	16.5	14.8	15.1	15.6	15.4	14.6	13.8	12.9	13.3	13.4	13.9	13.8	13.2	12.6

		1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Males	accidents	87.8	87.6	85.6	75.8	76.0	67.5	66.1	61.8	62.5	58.6	57.6	54.4	55.8	54.3	56.5	58.7	60.5	68.0	70.9	67.5	67.4	64.0	59.1	61.1	59.4	57.1	62.4	62.0	60.9	58.7	58.7	60.1	62.3	62.5	65.8	63.4	63.4	62.2	61.0	59.8	58.1	53.6	53.4	51.3	50.2	51.8	55.9	55.3	51.8	53.3	53.9
Males	accidental falls	10.6	9.8	9.8	11.2	10.4	10.8	9.9	11.1	11.6	11.8	11.9	11.0	12.0	12.7	13.8	13.8	15.1	15.2	16.8	17.2	18.4	17.6	16.8	17.5	18.3	19.3	20.6	24.4	21.0	21.3	21.0	22.1	24.8	23.4	27.2	24.9	23.4	24.0	25.9	23.9	25.5	22.9	22.3	21.9	22.4	23.9	26.3	24.5	22.8	24.0	24.4
Females	accidents	34.3	33.4	29.3	29.6	27.3	27.9	25.6	24.3	26.4	23.7	23.5	25.4	25.1	25.6	28.4	26.1	29.9	31.2	34.1	33.2	33.3	32.7	31.8	30.6	30.4	31.4	33.9	34.2	31.1	31.5	31.3	33.5	32.7	36.9	32.5	32.5	31.2	31.4	30.7	32.6	30.9	30.8	29.6	30.5	29.0	30.1	28.9	31.5	29.8	27.0	30.7
Females	accidental falls	12.1	10.5	9.3	11.7	8.6	9.0	10.8	11.2	10.5	11.2	11.1	12.1	11.4	13.0	15.2	11.8	15.0	15.6	16.7	17.1	16.2	15.4	18.0	16.6	17.5	18.0	19.5	21.9	18.4	19.5	19.1	21.1	20.7	20.0	20.2	19.9	18.8	19.6	18.7	20.4	19.6	19.9	18.7	20.0	19.3	19.7	18.7	20.4	20.3	17.7	20.2

	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
Males	35.1	39.0	37.6	40.6	40.6	42.3	42.0	41.9	40.6	41.6	38.9	38.5	39.8	41.4	40.5	43.0	44.6	46.3	46.5	49.5	48.8	47.2	44.9	43.6	43.4	38.7	41.4	38.3	37.9	34.6	36.8	32.4	32.0	31.7	28.2	31.1	29.0	30.8	29.1	27.3	26.8	24.6	24.9	22.3	20.7	22.7	22.5	22.7	20.8	19.4	19.1
Females	9.3	10.0	10.3	10.5	10.4	10.4	10.5	9.7	9.8	10.7	9.6	10.6	9.9	10.0	9.8	11.3	11.8	11.6	11.5	12.5	11.8	11.4	11.2	11.8	11.8	10.7	10.8	10.1	9.6	11.0	10.2	10.2	9.8	9.4	10.1	9.6	9.0	8.6	10.0	8.6	7.4	7.9	8.0	6.8	6.2	6.2	7.6	6.9	6.4	6.7	8.0