Which has higher drug use disorder deaths by age, China or United States of America?

United States of America, at 1,984 deaths against 1,325 deaths in China as of 2021.

What is the difference in drug use disorder deaths by age between China and United States of America?

659 deaths, with United States of America ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States of America?

22 years are reported by both, from 2000 to 2021.

Where does this data come from?

World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Drug use disorder deaths by age. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

China vs United States of America: Drug use disorder deaths by age

China

1,325 deaths

in 2021

United States of America

1,984 deaths

in 2021

China rank

2nd

United States of America rank

1st

Drug use disorder deaths by age over time

China
United States of America

How they compare

United States of America currently reports 1,984 deaths against 1,325 deaths in China, a difference of 659 deaths.

That makes United States of America's figure about 1.5 times China's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 22 shared years of data; in 2000 it was China ahead.

China ranks 2nd and United States of America ranks 1st of 194 countries.

Across the 3 decades both report, China averaged higher in 2 and United States of America in 1.

Head to head by decade

Decade	China	United States of America	Difference	Ahead
2000s	1,351 deaths	536.25 deaths	814.31 deaths	China
2010s	1,015 deaths	907.55 deaths	107.22 deaths	China
2020s	1,296 deaths	1,786 deaths	489.8 deaths	United States of America

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher drug use disorder deaths by age, China or United States of America?: United States of America, at 1,984 deaths against 1,325 deaths in China as of 2021.
What is the difference in drug use disorder deaths by age between China and United States of America?: 659 deaths, with United States of America ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for China and United States of America?: 22 years are reported by both, from 2000 to 2021.
How do China and United States of America rank globally for drug use disorder deaths by age?: China ranks 2nd and United States of America ranks 1st of 194 countries.
Where does this data come from?: World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Drug use disorder deaths by age. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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China vs United States of America: Drug use disorder deaths by age. Statizoid, drawing on World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 10 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/compare/deaths-from-drug-use-disorders-by-age-who/china/united-states/

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<a href="https://health.statizoid.com/compare/deaths-from-drug-use-disorders-by-age-who/china/united-states/">China vs United States of America: Drug use disorder deaths by age</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Drug use disorder deaths by age
Unit: deaths
Source: World Health Organization (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 194 places, 4,268 data points, 2000–2021
Last refreshed: 28 August 2026

Estimated number of deaths from drug use disorders among both sexes aged 70+ year olds.