Deaths from substance use disorders who in South Africa

South Africa: Deaths from substance use disorders who was 1,204 in 2021. ▲ Rising

Latest (2021)
1,204
Change on year
up 4.4%
World rank
12th
of 194 countries
All-time high
1,204
in 2021
All-time low
543.77
in 2000
Years of data
22
2000–2021

Deaths from substance use disorders who in South Africa, 2000–2021

02505007501.0k1.2k2000201020212000: 543.82001: 553.12002: 670.82003: 720.32004: 720.52005: 677.92006: 685.82007: 680.52008: 798.92009: 799.52010: 1.0k2011: 967.92012: 982.72013: 979.52014: 1.0k2015: 1.1k2016: 1.0k2017: 9902018: 1.0k2019: 1.1k2020: 1.2k2021: 1.2k

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

The most recent figure for deaths from substance use disorders who in South Africa is 1,204, measured in 2021. That is the highest value across all 22 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.4% on the previous year and up 24.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, deaths from substance use disorders who in South Africa peaked at 1,204 in 2021 and was at its lowest, 543.77, in 2000.

That places South Africa 12th out of 194 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.

Deaths from substance use disorders who in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Deaths from substance use disorders who in South Africa, 2000 to 2021.
Year Value Change
2000 543.77 —
2001 553.13 +1.7%
2002 670.82 +21.3%
2003 720.29 +7.4%
2004 720.54 +0.0%
2005 677.92 -5.9%
2006 685.75 +1.2%
2007 680.46 -0.8%
2008 798.9 +17.4%
2009 799.51 +0.1%
2010 1,017 +27.2%
2011 967.91 -4.8%
2012 982.72 +1.5%
2013 979.46 -0.3%
2014 1,035 +5.7%
2015 1,072 +3.6%
2016 1,046 -2.5%
2017 990.04 -5.3%
2018 1,026 +3.6%
2019 1,076 +4.9%
2020 1,154 +7.2%
2021 1,204 +4.4%

South Africa compared with similar countries

  • South Africa's 1,204 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 21.6, 55.8× the median. (58 countries reporting)
  • South Africa's 1,204 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 9.8, 122.8× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 685.11 543.77 799.51 10
2010s 1,019 967.91 1,076 10
2020s 1,179 1,154 1,204 2

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 9 Germany 1,548 compare
  2. 10 Brazil 1,354 compare
  3. 11 Australia 1,278 compare
  4. 13 Vietnam 1,153 compare
  5. 14 Pakistan 1,112 compare
  6. 15 Spain 989.34 compare

See the full ranking of 194 places →

More health data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is deaths from substance use disorders who in South Africa?
Deaths from substance use disorders who in South Africa was 1,204 in 2021, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest deaths from substance use disorders who recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 1,204 in 2021.
What is the lowest deaths from substance use disorders who recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 543.77 in 2000.
How does South Africa rank for deaths from substance use disorders who?
South Africa ranks 12th out of 194 countries with data for 2021.
Is deaths from substance use disorders who rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 24.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Deaths from substance use disorders who. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Deaths from substance use disorders who in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 10 November 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/deaths-from-substance-use-disorders-who/south-africa/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://health.statizoid.com/stat/deaths-from-substance-use-disorders-who/south-africa/">Deaths from substance use disorders who in South Africa</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Deaths from substance use disorders who
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
194 places, 4,268 data points, 2000–2021
Last refreshed