Metric permalink
Drug-poisoning deaths
Part of the Population Health domain. Age-standardised rate of deaths related to drug poisoning, a direct measure of the most acute end of population health and social distress.
Latest data
Latest reading
2024
A higher reading is treated as worse for this indicator.
Score composition
Stress score
Blended from three components: (60% weight), trend (30% weight) and volatility (10% weight). Full formula on the methodology page.
Level · 60% weight
Percentile: this metric is scored against its own history, where today sits between its best and worst recorded years.
Trend · 30% weight
Measured from the direction and size of the change between the two most recent readings.
Volatility · 10% weight
49Measured from how much this indicator has swung period on period across its recorded history.
Data confidence and provenance
Confidence and source
How much weight to put on the reading, the mean data-confidence across the component metrics (source quality, recency and completeness).
Source
Deaths related to drug poisoning in England and Wales
- Update frequency
- Annual
- Reliability
- high
Provenance
- Provider
- Office for National Statistics
- Series ID
- ons_drug_poisoning
- Frequency
- Annual
- Accessed
- 14 June 2026
Known weakness
England and Wales; 'drug poisoning' is broader than drug-misuse deaths, and registration delays mean the most recent years are typically revised upward.
Notes
Verified official value from Office for National Statistics (ons_drug_poisoning), accessed 2026-06-14.
Historical values
History
| Period | Value | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 46.5 | |
| 2011 | 48.4 | |
| 2012 | 49 | |
| 2013 | 55.6 | |
| 2014 | 58.7 | |
| 2015 | 66.1 | |
| 2016 | 69.6 | |
| 2017 | 70.8 | |
| 2018 | 80.4 | |
| 2019 | 83.2 | |
| 2020 | 86.4 | |
| 2021 | 89.5 | |
| 2022 | 88.3 | |
| 2023 | 82.5 | |
| 2024 | 93.9 |