Colorado’s drug overdose rates higher than any developed country’s in 2019

DENVER (KDVR) — If Colorado were a country, it would have one of the world’s highest drug overdose rates – even though it has only an average rate among U.S. states.

South African medical insurance comparison site Medical Aid used OECD, G20, European Union and IMF Developed Countries to create a list of the drug overdose rates from around the world. Among the countries in the data, the U.S. had the highest overdose rate in the world by far in 2019 – 22.62 deaths per 100,000 people. The next highest rate, Canada’s, was less than half of the U.S.’s.

Colorado’s drug overdose rate in 2021 was higher than that of any developed country in 2019, the last year for which there is worldwide data, following an…