New Reports Confirm U.S. Life Expectancy Increased while Drug Overdose Deaths Decreased in 2023

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For Immediate Release: December 19, 2024

Contact: CDC, National Center for Health Statistics, Office of Communication (301) 458-4800
E-mail: paoquery@cdc.gov

U.S. life expectancy saw an increase in 2023, reaching its highest level since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to final mortality data released today. The data are featured in two new reports from CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS).

“Mortality in the United States: 2023” is the first public release of final mortality data for 2023.

The death rate for the entire U.S. population decreased by 6%, from 798.8 deaths per 100,000 in 2022 to 750.5 in 2023. As a result, life expectancy at birth for the U.S. population increased from 77.5 years in 2022 to 78.4 in 2023.

The 10 leading causes of death in 2023 remained the same as in 2022 although some causes changed rank. Heart disease and cancer remained the top two leading causes. COVID-19 dropped from the 4th leading cause in 2022 to the 10th leading cause in 2023.

A second report released today, “Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 2003-2023,” marked a significant milestone. For the first time since 2018, final mortality data showed that drug overdose death rates decreased, dropping 4% between 2022 and 2023, from 32.6 to 31.3. The official number of drug overdose deaths among residents in the United States for 2023 was 105,007.

Other Findings

  • From 2022 to 2023, the infant mortality rate did not change significantly, from 560.4 infant deaths per 100,000 live births in 2022 to 560.2 in 2023. Death rates decreased for all other age groups.
  • The rate of drug overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone—like fentanyl, fentanyl analogs, and tramadol— which had increased beginning in 2013 – decreased from 2022 to 2023.
  • From 2022 to 2023, the rate of drug overdose deaths involving cocaine increased 4.9% (from 8.2 to 8.6) and the rate for deaths involving psychostimulants with abuse potential, like methamphetamine, increased 1.9% (from 10.4 to 10.6).
  • The rate of drug overdose deaths involving heroin decreased 33.3%, from 1.8 in 2022 to 1.2 in 2023.

 

The two reports are available on the CDC/NCHS web site at: www.cdc.gov/nchs