Prescription drug statistics 2025

In this article:

• How common is prescription drug use?
• Global prescription drug stats
• U.S. prescription drug stats
• Stats by age
• Stats by race and ethnicity
• Price trends
• Epidemiology
• Prevention
• Treatment
• FAQs

In this article

• How common is prescription drug use?
• Global prescription drug stats
• U.S. prescription drug stats
• Stats by age
• Stats by race and ethnicity
• Price trends
• Epidemiology
• Prevention
• Treatment
• FAQs

Prescription drugs are prevalent in the U.S. and across the globe. Billions of prescriptions are filled every year. New drugs hit the market seemingly every day. TV commercials abound. Pull any person off the street, and chances are they’re using or have used a prescription drug. Whether it’s for a mild illness or life-saving treatment, they’re everywhere. And that means prescription drug misuse is pretty common, too. How common? We’ve got the most recent and important statistics below.

How common is prescription drug use?

In a word: very. According to data from Statista, prescription drug expenditures have been increasing in the U.S. nearly every year since the turn of the millennium—a huge jump from the preceding decades. Estimates only predict that prescription drug use will continue increasing into the foreseeable future. The trends are clear: More drugs are available than ever before, more people are using them almost every year, and prescription drug misuse is still a significant problem. 

Prescription drug statistics worldwide

• The FDA has approved over 23,000 different prescription drugs for marketing (FDA, 2024)
• The global prescription drug market is expected to reach a volume of $1.33 trillion USD by 2029 (Statista, 2024)
• The use of prescription medicines grew by 14% worldwide from 2018–2023, and it’s expected to grow by another 12% by 2028 (The IQVIA Institute, 2024).
• Global prescription drug use grew by 414 billion daily doses from 2018–2023 and is estimated to grow by another 400 billion daily doses by 2028 (The IQVIA Institute, 2024).
• More than 39 million people around the world have drug use disorders (United Nations, 2023).
• Around 1 out of every 11 people with drug use disorders receive medicine treatment around the world (United Nations, 2024).
• More than 60 million people worldwide struggle with opioid addiction or abuse (WHO, 2024)
• Around 87% of the world’s population don’t have adequate access to pharmaceutical opioids for medical use and pain relief (WHO, 2024)

Prescription drug statistics in the United States

• There were 6.7 billion total prescriptions across the U.S. in 2022, up from 6.1 billion in 2018 (The IQVIA Institute, 2023)
• Sixty-one percent of Americans say they’re currently taking at least one prescription medication, and 27% say they’re taking four or more (KFF, 2023)
• The therapeutic areas with the highest spending in the U.S. are antidiabetics, oncologics, autoimmune, and respiratory diseases (Statista, 2021).
• In 2023, 14.4 million Americans reported misusing prescription psychotherapeutic drugs, including:
  • 8.6 million who misused prescription painkillers
  • 4.7 million who misused prescription tranquilizers/sedatives
  • 3.9 million who misused prescription stimulants
    (SAMHSA, 2023)
• Approximately 5.3 million people over 12 reported having a pain reliever use disorder in 2023, and around 4.3 million people reported having a CNS stimulant use disorder (SAMHSA, 2023)
• There were 81,083 reported drug overdose deaths involving opioids in 2023 (CDC, 2024)

Prescription drug statistics by age

• Around 64.8% of adults over 18 years old report taking prescription drugs during the year prior, including:
  • Approximately 38.9% of men and 57.8% of women 18–44 years old.
  • Approximately 67.1% of men and 75.7% of women 45–64 years old.
  • Approximately 89.0% of men and 89.3% of women over 65.
    (CDC, 2023)

• Around 48.5 million (16.7%) Americans report having struggled with a substance use disorder in the past year. That includes:
  • Around 2.2 million adolescents aged 12–17.
  • Around 9.2 million young adults aged 18–25.
  • Around 37 million adults age 26 or older.
    (SAMHSA, 2023)

Prescription drug statistics by race and ethnicity

• In 2023, 5.7% of Native Americans reported misusing prescription painkillers in the past year, compared to 4.0% of multiracial people, 3.7% of black people, 3.5% of Pacific Islanders, 3.0% of white people, and 1.7% of Asian people (SAMHSA, 2023)
• Native American adults were also more likely to report misusing CNS stimulants (6.4%), followed by 3.8% of white people, 3.7% of multiracial people, 3.2% of Hispanic people, and 1.4% of Asians (SAMHSA, 2023).
• After events related to opioid use, White patients received medication for opioid use disorder 80% more often than Black patients and 25% more often than Hispanic patients (The New England Journal of Medicine, 2023).
• Black men are 1.5 times more likely to die of opioid overdose than White men (AJPM Focus, 2023).

Prescription drug price trends

• In 2023, the average price of single-source drugs rose around 7.4%, and the average price of multi-source drugs rose 26% (Department of Health and Human Services, 2023).
• Pharmaceutical spending increased 13.6% from 2022 to 2023, hitting $722.5 billion total (American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 2024)
• The price of 4,264 medicines increased between 2022 and 2023 (Department of Health and Human Services, 2023).
• Pharmaceutical companies launched new drugs in 2023 at prices 35% higher than in 2022 (Reuters, 2024)
• The average out-of-pocket prescription drug spending is $1,432 per capita (KFF, 2023)
• Around three out of every ten Americans surveyed has reported skipping doses, forgoing refills, or substituting an over-the-counter medication because of high prices (KFF, 2023)
• As of July 2024, 28.7% of emergency room visits and 26.8% of inpatient encounters involved a drug of some kind (National Center for Health Statistics, 2024)
• In 2017, the national economic toll was $471 billion for opioid use disorder and $550 billion for fatal opioid overdose (CDC, 2021)

Prescription drug abuse epidemiology

According to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics, around 16 million Americans over the age of 12 misuse prescription drugs, and around 2 million of them are addicted. Many experts regard it as an epidemic, especially for the most widely misused prescription medication: opioids.

In 2022, around 108,000 people died of drug overdoses, and more than 75% of those deaths involved opioids, according to the CDC. While many of these cases concern synthetic opioids like fentanyl, many also involve prescription opioids. The opioid crisis was named a public health emergency in 2017, and between then and 2023, opioid-related deaths rose 67%.

Yet the issue doesn’t just concern opioids like oxycontin and Vicodin. Other commonly misused drugs include benzodiazepines like Valium, barbiturates, antidepressants like Xanax, and amphetamines for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) like Adderall and Ritalin. 

The current prevalence of drug misuse is a multifaceted issue. It stems from psychological factors like mental health disorders, stress, trauma, lack of coping skills, accessibility, and social norms; economic ones like poverty and lack of education; plus biological ones like genetic predispositions, brain chemistry, and neurobiological changes, according to Dr. Zishan Khan, MD, a triple board-certified psychiatrist at Mindpath. 

Preventing prescription drug misuse

There are multiple links in the chain of prescription drug use, including the doctors who prescribe drugs, the organizations that regulate them, and the patients who take them. So preventing misuse requires a multi-tiered approach.

Healthcare providers

Some of the first lines of defense against drug misuse are the doctor and pharmacist. They can help by only prescribing necessary drugs and clearly explaining how to take them, potential side effects, and other warnings and interactions. Healthcare providers should also watch for signs of drug misuse, like frequent or unscheduled requests for refills, while pharmacists can keep an eye out for falsified prescriptions or other documents.

Organizations

“Promoting mental health and emotional resilience can help individuals avoid turning to substances as a way to cope. Skills training in emotional regulation, stress management, and problem-solving can strengthen protective factors against addiction,” says Dr. Khan. “Community programs that promote social connection, healthy behaviors, and provide resources for individuals at greater risk can also be helpful,” as can “ensuring that individuals have access to mental health services for addressing issues like depression, anxiety, and trauma.” 

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has a multi-pronged harm reduction plan that connects individuals to counseling, distributes overdose medications like naloxone, and provides funding for community education and programs, among other things. Additionally, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) is a federal agency that’s the world’s largest supporter of drug abuse and addiction research. They distribute their research findings to the general public, policymakers, and researchers to help fight drug misuse. There are also non-profits like The National Coalition Against Prescription Drug Abuse (NCAPDA), which promote community education and legislative action at the local, state, and federal levels.

Patients

Ultimately, the patient takes the medication and is responsible for taking it correctly. They can help prevent accidental or intentional misuse by sharing their complete medical history with their doctor, especially if it includes previous issues with substance abuse. One of the best ways for patients to avoid the misuse of prescription drugs is to take prescribed medications exactly as directed for the minimum amount of time and to avoid the most addictive medications like sleeping pills, anti-anxiety type pills such as Xanax, and stimulants, says Christopher Johnston, MD, chief medical officer at Pinnacle Treatment Centers in New Jersey.

Treating prescription drug abuse

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, behavioral treatments and medications are the two main drug use disorder treatment categories. Opioid addiction, for example, may require drugs like methadone or buprenorphine to deal with cravings and withdrawal symptoms. Therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) can help identify and change the thought patterns associated with drug addiction, while inpatient or outpatient rehabilitation can provide more intensive care.

“Many individuals with drug abuse issues also have co-occurring mental health disorders. Treatment programs that address both drug abuse and mental health conditions simultaneously are crucial for effective recovery,” Dr. Khan says. “This is the approach I most recommend as a psychiatrist. You have to take everything into account and can’t just focus on one aspect of what is leading to the addictive behaviors.”

If you or someone you know has found themselves in a drug abuse situation, know that help isn’t far away. Seeking it out might be difficult, but it could save your life or the life of a loved one. You can call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-487-4889 for free at any time if you need help with a mental or substance use disorder, or you can talk with your doctor or healthcare provider about treatment options.

Prescription drug questions and answers

What percentage of the population takes prescription drugs?

A 2021 CDC national survey found that 64.8% of adults (18+ years old) reported taking prescription drugs over the prior 12 months. A 2023 KFF survey had similar results, showing that around 61% of U.S. adults reported taking at least one prescription medication.

How many prescription drugs are prescribed each year?

Data from the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science indicates that over six billion prescriptions are written every year.

How many prescriptions does the average American take?

The average American takes around four prescription medications per year, although that number can vary by age group. For example, adults older than 65 generally take more medications than younger people.

What country consumes the most prescription drugs?

The U.S. spends more per capita on prescription drugs than any other country, according to Peterson-KFF data, and consumes 8% of the world’s prescription drugs—despite making up just 4% of its population.

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