How many drug recalls are there each year?
The FDA classified 327 drug recalls in 2025, and between about 260 and 390 each year since 2013. Most are Class II, which could cause temporary or minor harm; 29 of 2025's were Class I, the most serious kind, which could cause serious harm or death. A recall counts once however many products, strengths or lots it covers, in the year FDA first listed it in its weekly Enforcement Report.
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Key facts
Measure: Drug recalls. Written from the data below.
- The latest figure, for 2025, is 327.
- That is down 4% from 341 in 2013.
- The highest was 392 in 2018.
- The lowest was 259 in 2015.
Source and date
- Data as of
- Published
Citation
Chartly. “How many drug recalls are there each year?” Chart. Data: U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Enforcement Reports (openFDA drug recall data), https://open.fda.gov/apis/drug/enforcement/ (data as of December 31, 2025). https://chart.ly/charts/drug-recalls-per-year (accessed October 15, 2026).
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The data
Download data (CSV)The file has the numbers in this table, with the source, license and date. Please credit the source and Chartly.
| Year FDA classified the recall | Drug recalls |
|---|---|
| 2013 | 341 |
| 2014 | 384 |
| 2015 | 259 |
| 2016 | 307 |
| 2017 | 340 |
| 2018 | 392 |
| 2019 | 350 |
| 2020 | 350 |
| 2021 | 291 |
| 2022 | 331 |
| 2023 | 291 |
| 2024 | 311 |
| 2025 | 327 |
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