Suicide in Lesotho

Lesotho has the highest suicide rate in the world. According to the World Health Organization, 87.5 people per 100,000 of the population take their own life every year in Lesotho. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Statistics

A 2019 World Health Organization report indicated that Lesotho had a suicide rate of 87.5 per 100,000 people. By comparison, Guyana, the second highest country on the list, had a suicide rate of 40.9 per 100,000.

Lesotho's suicide rate is about 10 times higher than the world average of 9.0 per 100,000 people.

Suicide affects more men in Lesotho than women, with the amount of men committing suicide being over three times higher than the female one.

Suicides rate (per 100,000) by year and gender, Lesotho, 2000-2019

Year	Male	Female	Total
2000	73.9	16.0	42.6
2001	70.4	15.4	40.4
2002	74.6	15.9	42.6
2003	79.1	17.9	45.7
2004	82.2	18.0	47.1
2005	82.7	17.2	46.7
2006	95.6	22.1	55.4
2007	108.0	22.4	61.3
2008	133.8	30.7	77.8
2009	148.1	30.8	84.6
2010	152.7	30.7	86.9
2011	156.9	34.9	91.1
2012	172.9	40.7	102.0
2013	188.2	44.2	111.4
2014	195.2	46.3	116.2
2015	191.5	45.9	114.5
2016	180.1	41.9	107.1
2017	164.0	35.8	96.3
2018	158.4	34.6	93.1
2019	146.9	34.6	87.5
Source: World Health Organization [1]

Lesotho's suicide rate reached its highest number in 2014, with 116.2 suicides per 100,000 people. The rate has been slowly dropping ever since.

Risk factors

Reasons behind the suicide rates in Lesotho include poverty, unemployment, bad living conditions and gender-based violence. ^[2] Evidence suggests a relationship between suicidal behaviour and economical variables, affecting countries with high poverty rates. ^[4]

Stigma against mental illness and lack of mental health services have been cited as major factors against suicide prevention in Lesotho. ^[5] Lesotho has no national mental health policy and the country's only psychiatric unit hasn't had a psychiatrist since 2017. ^[2]

See also

• Health in Lesotho
• List of countries by suicide rate

References

1. "Suicide rate estimates, age-standardized Estimates by WHO region". World Health Organization . Retrieved 19 February 2025.
2. Lombard, Andre (6 August 2024). "The small African country with the world's highest suicide rate". BBC News . Retrieved 19 February 2025.
3. Esene, Shalom (17 October 2024). "Inside One Organization's Fight to Lower Lesotho's Suicide Rate". OkayAfrica . Retrieved 19 February 2025.
4. Bantjes, J.; Iemmi, V.; Coast, E.; Channer, K.; Leone, T.; McDaid, D.; Palfreyman, A.; Stephens, B.; Lund, C. (2016). "Poverty and suicide research in low- and middle-income countries: systematic mapping of literature published in English and a proposed research agenda". Global Mental Health. 3: e32. doi: 10.1017/gmh.2016.27 . ISSN   2054-4251. PMC   5454768 . PMID   28596900. S2CID   14138426.
5. Farmer, Ben; Moshoeshoe, Mamasupha; Townsley, Simon (20 February 2024). "'What kind of man cries?': The country with the highest suicide rate in the world". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 19 February 2025.