According to a 2023 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, suicide is the second leading cause of death for adolescents between the ages of 10 and 14, and the third leading cause of death for those between 15 and 25
A suicide method is any means by which a person may choose to end their life. Suicide attempts do not always result in death, and a non-fatal suicide attempt can leave the person with serious physical injuries, long-term health problems, or brain damage.
There are more than 700,000 estimated suicide deaths every year. Suicide affects every demographic, yet there are some populations that are more impacted than others. For example, among 15–29 year olds, suicide is much more prominent; this being the fourth leading cause of death within this age group.
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse are common risk factors.
South Korea has the fourth highest suicide rate in the world and the highest among OECD countries. The elderly in South Korea are at the highest risk of suicide, but deaths from teen suicide have been rising since 2010. In 2022 suicide caused more than half of all deaths among South Koreans in their twenties. It is the leading cause of death for those between the age of 10 and 39, in line with most OECD countries.
Gender differences in suicide rates have been shown to be significant. There are different rates of suicides and suicidal behavior between males and females. While females more often have suicidal thoughts, males die by suicide more frequently. This discrepancy is also known as the gender paradox in suicide.
World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) is an awareness day always observed on 10 September every year, in order to provide worldwide commitment and action to prevent suicides, with various activities around the world since 2003. The International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) collaborates with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) to host World Suicide Prevention Day. In 2011 an estimated 40 countries held awareness events to mark the occasion. According to WHO's Mental Health Atlas released in 2014, no low-income country reported having a national suicide prevention strategy, while less than 10% of lower-middle income countries, and almost a third of upper-middle and high-income countries had.
Suicide is a major national public health issue in the United States. The country has one of the highest suicide rates among wealthy nations. In 2020, there were 45,799 recorded suicides, up from 42,773 in 2014, according to the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). On average, adjusted for age, the annual U.S. suicide rate increased 30% between 2000 and 2020, from 10.4 to 13.5 suicides per 100,000 people. From 2000 to 2020, more than 800,000 people died by suicide in the United States. Males represented 78.7% of all suicides between 2000 and 2020. In 2022, a record high 49,500 people died by suicide. The 2022 rate was the highest level since 1941, at 14.3 per 100,000 persons. This rate was surpassed in 2023, when it increased to over 14.7 per 100,000 persons.
China's suicide rates were one of the highest in the world in the 1990s. However, by 2011, China had one of the lowest suicide rates in the world. According to the World Health Organization, the suicide rate in China was 9.7 per 100,000 population as of 2016; Among men, the rate was 9.1 per 100,000 population. As a comparison, the suicide rate in the U.S. in 2016 was 15.3. Generally speaking, China seems to have a lower suicide rate than neighboring Korea, Russia and Japan, and it is more common among women than men and more common in the Yangtze Basin than elsewhere.
Suicide is a major national public health issue in the India. 171,000 suicides were recorded in 2022, registering a 4.2% increase over 2021 and a jump of 27% compared to 2018. The rate of suicide per 100,000 population has increased to 12.4 in 2022 which is the highest year for this data. Suicides during 2022 increased by 27% in comparison to 2018 with India reporting highest number of suicides in the world. India's contribution to global suicide deaths increased from 25.3% in 1990 to 36.6% in 2016 among women, and from 18.7% to 24.3% among men. In 2016, suicide was the most common cause of death in both the age groups of 15–29 years and 15–39 years. Daily wage earners accounted for 26% of suicide victims, the largest group in the suicide data.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the age standardised death rate for suicide in Australia, for the year 2019, was 13.1 deaths per 100,000 people; preliminary estimates for years 2020 and 2021 are respectively 12.1 and 12.0. In 2020, 3,139 deaths were due to suicide ; in 2021, 3,144 deaths were due to suicide.
Suicide in Pakistan is a major public health issue.
According to the latest available data, Statistics Canada estimates 4,157 suicides took place in Canada in 2017, making it the 9th leading cause of death, between Alzheimer's disease (8th) and cirrhosis and other liver diseases (10th). In 2009, there were an estimated 3,890 suicide deaths.
Suicide in Guyana is a serious social problem, as Guyana is ranked worst in suicides per capita worldwide among sovereign nations.
Suicide in Lithuania has become a significant social issue in the country due to its high rate. Since its peak in 1995, the suicide rate in Lithuania has been constantly decreasing, but as of 2021 it still remains the highest in the EU and the second highest in the OECD.
Suicide in Greenland, an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, is a significant national social issue. Greenland has the highest suicide rate in the world: reports between 1985 and 2012 showed that an average of 83 people in 100,000 died by suicide yearly.
Suicide is a significant national social issue in the United Kingdom. In 2022 there were 5,642 registered deaths by suicide in England and Wales, equating to an average of 15 suicides per day. 74.1% of suicides in England and Wales in 2022 were males. In Scotland there were 762 probable suicides in 2022, equating to an average of 2 suicides per day. In Northern Ireland there were 203 suicide deaths registered in 2022. Suicide is the biggest killer of men under the age of 50 in the UK.
In 2014, the WHO ranked Nepal as the 7th in the global suicide rate. The estimated annual suicides in Nepal are 6,840 or 24.9 suicides per 100,000 people. Data on suicide in Nepal are primarily based on police reports and therefore rely on mortality statistics. However, the burden of suicide in communities is likely to be higher, particularly among women, migrant workers, and populations affected by disasters.
Suicide in Ireland has the 17th highest rate in Europe and the 4th highest for the males aged 15–25 years old which was a main contributing factor to the improvement of suicides in Ireland.
