List of countries by suicide rate

A map of global suicide rates, age-standardized per 100,000 population, 2019. [needs update]
  •   > 30
  •   20–30
  •   15–20
  •   10–15
  •   5–10
  •   0–5
  •   Data unavailable
Suicide
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The following are lists of countries by estimated suicide rates as published by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other sources.[note 1]

In many countries, suicide rates are underreported due to social stigma, cultural or legal concerns.[3] Thus, these figures cannot be used to compare real suicide rates, which are unknown in most countries.

The global total of suicide deaths decreased from an estimated 762,000 in 2000 to 717,000 in 2021, which is 9.1 deaths per 100,000 population.[4] In high-income countries, male and female rates of suicidal behaviors differ compared to the rest of the world: while women are reportedly more prone to suicidal thoughts, rates of suicide are higher among men, which has been described as a "silent epidemic".[5][6][7][8][9]

In 2021, the global rate of suicide deaths for men was 12.3 per 100,000, more than double the rate for women, which stood at 5.9 per 100,000 population. However, the sex disparity was uneven across regions, with a male-to-female ratio ranging from as low as 1.4 in the Southeast Asia Region to nearly 4.0 in the Region of the Americas.[10]

In much of the world, suicide is stigmatized and condemned for religious or cultural reasons. In some countries, suicidal behavior is a criminal offense punishable by law. Suicide is, therefore, often a secretive act surrounded by taboo and may be unrecognized, misclassified, or deliberately hidden in official records of death.[5]

— World Health Organization (2002)

As such, suicide rates may be higher than measured, with men more at risk of dying by suicide than women across nearly all cultures and backgrounds.[11] Suicide prevention and intervention is an important topic for all peoples, according to the WHO.[12]

  1. ^ "About the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) project". World Health Organization. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013.
  2. ^ "GBD History". Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. 18 April 2013.
  3. ^ Dattani, Saloni; Rodés-Guirao, Lucas; Ritchie, Hannah; Roser, Max; Ortiz-Ospina, Esteban (22 February 2024). "Suicides". Our World in Data.
  4. ^ "World health statistics 2024: monitoring health for the SDGs, sustainable development goals" (PDF). World Health Organization. 21 May 2024.
  5. ^ a b WHO (2002). "Self-directed violence" (PDF). www.who.int. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 January 2022.
  6. ^ Colby Itkowitz (31 August 2016). "Men die by suicide at alarming rates. This hashtag tells men 'it's okay to talk' about their emotions". Washington Post.
  7. ^ Cutcliffe, John R.; José Santos; Paul S. Links; Juveria Zaheer, eds. (2016). Routledge International Handbook of Clinical Suicide Research. Routledge. ISBN 9781134459292.
  8. ^ O'Brien, Jodi, ed. (2009). Encyclopedia of Gender and Society. SAGE Publications. p. 817. ISBN 9781452266022.
  9. ^ Dan Bilsker; Jennifer White (2011). "The silent epidemic of male suicide". www.bcmj.org. BCMJ.
  10. ^ "World health statistics 2024: Monitoring health for the SDGs, sustainable development goals" (PDF). World Health Organization. 21 May 2024.
  11. ^ Schumacher, Helene. "Why more men than women die by suicide". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 21 December 2021.
  12. ^ "Suicide". www.who.int. Retrieved 21 December 2021.


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