https://ourworldindata.

org/suicide#citation
Summary
 Globally 800,000 people die from suicide every year – that’s twice the
number from homicide.
 Suicide is one of the leading causes of death in young people.
 1.4% of global deaths in 2017 were from suicide. In some countries, this
share is as high as 5%.
 Suicide rates are typically higher for older individuals.
 Globally, the suicide rate for men is twice as high as for women. In
many countries this ratio is even higher.
 Suicide rates from firearms are particularly high in the US – 60% of
deaths from firearms result from suicide.
 Self-poisoning from pesticides have had a large toll, particularly in low-
to-middle income countries. Bans on some pesticides have been effective in
reducing suicide rates.

Suicide is a leading cause of death, especially in young

people

800,000 people die from suicide every year

Globally, close to 800,000 people die from suicide every year.3 That’s one person every 40
seconds.4 Due to the stigma associated with suicide – and the fact that it is illegal in some
countries – this figure is also likely to be an underestimate, with some suicides being classified
as unintentional injuries.5

The Global Burden of Disease is a major global study on the causes of death and disease
published in the medical journal The Lancet.6 These estimates of the annual number of deaths by
cause are shown here. This chart is shown for the global total, but can be explored for any
country or region using the “change country” toggle.

In the chart we see that the Global Burden of Disease study – alongside the World Health
Organization – estimates that close to 800,000 people die from suicide each year.

This makes it one of the leading causes of death globally. Around twice as many die from suicide
as from homicide. Suicide is more common than homicide across most countries in the world –
often as much as ten to twenty times higher.

Usa
The global distribution of suicide
Globally, 1.4% of deaths were from suicide in 2017.

In the map here we see suicides as a share of total deaths for countries
across the world.

There is a ten-fold difference in this share across the world. At the highest
end, 5% of deaths
death rates from suicide

Looking at suicide as a share of total death is one way to compare differences

across the world. However, this does not gives us a direct comparison of
suicide between countries – this share will also be influenced by the
magnitude of other causes of death.

To get an isolated comparison of suicide across the world we can use suicide
rates – these measure the number of suicides per 100,000 people in a given
population.

Globally, 10 people per 100,000 died from suicide in 2017. In the map we
show the differences in suicide rates across the world.

How have suicide rates changed?

here are suicide rates rising and falling?

Have suicide rates increased or decreased in recent decades?

In the scatterplot we see the comparison of suicide rates across countries in

the 1990 (shown on the y-axis) and 2017 (on the x-axis). The grey line here
represents parity: countries that lie along this line would have the same rates
in 2017 as they did in 1990. Countries which lie above the grey line had higher
rates in 1990; and vice versa for countries below the line.

Here we see the overall picture is mixed: the majority of countries lie above
the grey line, meaning suicide rates have fallen since 1990. But a significant
number fall below it, indicating an increase over this period. Most countries in
Europe have seen a decline in suicide rates; Asia too has seen impressive
declines. Across other regions, the

Suicide by age
uicide is one of the leading causes of death in young people.

But this does not necessarily mean suicide is more likely to occur in young
people than old – it’s largely a reflection of the fact that older populations also
die from many other causes. We see this we we look at causes of deaths in
people aged 70 years and older: most die from cardiovascular diseases,
cancers, dementia and respiratory diseases. The number of suicides are high,
but lower than other causes.

In the chart here we see suicide rates broken down by age group. These rates
are given as the number of suicide deaths per 100,000 people in a given
demographic. Globally, suicide rates are actually highest in people aged 70
years and older. And actually, suicides globally follow a standard pattern of
the older the age group, the higher the death rate.
Suicide by gender
Globally, suicide rates in men are just over twice as high as for women. In
2017 – as we see in the visualization – the global suicide rate for women was
6.3 deaths per 100,000; for men, it was just over twice that figure at 13.9 per
100,000.

The difference in rates for males and females can be explored for any country
or region on the interactive chart using the “change country” toggle.

But this difference can also be seen on the scatterplot. This chart compares
suicide rates in men (shown on the y-axis) versus rates in women (shown on
the x-axis). The grey line here represents parity: countries that lie along this
line would have the same rates in both men and women. Countries which lie
above the grey line had higher rates in men; and vice versa for countries
below the line.

Here we see that all countries lie above the grey line: this means that across
the world suicide rates are higher for men than for women.
Male-to-female ratio of suicide rates

Across all countries, in 2017, suicide rates were higher for men than women. But there is large
variation in the extent of this difference between the sexes across the world.

In the map we see the male-to-female suicide ratio: the male divided by the female suicide rate.
A figure greater than one means suicide rates were higher in men; the higher the number, the
large the difference between the sexes.

The suicide rate in men can be as much as ten times higher than for women. Across Eastern
Europe, it’s 6 to 7 times higher. Across most countries in the world it’s in the range of 2 to 4
times higher.

Much smaller differences in the ratio are found across South and East Asia: in Pakistan and
Bangladesh there is almost no sex difference; in India the ratio is 1.4; in China it’s 1.6.

Male-to-female ratio of suicide rates

Across all countries, in 2017, suicide rates were higher for men than women. But there is large
variation in the extent of this difference between the sexes across the world.
In the map we see the male-to-female suicide ratio: the male divided by the female suicide rate.
A figure greater than one means suicide rates were higher in men; the higher the number, the
large the difference between the sexes.

The suicide rate in men can be as much as ten times higher than for women. Across Eastern
Europe, it’s 6 to 7 times higher. Across most countries in the world it’s in the range of 2 to 4
times higher.

Much smaller differences in the ratio are found across South and East Asia: in Pakistan and
Bangladesh there is almost no sex difference; in India the ratio is 1.4; in China it’s 1.6.