In England and Wales, the definition of suicide is a death with an underlying cause of intentional self-harm or an injury or poisoning with undetermined intent. In 2022, the age group with the highest rate of suicide was for those aged 50 to 54 years at 15.3 deaths per 100,000. The age groups 45 to 49 years with 14.5 deaths per 100,000 population had the second highest highest rate of suicides in the UK. Gender difference in suicides The suicide rate among men in England and Wales in 2022 was around three times higher than for women, the figures being 16.4 per 100,000 population for men compared to 5.4 for women. Although among both genders the suicide rate increased in 2021 compared to 2020. Mental health in the UK Over 53 thousand people in England were detained under the Mental Health Act in the period 2020/21. Alongside this, there has also been an increase in the number of workers in Great Britain suffering from stress, depression or anxiety. In 2022/23, around 875 thousand workers reported to be suffering from these work-related issues.

The suicide rate among females in the United States is highest for those aged 45 to 64 years and lowest among girls aged 10 to 14 and elderly women 75 and over. Although the suicide rate among women remains over three times lower than that of men, rates of suicide among women have gradually increased over the past couple decades. Suicide among women in the United States In 2021, there were around six suicide deaths per 100,000 women in the United States. In comparison, the rate of suicide among women in the year 2000 was about four per 100,000. Suicide rates among women are by far the highest among American Indians or Alaska Natives and lowest among Hispanic and Black or African American women. Although firearms are involved in the highest share of suicide deaths among both men and women, they account for a much smaller share among women. In 2020, the firearm suicide rate among women was 1.8 per 100,000 population, while the rates of suicide for suffocation and poisoning were 1.7 and 1.5 per 100,000, respectively. Suicidal ideation among women Although not everyone who experiences suicidal ideation, or suicidal thoughts, will attempt suicide, suicidal thoughts are a risk factor for suicide. In 2022, just over five percent of women in the United States reported having serious thoughts of suicide in the past year. Suicidal thoughts are more common among women than men even though men have much higher rates of death from suicide than women. This is because men are more likely to use more lethal methods of suicide such as firearms. Women who suffer from substance use disorder are significantly more likely to have serious thoughts of suicide than women without substance use disorder.

Number of suicides, suicide rates and median registration delays, by local authority in England and Wales.

In 2023, the rate of suicides among both men and women in England was at their highest recorded rates. The rate of among males was 17.4 per 100,000 population and among females it was 5.7 per 100,000. Recent years have seen an increase again for both genders, however, the rate of suicide for men has remained significantly higher than for women. Individuals seeking help for mental health issuesIn Great Britain, almost 70 percent have never visited a mental health professional, while eighteen percent consult with one at least once a year. Additionally, almost 60 percent of those with a psychiatric condition do not take any medication to control their condition. Mental health of young peopleThe COVID-19 pandemic had a huge impact of the mental health of many people, particularly young people. The share of all adults reporting to having experienced symptoms of depression doubled during the pandemic compared to before. Although for those in the age group 16 to 39 years, depression prevalence tripled. Among young people that had mental health concerns prior to the pandemic, a significant majority of those surveyed reported that their life had become worse due to the impact of the pandemic and subsequent restrictions.

Mean, median and modal ages at death in the UK and its constituent countries, 2001 to 2003 and 2016 to 2018.

United Kingdom UK: Suicide Mortality Rate: Female data was reported at 4.400 NA in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 4.500 NA for 2015. United Kingdom UK: Suicide Mortality Rate: Female data is updated yearly, averaging 4.500 NA from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2016, with 5 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4.800 NA in 2000 and a record low of 3.900 NA in 2010. United Kingdom UK: Suicide Mortality Rate: Female data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.World Bank.WDI: Health Statistics. Suicide mortality rate is the number of suicide deaths in a year per 100,000 population. Crude suicide rate (not age-adjusted).; ; World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/).; Weighted average;

United Kingdom UK: Suicide Mortality Rate: Male data was reported at 13.500 NA in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 13.100 NA for 2015. United Kingdom UK: Suicide Mortality Rate: Male data is updated yearly, averaging 13.100 NA from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2016, with 5 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 13.700 NA in 2000 and a record low of 11.900 NA in 2010. United Kingdom UK: Suicide Mortality Rate: Male data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.World Bank.WDI: Health Statistics. Suicide mortality rate is the number of suicide deaths in a year per 100,000 population. Crude suicide rate (not age-adjusted).; ; World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/).; Weighted average;

Legacy unique identifier: P00543

Provisional deaths registration data for single year of age and average age of death (median and mean) of persons whose death involved coronavirus (COVID-19), England and Wales. Includes deaths due to COVID-19 and breakdowns by sex.

Mortality from intentional self-harm and injury undetermined whether accidentally or purposely inflicted (ICD-10 X60-X84, Y10-Y34 exc Y33.9 equivalent to ICD-9 E950-E959 and E980-E989 exc E988.8). This indicator has been superseded by P00546 to ensure parity with the ONS definition. To reduce the number of suicides. The directly age-standardised suicide rate for persons of all ages is a target indicator in the Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation strategy (See indicator specification “Further reading”). The target is a 20% reduction by the year 2010 from the baseline rate in 1995-97. This indicator was also one of the targets in the Health of the Nation strategy. There will be no further updates for this indicator. Legacy unique identifier: P00543

Table of directly (DSR) age-standardised rates of suicides per 100,000 population, and Indirectly (SMR) (Includes undetermined Injuries), all ages and age 15 plus, three year (pooled) average and annual, by sex.

Deaths from intentional self-harm and injury undetermined whether accidentally or purposely inflicted (ICD-10 X60-X84, Y10-Y34 exc Y33.9, ICD-9 E950-E959 and E980-E989 exc E988.8), registered in the respective calendar year(s).

DSR stands for Directly age-Standardised Rates.

Mortality rates are age standardised using the European Standard Population as defined by the World Health Organisation.

3 year average rates are calculated as the average of single year rates for 3 successive years.

Standardised Mortality Ratio (SMR), England = 100.

The annual rates at borough level are likely to be subject to relatively high levels of variability of numbers of suicides from year to year because of the relatively small numebrs of suicides that occur within boroughs. When comparing boroughs against each other, the three-year combined rate would provide a higher level of confidence.

NHS mental health information can be found here.

Various other suicide indicators are available from IC NHS website, including years of life lost, crude death rates, and indirectly standardised ratios (SMR). Follow: Compendium of population health indicators > Illness and Condition > Mental health and behavioural disorders

In 2014, a higher percentage of White British people than Asian people said they had had suicidal thoughts at some point in their life.

In 2023, the age-specific death rate for men aged 90 or over in England and Wales was 248.1 per one thousand population, and 215.1 for women. Except for infants that were under the age of one, younger age groups had the lowest death rate, with the death rate getting progressively higher in older age groups.

Annual data on death registrations by single year of age for the UK (1974 onwards) and England and Wales (1963 onwards).

Suicide among children and young people (CYP) is a leading cause of death. In the UK children identified as suicidal are referred to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) for assessment and treatment. However, the number of children referred for suicidality, and their care journey is unknown. This retrospective cohort study conducted in two distinct CAMHS teams, in Scotland, UK, aimed to quantify the numbers of children referred for suicidality, describing this population and the outcomes of these referrals. All CAMHS referrals (n = 1159) over a 6-month period (Jan-June 2019) were screened to identify those referred primarily for suicidality. Data extracted included: age, gender, source of referral, reason for referral including underlying issues, whether offered an assessment, and referral outcome. Area based deprivation scores were attached to each referral. Associations between the referred CYP's characteristics (including source of referral and underlying issues) and referral outcomes were explored using Chi Square, Fishers Exact test, and one-way ANOVA. Referrals for 284 children were identified as being for suicidality across the two sites (Site A n = 104; Site B n = 180). These represented 25% of all referrals to these CAMHS over a six-month period. One third of these concerned children under 12. The underlying issues, referrals sources, and demographic indicators were similar in both sites. In site A 31% were offered an assessment, whilst in Site B which had a dedicated team for suicidal CYP, 82% were offered an assessment. Similarly, more children in Site B were offered treatment (47.8%), than Site A (7.7%). Referrals from A&E were prioritized in both areas, and those who had attempted suicide offered an assessment more often. Older children were more likely to be offered treatment, although they were more likely to present with a history of self-harming behavior and/or previous suicide attempt. There are high numbers of children being referred to CAMHS for suicidality, and many are young children (

There were 9.7 homicides for every million people in England and Wales in 2023/24, unchanged from the previous year, but a decline when compared to 2021/22, when the rate was 11.6. In 2022/23, the homicide rate among UK jurisdictions was highest in Scotland, at 10.4 homicides per million people, and lowest in Northern Ireland, which had a homicide rate of 6.8. Throughout this provided time period, the homicide rate for Scotland has declined substantially. From 2003/04 to 2013/14, Scotland had the highest homicide rate among UK jurisdictions, with a peak of 27 homicides per million people recorded in 2004/05. Uptick in violent crimes since the mid-2010s In 2002/03, there were 1,047 homicides in England and Wales, but by 2013/14 this had fallen to just 533, with similar declines also evident in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Unlike the in the latter two jurisdictions, however, there was a noticeable uptick in homicides in England and Wales from 2016/17 onwards, with 720 recorded in 2019/20. Additionally, there has been a surge in violence against the person offences in England and Wales, rising from around 600,000 in 2012/13, to more than 2.1 million ten years later in 2022/23. It is unclear what exactly is driving this trend, but in an attempt to reverse it, the UK government has started to increase the manpower and funding available to UK police forces. Struggles of the UK justice system Recent boosts to police funding come after almost a decade of austerity was imposed on most public services. Although some government departments were protected from this, the Ministry of Justice saw its budget decline from 9.1 billion pounds in 2009/10,to just 7.35 billion pounds in 2015/16. Although the Justice Budget has also increased recently, there are several signs that the system as a whole is under pressure. There is a significant backlog of cases at Crown Courts in England and Wales, with serious offences taking an average of almost two years to pass through the court system. Meanwhile, prisons are struggling with severe capacity issues, along with upticks in violence and self-harm.

Potential years of life lost (PYLL) due to alcohol-related conditions, all ages, directly age-standardised per 100,000 population (standardised to the ESP).

Rationale Alcohol consumption is a contributing factor to hospital admissions and deaths from a diverse range of conditions. Alcohol misuse is estimated to cost the NHS about £3.5 billion per year and society as a whole £21 billion annually. The Government has said that everyone has a role to play in reducing the harmful use of alcohol - this indicator is one of the key contributions by the Government (and the Department of Health and Social Care) to promote measurable, evidence-based prevention activities at a local level, and supports the national ambitions to reduce harm set out in the Government's Alcohol Strategy. This ambition is part of the monitoring arrangements for the Responsibility Deal Alcohol Network. Alcohol-related deaths can be reduced through local interventions to reduce alcohol misuse and harm.

Potential years of life lost (PYLL) is a measure of the potential number of years lost when a person dies prematurely. The basic concept of PYLL is that deaths at younger ages are weighted more heavily than those at older ages. The advantage in doing this is that deaths at younger ages may be seen as less important if cause-specific death rates were just used on their own in highlighting the burden of disease and injury, since conditions such as cancer and heart disease usually occur at older ages and have relatively high mortality rates.

To enable comparisons between areas and over time, PYLL rates are age-standardised to represent the PYLL if each area had the same population structure as the 2013 European Standard Population (ESP). PYLL rates are presented as years of life lost per 100,000 population.

Definition of numerator The number of age-specific alcohol-related deaths multiplied by the national life expectancy for each age group and summed to give the total potential years of life lost due to alcohol-related conditions.

Definition of denominator ONS Mid-Year Population Estimates aggregated into quinary age bands.

Caveats There is the potential for the underlying cause of death to be incorrectly attributed on the death certificate and the cause of death misclassified. Alcohol-attributable fractions were not available for children. Conditions where low levels of alcohol consumption are protective (have a negative alcohol-attributable fraction) are not included in the calculation of the indicator.

The national life expectancies for England have been used for all sub-national geographies to illustrate the disparities in the burden caused by alcohol between local areas and the national average.

The confidence intervals do not take into account the uncertainty involved in the calculation of the AAFs – that is, the proportion of deaths that are caused by alcohol and the alcohol consumption prevalence that are included in the AAF formula are only an estimate and so include uncertainty. The confidence intervals published here are based only on the observed number of deaths and do not account for this uncertainty in the calculation of attributable fraction - as such the intervals may be too narrow.

Provisional counts of the number of deaths registered in England and Wales, by age, sex, region and Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), in the latest weeks for which data are available.

Live births by usual residence of mother, and General Fertility Rates (GFR), and Deaths and Standardised Mortality Ratio (SMR) by ward and local authority.

The births and deaths data comes from ONS Vital Statistics Table 4.
Small area data is only available directly from ONS under licence.

The general fertility rate (GFR) is the number of live births per 1,000 women aged 15-44.

SMR measures whether the population of an area has a higher or lower number of deaths than expected based on the age profile of the population (more deaths are expected in older populations). The SMR is defined as follows: SMR = (Observed no. of deaths per year)/(Expected no. of deaths per year).

Rates are provisional, they are based on the GLA 2011 based SHLAA ward projections (standard) released in January 2012. At national level, however, they are based on the mid-year population estimates.

More information is on the ONS website.