Since the 1950s, the suicide rate in the United States has been significantly higher among men than women. In 2022, the suicide rate among men was almost four times higher than that of women. However, the rate of suicide for both men and women has increased gradually over the past couple of decades. Facts on suicide in the United States In 2022, the rate of suicide death in the United States was around 14 per 100,000 population. The suicide rate in the U.S. has generally increased since the year 2000, with the highest rates ever recorded in the years 2018 and 2022. In the United States, death rates from suicide are highest among those aged 45 to 64 years and lowest among younger adults aged 15 to 24. The states with the highest rates of suicide are Montana, Alaska, and Wyoming, while New Jersey and Massachusetts have the lowest rates. Suicide among men In 2023, around 4.5 percent of men in the United States reported having serious thoughts of suicide in the past year. Although this rate is lower than that of women, men still have a higher rate of suicide death than women. One reason for this may have to do with the method of suicide. Although firearms account for the largest share of suicide deaths among both men and women, firearms account for almost 60 percent of all suicides among men and just 35 percent among women. Suffocation and poisoning are the other most common methods of suicide among women, with the chances of surviving a suicide attempt from these methods being much higher than surviving an attempt by firearm. The age group with the highest rate of suicide death among men is by far those aged 75 years and over.

South Korea currently has the highest overall suicide rate among OECD countries worldwide. The suicide rate among women in South Korea is significantly higher than that of women in any other country. Nevertheless, suicide is commonly more prevalent among men than women. Suicide in the U.S. The suicide rate in the United States has risen since the year 2000. As of 2021, there were around 14.1 deaths from suicide per 100,000 population. The suicide rate among men in the U.S. is over three times what it is for females, a considerable and troubling difference. The suicide rate among men increases with age, with the highest rates found among men aged 75 years and older. Adolescent suicide Adolescent suicide is always a serious and difficult topic. A recent survey found that around 30 percent of female high school students in the United States had seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year, compared to 14 percent of male students. On average, there are around 11 suicide deaths among adolescents per 100,000 population in the United States. The states with the highest rates of adolescent suicide include Idaho, Colorado, and Utah.

BackgroundIn Europe, men have lower rates of attempted suicide compared to women and at the same time a higher rate of completed suicides, indicating major gender differences in lethality of suicidal behaviour. The aim of this study was to analyse the extent to which these gender differences in lethality can be explained by factors such as choice of more lethal methods or lethality differences within the same suicide method or age. In addition, we explored gender differences in the intentionality of suicide attempts.Methods and FindingsMethods. Design: Epidemiological study using a combination of self-report and official data. Setting: Mental health care services in four European countries: Germany, Hungary, Ireland, and Portugal. Data basis: Completed suicides derived from official statistics for each country (767 acts, 74.4% male) and assessed suicide attempts excluding habitual intentional self-harm (8,175 acts, 43.2% male).Main Outcome Measures and Data Analysis. We collected data on suicidal acts in eight regions of four European countries participating in the EU-funded “OSPI-Europe”-project (www.ospi-europe.com). We calculated method-specific lethality using the number of completed suicides per method * 100 / (number of completed suicides per method + number of attempted suicides per method). We tested gender differences in the distribution of suicidal acts for significance by using the χ2-test for two-by-two tables. We assessed the effect sizes with phi coefficients (φ). We identified predictors of lethality with a binary logistic regression analysis. Poisson regression analysis examined the contribution of choice of methods and method-specific lethality to gender differences in the lethality of suicidal acts.Findings Main ResultsSuicidal acts (fatal and non-fatal) were 3.4 times more lethal in men than in women (lethality 13.91% (regarding 4106 suicidal acts) versus 4.05% (regarding 4836 suicidal acts)), the difference being significant for the methods hanging, jumping, moving objects, sharp objects and poisoning by substances other than drugs. Median age at time of suicidal behaviour (35–44 years) did not differ between males and females. The overall gender difference in lethality of suicidal behaviour was explained by males choosing more lethal suicide methods (odds ratio (OR) = 2.03; 95% CI = 1.65 to 2.50; p < 0.000001) and additionally, but to a lesser degree, by a higher lethality of suicidal acts for males even within the same method (OR = 1.64; 95% CI = 1.32 to 2.02; p = 0.000005). Results of a regression analysis revealed neither age nor country differences were significant predictors for gender differences in the lethality of suicidal acts. The proportion of serious suicide attempts among all non-fatal suicidal acts with known intentionality (NFSAi) was significantly higher in men (57.1%; 1,207 of 2,115 NFSAi) than in women (48.6%; 1,508 of 3,100 NFSAi) (χ2 = 35.74; p < 0.000001).Main limitations of the studyDue to restrictive data security regulations to ensure anonymity in Ireland, specific ages could not be provided because of the relatively low absolute numbers of suicide in the Irish intervention and control region. Therefore, analyses of the interaction between gender and age could only be conducted for three of the four countries. Attempted suicides were assessed for patients presenting to emergency departments or treated in hospitals. An unknown rate of attempted suicides remained undetected. This may have caused an overestimation of the lethality of certain methods. Moreover, the detection of attempted suicides and the registration of completed suicides might have differed across the four countries. Some suicides might be hidden and misclassified as undetermined deaths.ConclusionsMen more often used highly lethal methods in suicidal behaviour, but there was also a higher method-specific lethality which together explained the large gender differences in the lethality of suicidal acts. Gender differences in the lethality of suicidal acts were fairly consistent across all four European countries examined. Males and females did not differ in age at time of suicidal behaviour. Suicide attempts by males were rated as being more serious independent of the method used, with the exceptions of attempted hanging, suggesting gender differences in intentionality associated with suicidal behaviour. These findings contribute to understanding of the spectrum of reasons for gender differences in the lethality of suicidal behaviour and should inform the development of gender specific strategies for suicide prevention.

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.

Data on death rates for suicide, by selected population characteristics. Please refer to the PDF or Excel version of this table in the HUS 2019 Data Finder (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus/contents2019.htm) for critical information about measures, definitions, and changes over time. SOURCE: NCHS, National Vital Statistics System (NVSS); Grove RD, Hetzel AM. Vital statistics rates in the United States, 1940–1960. National Center for Health Statistics. 1968; numerator data from NVSS annual public-use Mortality Files; denominator data from U.S. Census Bureau national population estimates; and Murphy SL, Xu JQ, Kochanek KD, Arias E, Tejada-Vera B. Deaths: Final data for 2018. National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 69 no 13. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2021. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/nvsr.htm. For more information on the National Vital Statistics System, see the corresponding Appendix entry at https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus19-appendix-508.pdf.

In 2021, there were around 42.2 deaths from suicide per 100,000 population among males in the U.S. aged 75 years and older. Males aged 75 years and older were more likely to die from suicide than any other age group for both males and females. The suicide death rate for males in general is constantly greater than that for females. Suicide method by gender Not only do suicide rates differ by gender, but the method of suicide varies as well. Suicide by firearm accounts for 56 percent of suicides among males, but only 31 percent of those among females. However, suicide by poisoning accounts for a much larger share of suicides among females than males. In 2019, there were a total of 23,941 firearm suicides and 6,125 poisoning suicides. Substance abuse, mental health, and suicide Those who suffer from substance abuse and certain mental health disorders are at a much greater risk of falling victim to suicide. It’s been found that around 14 percent of those with drug or alcohol dependence or abuse had serious thoughts of suicide in the past year, compared to just three percent of those with no such substance dependence of abuse. Similarly, around 3.6 percent of those with a major depressive episode in the past year had attempted suicide, while only 0.2 percent of those without a major depressive episode had done so.

In 2022, there were more than 48 thousand female deaths due to suicides in India, while the incidents were more than 122 thousand for males. Some of the causes for suicides in the country were due to professional problems, abuse, violence, family problems, financial loss, sense of isolation and mental disorders.

Uzbekistan UZ: Suicide Mortality Rate: Female data was reported at 4.800 NA in 2016. This stayed constant from the previous number of 4.800 NA for 2015. Uzbekistan UZ: Suicide Mortality Rate: Female data is updated yearly, averaging 4.000 NA from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2016, with 5 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4.800 NA in 2016 and a record low of 2.800 NA in 2005. Uzbekistan UZ: Suicide Mortality Rate: Female data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Uzbekistan – Table UZ.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;

Number of suicides and suicide rates, by sex and age, in England and Wales. Information on conclusion type is provided, along with the proportion of suicides by method and the median registration delay.

In 2023, there were about 38.3 male and 16.5 female deaths by suicide per 100,000 population in South Korea. The suicide rate for men was more than double the rate for women. That year, the overall suicide rate in the country slightly declined. South Korea has the highest suicide rate among the member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

In 2022, the rate of suicides among males was 16.4 per 100,000 population and among females it was 5.4 per 100,000. The rate of suicide has slightly decreased for both genders since the beginning of given time period of the statistic, although recent years has seen an increase again for both men and women. 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.

BackgroundClimate change is reshaping public health, introducing extreme weather conditions and environmental stressors—such as high temperatures, atmospheric pollution, desertification, and storms (rain, thunder, and hail)—that critically impact mental health. Evidence increasingly links these factors to higher rates of suicide-related outcomes, including suicidal ideation, attempts, and self-harm. Such interactions underscore the importance of understanding how climate-driven mental health risks vary by environmental factor and gender, as gender-specific vulnerabilities shape responses to climate stressors.MethodsBy April 16, 2024, we conducted a comprehensive search of PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, Scopus, ProQuest, and Embase. Two researchers independently reviewed studies and collected demographic data, systematically tracking and recording rates of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, suicide deaths, self-harm, and anxiety. Data were rigorously cross-verified for accuracy and consistency.ResultsThe meta-analysis demonstrated significant associations between climate change variables and mental health outcomes. High temperatures and air pollution were linked to increased suicide attempts (OR: 1.40, 95% CI: 1.34–1.45) and suicide deaths (OR: 1.51, 95% CI: 1.44–1.58), particularly among males. Conversely, atmospheric pollution and desertification correlated with a reduced likelihood of suicidal ideation (OR: 0.73, 95% CI: 0.63–0.85). These findings highlight gender-specific mental health impacts, with females exhibiting higher rates of anxiety and self-harm, underscoring the urgent need for targeted interventions addressing climate-induced mental health risks.ConclusionsThis systematic review and meta-analysis reveal significant gender-specific mental health impacts of climate change, with females experiencing higher rates of anxiety, self-harm, and suicidal ideation, while males show greater incidences of suicide attempts and deaths. These findings emphasize the urgent need for targeted interventions and the integration of mental health services into climate policies to address these gender disparities.Systematic review registrationThis study is registered with PROSPERO [PROSPERO (york.ac.uk)] under the identifier [CRD42024534961].

In 2021, around 77 percent of suicides among males in the United States were among white males. This statistic depicts the distribution of suicide deaths in the United States in 2021, by race/ethnicity and gender.

This data shows deaths (of people age 10 and over) from Suicide and Undetermined Injury, numbers and rates by gender, as 3-year moving-averages.

Suicide is a significant cause of premature deaths occurring generally at younger ages than other common causes of premature mortality. It may also be seen as an indicator of underlying rates of mental ill-health.

Directly Age-Standardised Rates (DASR) are shown in the data, where numbers are sufficient, so that death rates can be directly compared between areas. The DASR calculation applies Age-specific rates to a Standard (European) population to cancel out possible effects on crude rates due to different age structures among populations, thus enabling direct comparisons of rates.

The figures in this dataset include deaths recorded as suicide (people age 10 and over) and undetermined injury (age 15 and over) as those are mostly likely also to have been caused by self-harm. The population denominators for rates are age 10 and over.

Data source: Public Health England, Public Health Outcomes Framework (PHOF) indicator 4.10. This data is updated annually.

The suicide rate among men was more than double as high among men than among women during the whole period from 2009 to 2023. The number of suicides among men was around 17.8 per hundred thousand inhabitants in 2023, while the number among women in the same year was almost 7.4 suicides per hundred thousand inhabitants.

Mortality from intentional self-harm (ICD-10 X60-X84 equivalent to ICD-9 E950-E959). This indicator does not include deaths by injury undetermined. To reduce the number of suicides. Legacy unique identifier: P00535

English:

The data set contains 503 variables and 624 observations on suicides and suicide rates as well as on demographic, socio-structural, infrastructure and crime statistics on the canton and national level for the years 1952 to 1990. The information was recorded and processed by GDR’s Central Bureau of Statistics on a yearly basis. The statistical yearbooks of the GDR and various files of the Federal Archive were used as the sources of this data.

The demographic statistics include the population distribution by gender and age-groups, the incidence of deaths, homicides, births, stillbirths, as well as infant mortality and domestic migration rates by year and administrative district. The socio-structural information includes marriage and divorce rates, population distribution by education, employment and religious denomination, as well as the number of members and candidates of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany by year and district. The infrastructure data contains information on population density, residential housing construction and retail sales by year and administrative canton. The annual numbers of offenders of criminally liable age and convicted persons in the districts that come from the GDR crime statistics were included in the data set from the GDR crime statistics.

Missing values indicate that no information could be found for the given year or region. However, the missing information on the distribution by gender and age-groups, as well as suicide rates by age-group can be estimated using the attached do-files. A detailed description of how the missing values have been determined can be found in the document “Imputation und Standardisierung.pdf”. The do-files and the description are available in a zip file below.

Deutsch:

Dieser Datensatz umfasst 503 Variablen und 624 Beobachtungen. Er beinhaltet Informationen zu Suizidzahlen sowie demographische, sozialstrukturelle, infrastrukturelle Statistiken und Kriminalstatistiken in den Bezirken der DDR sowie des gesamten Landes von 1952 bis 1990. In der DDR war die Staatliche Zentralverwaltung für Statistik (SZS) für die Sammlung und Aufbereitung der verschiedenen Jahresstatistiken zuständig, weshalb die langen Zeitreihen größtenteils aus dem Primärbestand der SZS ermittelt und anschließend vergleichbar über die Bezirke und den Zeitverlauf berechnet wurden. Als Recherchequellen dienen die statistischen Jahrbücher der DDR sowie verschiedene Akten des Bundesarchivs.

Die demographischen Statistiken umfassen die jährlichen bezirksspezifischen Verteilungen der Geschlechter, Altersgruppen, Verstorbenen, Ermordeten, Lebendgeborenen, Totgeborenen, gestorbenen Säuglinge und Binnenmigration. Die sozialstrukturellen Informationen umfassen Angaben zu regionalen Verteilungen der Eheschließung, Ehescheidung, Bildung, Beschäftigung und Konfession sowie Statistiken über die Mitgliedschaft und Kandidatur für eine Mitgliedschaft bei der SED. Die verschiedenen infrastrukturellen Daten umfassen jährliche Statistiken der Bevölkerungsdichte, des Wohnungsbaus und des Einzelhandelsumsatzes in den Bezirken der DDR. Zudem wurden aus der Kriminalstatistik der DDR die jährliche Anzahl der strafmündigen Täter und der Verurteilten in den Bezirken in den Datensatz aufgenommen.

Missings werden in dem Datensatz ausgewiesen, wenn für bestimmte Jahre oder Regionen keine Zahlen recherchiert werden konnten bzw. die Informationen nicht erhoben wurden. Fehlende Suizidzahlen und fehlende Bevölkerungszahlen in bestimmten Altersgruppen können mittels der beigefügten Do-Files geschätzt und importiert werden. Eine ausführliche Beschreibung der Bestimmung der fehlenden Zahlen lassen sich dem Dokument „Imputation und Standardisierung.pdf“ entnehmen. Zudem ist ein unverzerrter Vergleich der Suizidraten über Regionen und Zeit nur anhand von standardisierten Suizidraten möglich. Auch dieses Vorgehen der indirekten Standardisierung ist im genannten Dokument beschrieben und kann anhand der Do-Files repliziert werden. Sie sind unten in einer Zip-Datei verfügbar.

Sheet 1—Prison Population by Nationality, Age Group, Year, and Gender. Sheet 2—Prison Suicides by Nationality, Age Group, and Gender. Sheet 3—General Population by Nationality, Age, Year, and Gender. Sheet 4 General Population by Nationality, Age, and Gender (sum of years 2000–2013). Sheet 5—Suicides in the General Population by Nationality, Age Group, and Gender. (XLSX)

The dataset contains year- and gender-wise data on number of suicides which have happened in India, categorized by annual income level of suicide victims such as Less than 1 Lakh Rupees, More than 1 Lakh and Less than 5 Lakh Rupees, More than 5 Lakhs and Less than 10 Lakh Rupees, and 10 Lakhs and above

In 2022, the rate of drug deaths among men was 45.6 per 100,000 population, compared to 19.4 per 100,000 among women. This statistic depicts the rate of alcohol, drug, and suicide deaths in the U.S. in 2022, by gender (per 100,000 population).