Suicide Rate by Country 2022

The highest suicide rate countries in the world. Suicide affects people of all races, ethnicities, faiths, and socioeconomic groups.

Depressive disorders, whether episodic or chronic, may be exacerbated by other intrinsic variables, such as mental illness and birth defects.

Countries must address several common underlying variables that accumulate and increase a person’s likelihood of committing suicide to reduce the number of suicide-related fatalities. 

Factors to evaluate in addition to depression rates include academic success, physical health and well-being, mental health and very well, economic position, financial troubles, employment performance, and general life satisfaction.

There were more suicides per 100,000 people in the following countries in 2019:

1. Lesotho – 72.4
2. Guyana – 40.3
3. Eswatini – 29.4
4. South Korea – 28.6
5. Kiribati – 28.3
6. Federated States of Micronesia – 28.2
7. Lithuania – 26.1
8. Suriname – 25.4
9. Russia – 25.1
10. South Africa – 23.5

Belgium, the only country in Western Europe with a very high suicide rate (18.3 suicides per 100,000 people), comes in at number eleven overall.

Belgium has among the world’s most lenient regulations on doctor-aided suicide, or euthanasia as it is more often known, which is likely to have a role in the country’s death rate.

Top Suicide Prevention Countries

Many of the world’s most problematic countries have remarkably low suicide rates. In Afghanistan, there are 4.1 suicides per 100,000 people, compared to 3.6 in Iraq and 2.0 in Syria.

Statistics on suicide in these nations are unclear; it’s unclear whether they represent deaths by suicide caused mostly by mental health issues and terminal diseases (as they do around the globe) or if they include deaths by suicide caused by continuing hostilities in these countries.

The following countries have the lowest world suicide rates:

1. Antigua and Barbuda – 0.4
2. Barbados – 0.6
3. Grenada – 0.7
4. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines – 1.0
5. Sao Tome and Principe – 1.5
6. Jordan – 1.6
7. Syria – 2.0
8. Venezuela – 2.1
9. Honduras – 2.1
10. Philippines – 2.2

Suicide in South Korea

South Korea has the world’s fourth-highest suicide rate, according to the WHO. Suicides among the elderly contribute to this region’s high prevalence of suicide.

In the past, children were expected to care for their elderly parents; but, in the twenty-first century, this system has virtually evaporated, and many older persons commit themselves rather than feel like a financial burden on their kids. 

At least partly because of their intense focus on academic achievement, students, like the elderly, have suicide rates much higher than the national average. If they fail to meet their ambitions, they may feel they’ve betrayed their family members.

Students who abuse alcohol, lack sleep, are under stress, or have weak social connections are at an increased risk of taking their own lives.

Carbon monoxide poisoning is a prevalent form of suicide in South Korea. The option of jumping from a bridge is another popular one.

The number of persons who leap from Mapo Bridge is known as The Death Bridge or Suicide Bridge in the capital city. The South Korean government is working to stop the rising tide of suicides.

More than 90% of South Korean suicide victims may be suffering from a diagnosable and curable mental health illness, making expanding access to mental health treatment a pressing issue. To prevent suicides locally is educating community leaders about the dangers of suicide.

Suicide in Japan

Suicide is a substantial issue in Japan, although the country’s overall figures position is far outside the top 10. Males aged 20-44 and females aged 15-34 commit suicide at an alarmingly high rate.

The government has made attempts to reduce the suicide rate, especially among those who are most at risk. After a divorce, Japanese males are twice as likely to take their own lives than their female counterparts.

Men who have just lost their employment and can no longer care for their families are at risk of taking their own lives. Marriage and a single job are seen as the pinnacle of human achievement, so when someone gets divorced or loses their career, they may feel like they’ve failed.

Hundreds of individuals commit suicide yearly in Japan’s Aokigahara Forest at the foot of Mount Fuji. Police often search the region for suicide victims and their families.

Suicide in Sweden

Sweden had a suicide rate of 14.7 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2019. Swedish suicide rates have historically been among the highest in the industrialized world, with the highest number of suicides occurring in the 1960s.

That may have been because of the northern areas’ long, gloomy winters and cultural views about suicide. As a result of the government’s crisis response, demand for social assistance and mental health services has plummeted.

Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland now enjoy exceptionally high levels of contentment and a low risk of suicide.

It is associated with increased suicide rates when people suffer from the seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a kind of depression brought on by the long, gloomy winters that may last up to 20 hours a day in certain places.

Though it is still illegal in Sweden, physician-assisted suicide, or euthanasia, is permitted in some circumstances. An end-of-life decision can only be made by a physician who is certain that the patient understands the ramifications of doing so and is willing to make such a decision.

Passive euthanasia is a kind of physician-assisted suicide that is not recorded in official suicide statistics. Sweden may soon legalize active euthanasia when a doctor gives fatal medications to a terminally sick patient with the patient’s and family’s approval.

Suicide in China

A quarter of all suicides are committed in China, which ranks fifth on the global death toll. Women are more prone to take their own lives in China than males are in many Western nations.

As a result of the country’s economic growth, women in China now have more freedom and options when it comes to ending domestic abuse.

However, because of the stress of divorce, they are forced to work long hours to raise their children, sometimes without the typical family support that society has depended on.

If a woman shows signs of stress and is taken to a mental facility, she is more likely to be released than her male colleagues. Even if they aren’t ready, they feel compelled to return to their careers and families as soon as possible.

Suicide attempts are also not covered by many insurance policies. Suicide rates among Chinese women have increased as a result of these strains. Suicide is five times more common in rural China than in urban areas. 

Anecdotal evidence points to a lack of access to mental healthcare, the stigma around mental diseases (such as schizophrenia), economic hardship, and inadequate schooling as possible causes of this perception.

In terms of actual numbers, the Chinese government has done little to no epidemiological research on suicide. Pesticides and other poisons are used in the majority of Chinese suicide attempts.

Also See: STD Rates by Country 2022

Suicide rates in these 10 countries are among the highest in the world:

1. Lesotho (72.4 per 100k people)
2. Guyana (40.3 per 100k people)
3. Eswatini (29.4 per 100k people)
4. South Korea (28.6 per 100k people)
5. Kiribati (28.3 per 100k people)
6. Micronesia (28.2 per 100k people)
7. Lithuania (26.1 per 100k people)
8. Suriname (25.4 per 100k people)
9. Russia (25.1 per 100k people)
10. South Africa (23.5 per 100k people)