5 things new suicide statistics tell us
Male suicide may be falling but females are still three times less likely to commit suicide, suggests new data released by the ONS.
Content warning: discussion of suicide and self-harm.
1. Suicide in the UK could be rising.
A general trend shows that suicide in the UK has been increasing overall since falling to an all time low of 10.0 per 100,000 people in 2007.
Last year 6,188 people in the UK over the age of 10 were registered to have died by intentional self-harm or injury of undetermined intent.
2. Over the past few years, male suicide in the UK has been falling.
The rate of males committing suicide in the UK has been falling since 2013, when it reached a 10 year high of 17.8 per 100,000 people.
3. Over the past few years, female suicide in the UK has been increasing.
In 2015 the rate of females committing suicide in the UK reached 5.4 per 100,000 people, the highest it has been in a decade.
1,566 women killed themselves last year — at a rate of 5.4 suicides per 100,000 persons and an increase from 5.2 in 2014 and 4.8 in 2013.4.
4. But males are still more likely than females to commit suicide.
Despite a two-year decrease in the rate of male suicides, the number of men killing themselves in 2015 was still 3 times that of women, a trend we have seen reoccurring over the past 25 years.
5. People aged between 45 and 59 have the highest rate of suicide.
For the 13th year in a row, females aged between 45 and 59 had a suicide rate higher than other age groups.
Males of the same ago group had a suicide rate of 22.3, making it the group most at risk of suicide*.
1,117 people aged between 10 and 29 committed suicide last year, making it the age group with the lowest rate of suicide for both males and females, at 10.6 and 3.2 per 100,000 respectively.
Anyone having suicidal thoughts is encouraged to contact the Samaritans on 116 123 or Childline on 0800 1111.
*The data is recorded by sex, not gender, and therefore cannot (/does not) account for potential variances between gender.
