While you are reading this article of countries with the highest suicide rates, many people around the world are dying. Yes, dying is a natural process, and we will all die some day. That in itself is not something that should be overly depressing. However we are not talking about natural deaths here, after one has lived their life to the fullest and made the most of their life while they were blessed with it. We are talking about the most tragic deaths of all, those that were self-inflicted by people who, for whatever reason, could not continue to endure their living moments.
Every 40 seconds, someone in the world is committing suicide, a very sad remainder that no matter how much we believe things have improved in the world, for some people, they just can’t get the happiness or find the peace in this life they need to survive. Even worse than the almost 1 million people that are dying due to suicides is that experts say the number will only continue to grow unless countries do more to increase awareness about depression and those at risk of committing suicide.
Suicide is currently the third leading cause of death for people aged 15-44 years of age, and among those aged 10-24 it is even worse, ranking as the second most common cause of death. Those statistics are in addition to the many suicide attempts which are not factored in, and tell an even graver story of how many people are trying to take their own lives on a daily basis. The International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are working tirelessly to prevent suicide. These organizations consider World Suicide Prevention Day as a significant day on the international calendar to bring awareness to the countries with the highest suicide rates, as well as those managing suicides a little better.
The following WHO data is based on official reports from each country, and therefore, can be considered as the most accurate suicide-related statistics. The total rate of suicide is determined based on the total number of suicides divided by the total population, and it is better than merely taking the average of the male and female suicide rates, because the gender ratio in most countries is not 1:1.
Here we present a list of ten countries with the highest suicide rates, according to data from the World Health Organization, in which a country’s rank is determined by its total rate of deaths officially recorded as suicides in the most recent available year, last updated in 2011. If you’re interested in reading more on this topic, we suggest you to read our previous cover story on the States with Highest Suicide Rates.
