Epidemiology of suicide

An estimated 1 million people worldwide die by suicide every year. It is estimated that global annual suicide fatalities could rise to over 1.5 million by 2020. Globally, suicide ranks among the three leading causes of death among those aged 15–44 years. Attempted suicides are up to 20 times more frequent than completed ones. Incidence of suicide in a society depends on a range of factors. Clinical depression is an especially common cause. Substance abuse and severe physical disease or infirmity are also recognized as causes. The Eastern Europe and East Asia regions have the highest suicide rate worldwide. The region with the lowest suicide rate is the Caribbean, followed by the Middle East. Gender differences play a significant role in suicide as well. Furthermore, among all age groups in most of the world, females tend to show higher rates of reported nonfatal suicidal behaviors, while males have a much higher rate of completed suicides. In most countries the incidence of suicides is higher than the incidence of intentional homicides. More people die of suicide than die of war and murder. A 2006 report by the World Health Organization (WHO) states that nearly a million people take their own lives every year, more than those murdered or killed in war. WHO figures show a suicide takes place somewhere in the world roughly every 40 seconds. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, suicide contagion is a serious problem, especially for young people. Suicide can be facilitated in vulnerable teens by exposure to real or fictional accounts of suicide, including media coverage of suicide, such as intensive reporting of the suicide of a celebrity or idol. Suicide rates are highest in Europe's Baltic states, where around 40 people per 100,000 die by suicide each year. The lowest rates are found mainly in Caribbean/West Indies nations and a few countries in Asia. As many as 60,000 people commit suicide in Russia every year; approximately 30,000 people die by suicide each year in the United States; over 30,000 kill themselves in Japan; and about 25,000 commit suicide each year in China. In western countries men commit suicide at four times the rate of women. Women are more likely to attempt suicide than men.