Suicide statistics

Trends

In 2021 there were 6,319 deaths registered in Great Britain where the cause was recorded as suicide.

Relative to the size of the population, the suicide rate in England and Wales has declined by 28% since 1981. Most of this fall occurred before 2000. In 2021 the rate was higher than it had been in 2005-2012 and 2016-2017.

Source: ONS, Suicides in England and Wales tables, Table 1

Age and sex

Suicide in England and Wales is three times more common among men than among women. The gap between sexes has increased over time. The suicide rate among women has approximately halved since 1981, while the rate among men has reduced by 17%.

Source: ONS, Suicides in England and Wales tables, Table 1

Risk of suicide in England and Wales is highest among people aged between 45 and 54 and lowest among people aged under 20 and over 70. The chart below shows data for five-year age groups in 2021, broken down additionally by sex.

Source:  ONS, Suicides in England and Wales tables, Table 5

Deprivation

People living in the most deprived areas of England have a higher risk of suicide than those living in the least deprived areas. The suicide rate in the most deprived 10% of areas (‘decile’) in 2017-2019 was 14.1 per 100,000, which is almost double the rate of 7.4 in the least deprived decile.

English regions

In the three years from 2019 to 2021, the suicide rate was higher in the North East and Yorkshire & Humber regions than other parts of England. London had the lowest suicide rate.

The suicide rate has fallen in all regions, but the fall has been larger in some regions than others. In London the rate fell by 56% since 1981-1983, while in the North East the rate fell by 9%.

Getting help

If you are affected by the themes of this briefing paper, you can contact the Samaritans.