Suicide statistics

Trends

In 2023, there were 7,055 deaths registered in the UK where the cause was recorded as suicide (figures for Northern Ireland are provisional).

Relative to the size of the population, the suicide rate in England and Wales has declined by 21% since 1981. Most of this fall occurred before 2000. The suicide rate followed a generally declining trend until 2007, but it has since started to increase again. The rate in 2023 was the highest since 1999.

Source: ONS, Suicides in England and Wales dataset, 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 almost halved since 1981, from 10.5 to 5.7 deaths per 100,000 people. By comparison, the rate among men has fallen by 9%, from 19.2 to 17.4 deaths per 100,000 people.

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

Risk of suicide is usually highest among people aged between 45 and 54 and lowest among people aged under 20: in 2023, the suicide rate for people aged 45 to 54 was around 16 deaths per 100,000 people, whereas for those aged 14 to 19 it was around 5 deaths per 100,000 people.

The chart below shows data for five-year age groups in 2023, broken down additionally by sex.

Source: ONS, Suicides in England and Wales dataset, 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 to 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 2021 to 2023, the suicide rate was higher in the North East and the North West 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 has fallen by 57% since 1981 to 1983, while in the North East the rate has fallen by 3%.

Getting help

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