Suicide mortality rate

In 2018…

  • There were 6,507 suicides registered in the UK, an age-standardised rate of 11.2 deaths per 100,000 population; the latest rate is significantly higher than that in 2017 and represents the first increase since 2013.
  • Three-quarters of registered deaths in 2018 were among men (4,903 deaths), which has been the case since the mid-1990s.
  • The UK male suicide rate of 17.2 deaths per 100,000 represents a significant increase from the rate in 2017; for females, the UK rate was 5.4 deaths per 100,000, consistent with the rates over the past 10 years.
  • Scotland had the highest suicide rate in GB with 16.1 deaths per 100,000 persons (784 deaths), followed by Wales with a rate of 12.8 per 100,000 (349 deaths) and England the lowest with 10.3 deaths per 100,000 (5,021 deaths).
  • Males aged 45 to 49 years had the highest age-specific suicide rate (27.1 deaths per 100,000 males); for females, the age group with the highest rate was also 45 to 49 years, at 9.2 deaths per 100,000.
  • Despite having a low number of deaths overall, rates among the under 25s have generally increased in recent years, particularly 10 to 24 year old females where the rate has increased significantly since 2012 to its highest level with 3.3 deaths per 100,000 females in 2018.

See the ONS 2018 report for more information and a definition for suicide

Information on the suicide prevention profile is available from Public Health England. If you are struggling to cope, please call Samaritans free on 116 123 (UK and Ireland), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of the nearest branch.

Further information is available on the Suicide Prevention Profile.

Further Quality and Methodology information is available.

Sub-categories

Choose categories from the dropdowns below to see different breakdowns of the data. Some will not be available until a higher level is chosen.

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Headline data

Suicide mortality rate per 100,000 population
Year Value GeoCode Observation status Unit multiplier Unit measure
1981 14.7 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
1982 14.4 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
1983 14.0 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
1984 14.0 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
1985 14.7 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
1986 14.2 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
1987 13.4 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
1988 14.4 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
1989 12.7 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
1990 13.2 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
1991 12.8 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
1992 12.9 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
1993 12.5 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
1994 12.1 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
1995 12.1 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
1996 11.6 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
1997 11.4 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
1998 12.4 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
1999 12.2 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
2000 11.9 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
2001 11.5 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
2002 11.2 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
2003 10.9 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
2004 11.1 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
2005 10.7 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
2006 10.4 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
2007 10.0 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
2008 10.5 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
2009 10.3 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
2010 10.2 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
2011 10.9 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
2012 10.7 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
2013 11.1 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
2014 10.8 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
2015 10.9 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
2016 10.4 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
2017 10.1 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population
2018 11.2 Undefined Units Rate per 100,000 population

Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS)

Geographical Area: United Kingdom

Unit of Measurement: Rate per 100,000 population

Footnote: Suicide rates per 100,000 population have been age-standardised to allow comparison between populations which may contain different proportions of people of different ages. Suicide rates by age are based on age-specific suicide rates per 100,000 population. Age-specific rates are calculated where there are fewer than 20 deaths are potentially unreliable. These figures are denoted with a 'u' in Source 1. Rates were not calculated where there were fewer than 3 death registrations.

This table provides metadata for the actual indicator available from UK statistics closest to the corresponding global SDG indicator. Please note that even when the global SDG indicator is fully available from UK statistics, this table should be consulted for information on national methodology and other UK-specific metadata information.

Indicator available

Suicide mortality rate
Indicator description

Suicide mortality rates in the United Kingdom
Geographical coverage

United Kingdom
Unit of measurement

Rate per 100,000 population
Definitions

Data on suicide concern all deaths that were assigned underlying cause of intentional self-harm (for those aged 10 years and above). We also include deaths caused by injury or poisoning of undetermined intent (for those aged 15 years and above), based on the assumption that the majority of these deaths will be suicide. This is referred to as the National Statistics definition of suicide. ICD–10–CM codes for nonfatal suicide attempts and intentional self-harm include - X71–X83
Available disaggregations
Calculations

Age-standardised mortality rates (age-specific mortality rates when 5-year age group selected)
Other information

1) Figures are for deaths registered, rather than deaths occurring in each calendar year. Due to the length of time it takes to complete a coroner’s inquest, it can take months or even years for a suicide to be registered. 2) The large increase seen in Northern Ireland between 2004 and 2006 coincides with a change to the Coroners’ Service. Prior to April 2006, there were seven Coroners’ districts in Northern Ireland. Following a review of the Coroners’ Service, the separate districts were amalgamated into one centralised Coroners’ Service. Data follows the UN specification for this indicator. This indicator has been identified in collaboration with topic experts.
Data last updated 2021-04-15: see changes on GitHub opens in a new window
Metadata last updated 2021-04-15: see changes on GitHub opens in a new window

This table provides information on metadata for SDG indicators as defined by the UN Statistical Commission. Complete global metadata is provided by the UN Statistics Division.

Indicator name

Suicide mortality rate
Target name

By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being
Global indicator description
UN designated tier

Tier I
UN custodian agency

World Health Organisation (WHO)
Link to UN metadata United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Metadata (PDF 65.1 KB) opens in a new window
Organisation

Office for National Statistics (ONS)
Periodicity

Annual
Earliest available data

1981
Geographical coverage

United Kingdom
Link to data source Suicide in the United Kingdom opens in a new window
Release date

03/09/2019
Next release

TBC
Statistical classification

Official Statistic
Contact details

health.data@ons.gov.uk
Other information