Despite falling global rates in recent decades, men twice as likely to die by suicide

Key takeaways:

• The global age-standardized mortality rate for suicide decreased by about 40% from 1990 to 2021.
• This rate rose by 7% in North America during that time.
• The U.S. had the highest firearm-related suicide rate.

A death from suicide occurs every 43 seconds worldwide annually, according to an analysis published in The Lancet Public Health.

The research also showed that the global mortality rate for suicide declined in recent decades, but despite the progress, “it is clear that suicide continues to impact some countries and populations more than others,” Mohsen Naghavi, MD, MPH, PhD, a professor of health metric science at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) and study co-author, said in a press release.

In the analysis, Naghavi and colleagues assessed Global Burden of Disease data from 1990 to 2021 to determine trends in suicide by sex, country, region, age, year and suicide by firearm.

The results showed 746,000 deaths from suicide globally in 2021, including 519,000 deaths among men and 227,000 among women. That year, suicide ranked 21st among the global causes of death for both sexes combined.

Although men had a higher likelihood to die from suicide vs. women, women had 49% more suicide attempts compared with men during the study period, the release noted. In North America, one in 30.7 attempts among women and one in over six attempts among men resulted in death.

The data also showed that every minute globally, four men and six women needed inpatient treatment due to suicide attempts.

The researchers reported that the worldwide age-standardized mortality rate for suicide decreased by about 40% over the study period, from around 15 to nine deaths per 100,000 people.

This rate declined by over 50% for women and around 34% for men.

However, several regions experienced a jump in the suicide rate during the last 3 decades. For example, the rate increased by 39% in Central Latin America, 13% in Andean Latin America and 9% in Tropical Latin America.

North America had a 7% rise in suicide rate, with the U.S. experiencing a 23% increase for women.

Worldwide, males appeared three times likelier than females to die by suicide from firearm. The United States had the highest rate of firearm-related suicides in the world, with 55% and 31% of suicides by men and women done with guns, respectively.

“Men tend to choose more violent and lethal methods of suicide such as guns, while women are more likely to choose less fatal means such as poisoning and overdosing, which have a higher survival rate,” said Emily Rosenblad, MPH, a project officer at IHME and study co-author, explained in the release.

Naghavi and colleagues pointed out that the mean age at which men died by suicide increased from 43 years in 1990 to 47 years in 2021.

Similarly, the mean age at suicide among women rose from 41.9 to 46.9 years during the study period.

The researchers suggested that these rises may be the result of suicide prevention efforts focusing on younger people, “such as providing access to essential screening services or expanding mental health programs for youth.”

Meanwhile, social isolation, a lack of mental health resources, chronic illnesses and low-coverage or insufficient health insurance “are critical risk factors contributing to suicide in middle and older age groups,” they wrote.

Naghavi and colleagues acknowledged some study limitations, including under-reporting of suicide and a lack of mortality and hospitalization data in certain locations.

Ultimately, “removing suicide stigma and barriers to access mental health support systems remain critical measures, particularly among people with mental and substance abuse disorders,” Naghavi said in the release.

References:

• About 740,000 global deaths from suicide occur annually — that’s one death every 43 seconds. Available at: https://www.healthdata.org/news-events/newsroom/news-releases/about-740000-global-deaths-suicide-occur-annually-thats-one. Published Feb. 19, 2025. Accessed Feb. 19, 2025.
• Rosenblad E, et al. Lancet Public Health. 2025;doi:10.1016/ S2468-2667(25)00006-4.