Summary of the powerful Samaritans Suicide Statistics Report 2018.
Summary of the key trends contained in this report.
- In 2017 there were 6,213 suicides in the UK and Republic of Ireland.
- 5,821 suicides were registered in the UK and 392 occurred in the Republic of Ireland.
- In the UK men remain three times as likely to take their own lives than women, and in the Republic of Ireland four times more likely.
- The highest suicide rate in the UK was for men aged 45-49.
- The highest suicide rate in the Republic of Ireland was for men aged 25–34 (with an almost identical rate for men aged 45–54).
- There has been a significant decrease in male suicide in the UK, and the male suicide rate is the lowest in over 30 years.
- The suicide rate in Scotland decreased between 2016 and 2017 – this appears to be driven by a decrease in the female suicide rate.
- Suicide in young men in Scotland increased for the third consecutive year in 2017
We can all do a little something from really asking ‘how are you’ to someone else, striking up a conversation to someone on the train platform, spending a few hours volunteering at a helpline, or fundraising and sharing social media posts. The more we talk about it, the more it becomes okay to talk about it.
Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 50. Lets talk about it.