Today is World Suicide Prevention Day – 10th September

The World Health Organization estimates that over 800,000 people take their own life each year – that’s one person every 40 seconds. 

In 2018, in the UK and Republic of Ireland, more than 6,800 people died of suicide. Every life lost to suicide is a tragedy.

And we know that suicide is preventable, it’s not inevitable.

But not being okay is still widely stigmatised.

Here is a summary of the key facts and trends from suicides that occurred in the UK and Republic of Ireland in 2018.

Source: https://www.samaritans.org/about-samaritans/research-policy/suicide-facts-and-figures/

Key facts from 2018

In the UK & Republic of Ireland, there were 6,859 suicides in 2018.

In the UK, there were 6,507 suicides. In the Republic of Ireland, there were 352 suicides.

Deaths by suicide rose by 10.9% in the UK in 2018.

Men are three times as likely to die by suicide than women.

In the Republic of Ireland, the rate is four times higher among men than women.

In the UK, the highest suicide rate is among men aged 45-49. In the Republic of Ireland, the highest rate is among men aged 55-64.