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National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

988  or 1-800-273-TALK (8255)

Crisis Textline text

'START' 741-741

Open Notebook

Suicide Facts

A person dies by

suicide every

11 minutes

in the United States.

In 2021, over

48,000

people died by suicide in the U.S.

In 2021,

12.3 million

American adults seriously thought about suicide.

Suicide is the 

2nd

leading cause of death for

ages 10-14 & 25-34 in the U.S. 

General Stats (U.s.)

Global Statistics

Gender disparities

Age/ youth Suicide Stats

LGBTQ+ Suicide Stats

minority suicide stats

  • Suicide is the 12th leading cause of death in the U.S. 

  • On average, there are 132 suicides per day. 

  • More people die from suicide than from homicide. 

  • Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death in the U.S. for ages 10-14 and 25-34. â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹

  • ​Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death in the U.S. for ages 15-24.​​​​​​

  • Suicide is the 4th leading cause of death in the U.S. for ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ages 35-54.

  • The highest rates of suicide are among American Indian/Native Alaskan and non-Hispanic White populations.

  • A person dies by suicide every 11 minutes in the U.S.

  • 48,183 people died by suicide in 2021.​​​​​​​​

  • 12.3 million American adults seriously thought about suicide.

Source: CDC, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

  • More than 800,000 people die due to suicide each year. 

  • Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death in the world for ages 15-24.

  • 77% of global suicides occur in low- and middle-income countries.

Source: World Health Organization 

  • There are 3.9 male suicide deaths for every female suicide death

  • Females attempt suicide 3 times as often as males.

  • Males account for 77.97% of all U.S. suicides. 

  • Females account for 22.03% of all U.S. suicides. 

Source: American Association of Suicidology, SAVE.org, Suicide Prevention Resource Center 

  • ​22% of high school students will consider suicide.

  • 1 out of 12 college students has a suicide plan.

  • Youth and young adults ages 10-24 account for 15% of all suicides. 

  • Suicide is the ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​3​​r​​d​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ leading cause of death for ​​​​​​​​​Am​er​​i​​c​an​​s​​​, ​​​​a​ge​​s​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹15-24; accounting for 6,488 deaths. 

  • In 2021, 9% of high school students reported attempting suicide in the previous 12 months. â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹ â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹

  • Middle-aged adults account for ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​46.8% â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹â€‹of all U.S. suicides. 

  • Suicide is the 4th leading cause of death for adults ages 35-44. 

  • Suicide rates for females are highest among those aged 45-54 (8.5 per 100,00).

  • Suicide rates for males are highest among those aged 75+ (42.2 per 100,00).

Source: CDC, SAVE.org

  • People who identify as LBGTQ have higher rates of suicide attempts compared to heterosexual people.

  •  23.4% of high school students identifying as lesbian, gay or bisexual reported attempting suicide in the prior 12 months. 

  • 41% of trans adults in one study said that they had attempted suicide. The same study found that 61% of trans people who were victims of physical assault had attempted suicide. 

  • LGBTQ+ youth are 4X more likely to make a medically serious suicide attempt than other young people.

  • Lesbian, gay, and bisexual young people who come from families that reject or do not accept them are over 8x more likely to attempt suicide than those whose families accept them. 

Source: CDC, SAVE.org

  • Suicide is the 9th leading cause of death in AI/AN (American Indian/Alaska Native) people. 

  • Non-Hispanic AI/AN people have a suicide rate of 28.1 per 100,000. 

  • Hispanic AI/AN people have a suicide rate of 2.0 per 100,000.

  • Suicide is the ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​11th leading cause of death for both Hispanic and non-Hispanic people of all races. 

  • Attempted suicide was higher among black students than students from other groups.

  • Only 1 in 3 African Americans who needs mental health care receives it. 

  • Asian Americans use mental health services at 1/2 of the rate of Caucasians.

  • Asian Americans/ Pacific Islanders (AA/PIs) are less likely to seek mental health services than any other racial/ethnic group. 

  • AA/PIs are 3x less likely to access mental health services than their white counterparts.

  • A 2021 survey highlighted that adults with disabilities were 3x more likely to report suicidal ideation in the past month compared to persons without disabilities.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

  • Prior research has reported on increased mental distress, among adults with disabilities, which is a risk factor for suicide.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Source: CDC, APA

veteran suicide stats

  • Veterans are at a  57% higher risk of suicide than their non-Veteran peers.

  • The suicide rate among Veterans is 1.5 times greater than the non-Veteran population, ages 18+, with 6,000 Veterans dying by suicide each year. 

  • Since 2006, there has been an 86% increase in the suicide rate among 18-34-year-old male ​​Veterans. 

  • The suicide rate for Veterans in the LGBTQ+ community is up to 7x higher than for non-LGBTQ+ Veterans. 

  • Despite accounting for just 7.9% of the population, Veterans account for 13.9% of all suicide deaths in the U.S.

Source: Stop Soldier Suicide, AFSP

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