World Suicide Prevention Day

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World Suicide Prevention Day


In 2003 the World Health Organisation (WHO) proclaimed 10 September World Suicide Prevention Day. According to WHO estimates, one million people die in the world each year by suicide, i.e. 16 suicides per 100,000 population. Every 40 minutes someone dies by suicide. In the past 45 years the suicide rate in the world grew by about 60% so that now suicide is both for men and for women among the three leading causes of death in the age group 15-44. This shows that suicide is becoming an ever increasing burden of developed societies. Suicide is the result of many social and cultural factors and more frequently appears in times of socio-economic, family or personal crises. In the opinion of Slovene and foreign suicide experts, in more than 90% of cases suicide is the result of an unrecognised and untreated mental disorder such as depression or schizophrenia.

Men more suicide-prone

According to data collected by the Slovenian Institute of Public Health, in 2006 293 people (243 men and 50 women) died in traffic accidents. In the same year 529 people (415 men and 114 women) died by suicide, which is 80% more than the number of deaths in traffic accidents. In Slovenia on average every 17 hours a person dies by suicide.

In 2006 the suicide rate in Slovenia was 22.8 per 100,000 population: for men it was growing with higher age groups, while for women is was growing until the age group 60-69 and falling in older age groups. According to WHO data, the leading cause of suicide in older persons is depression, which is about 26% higher in the age group 65+ than in the age group 25-64.

Slovenia at the top of EU member states in terms of the suicide rate

According to Eurostat data, in 2006 the suicide rate in the EU was 10.6 per 100,000. On average, around 20 people aged 15-29, around 87 people aged 30-59 and around 56 people aged 60+ killed themselves every day. In 2006, 52,300 people in the EU died by suicide.

A comparison between EU member states shows that suicide rates are on average higher in Eastern Europe (including Slovenia), while Mediterranean countries together with the United Kingdom have the lowest suicide rates. Both Eurostat and WHO data show that in all age groups the suicide rate is the highest in Lithuania; although in recent years it has fallen from 47.9 in 1995 to 28.9 in 2006, it is still almost three times higher than the EU average. With the suicide rate of 22.8 Slovenia was second, followed by Hungary with 21.8, Latvia with 19.3, Finland with 19.0, Estonia with 16.2 and Poland with 14.3. The lowest suicide rates were registered in Cyprus (2.4) and Greece (3.1).

Compared to 2005, in 2006 the number of suicides in Slovenia grew by 26 (5.17%), 24 among men and 2 among women. In 2005 the suicide rate in Slovenia was 22 per 100,000.

Between 2000 and 2006 both in the EU and in Slovenia the suicide rate was falling: in 2006 the EU suicide rate was the lowest in the last six years, 10.9% lower than in 2000. In Slovenia the rate was the lowest in 2005, 22 per 100,000 or 26.9% lower than in 1998, when it was the highest in the past ten years amounting to 30.9 (31 per 100,000 population).
In 1998 when the suicide rate in Slovenia was the highest in the last ten years, 477 men and 135 women died by suicide. As regards women, the highest suicide rate was registered in 2000 when 155 women killed themselves.

North-eastern regions affected the most

Statistical regions with the highest suicide rates are located in the north-eastern part of Slovenia: in this part of our country the rate in 2006 was around 37 per 100,000 population. According to data collected by the Institute of Public Health, in 2006 the statistical regions most affected by suicide were Koroška, Spodnjeposavska, Podravska, Savinjska and Pomurska, and less affected were Notranjsko-kraška, Zasavska and Jugovzhodna Slovenija.

The most frequent method of committing suicide: intentional self-harm by hanging, strangulation and suffocation

Of all the methods of committing suicide, in 2006 the most frequent was intentional self-harm by hanging, strangulation and suffocation: 343 cases or 65% of all suicides (69.4% for men and 48.2% for women). For men the second most frequent method of committing suicide was intentional self-harm by a firearm (12.3%) and the third was intentional self-poisoning by gases and vapours (6.3%). For women the second most frequent method of committing suicide was intentional self-harm by drowning and submersion (13.2%), followed by self-poisoning (11.4%) and intentional self-harm by jumping from a high place (10.6%).

Statistical regions of Slovenia by suicide rate in 2006