U.S. Suicide Statistics:

2001 Suicide Statistics

2004 Suicide Statistics

2005 Suicide Statistics



Suicide Rates, 1950-2003



U.S. Suicide Statistics (2001)

Emergency Room Visits

Emergency room visits for self-inflicted injury: 400,000

All suicides

Number of deaths: 30,622

Deaths per 100,000 population: 10.8

Firearm Suicides

Number of deaths: 16,869

Deaths per 100,000 population: 5.9

Suffocation Suicides

Number of deaths: 6,198

Deaths per 100,000 population: 2.2

Poisoning Suicides

Number of deaths: 5,191

Deaths per 100,000 population: 1.8

U.S. Suicide Statistics (2001)

Breakdown by Gender / Ethnicity / Young, Old Age Groups

Rate Per Number Per Day 100,000 % of Deaths Total .............30,622..........83.9.........10.8..........1.3 Males .............24,672..........67.6.........17.6..........2.1 Females.............5,950..........16.3..........4.1..........0.5 Whites.............27,710..........75.9.........11.9..........1.3 Nonwhites...........2,912...........8.0..........5.6..........0.9 Blacks..............1,957...........5.4..........5.3..........0.7 Elderly (65+ yrs.) .5,393..........14.8.........15.3..........0.3 Young (15-24 yrs.)..3,971..........10.9..........9.9.........12.3

U.S. Suicide Statistics (2001)

Further Breakdown by Gender / Ethnicity

Rate Per Group # of Suicides 100,000 White Male.......22,328........19.5 White Female .....5,382.........4.6 Nonwhite Male ....2,344.........9.3 Nonwhite Female ....568.........2.1 Black Male .......1,627.........9.2 Black Female........330.........1.7 Hispanic...........1850.........5.0

U.S. Suicide Statistics (2001)

Suicide Methods

Rate Per Number 100,000 % of Total Firearms..................16,869........5.9.........55.1 All Other Methods.........13,753........4.8.........49.9 Hanging or Suffocation.....6,198........2.2.........20.2 Poisoning..................5,191........1.8.........17.0 Falls........................651........0.2..........2.1 Cutting / Pieercing..........458........0.2..........1.5 Drowning.....................339........0.1..........1.1 Fire.........................147........0.1..........0.5

Note that firearms are, by far, the most common method for suicide (55% of all suicides are completed with a firearm). Thus it is imperative that a suicidal person not have access to a firearm.

Hanging or suffocation is used in about one out of five suicides, which is why you can never leave an acutely suicidal person alone for a second. People who have died by hanging have used virtually every conceivable thing to hang themselves with, including shoe laces, electric cords, belts, bedsheets,etc. Again, never leave an acutely suicidal person alone.

Poisoning accouts for slightly less than one out of five suicides.

The three most common methods of suicide – firearms, hanging, and poisoning – account for 92.3% of all suicides.

U.S. Suicide Statistics (2001)

Actual Suicides

1.3% of all deaths are from suicide.

On average, one suicide occurs every 17 minutes.

On average, an elderly person dies by suicide every 1 hour and 37 minutes.

On average, a young person (age 15-24) dies by suicide every 2 hours and 12 minutes.

Suicide is the eleventh leading cause of death for all Americans.

Suicide is the third leading cause of death for young people aged 15-24 year olds.

(1st = accidents, 2nd = homicide)

Suicide is the fifth leading cause of death for young people aged 5-14 year olds.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among college students.

Suicide is the eighth leading cause of death for males.

Suicide is the nineteenth leading cause of death for females.

More males die from suicide than females.

(4 male deaths by suicide for each female death by suicide.)

More people die from suicide than from homicide.

(Suicide ranks as the 11th leading cause of death; Homicide ranks 13th.)

73% of all suicide deaths are white males.

80% of all firearm suicide deaths are white males.

Among the highest rates (when categorized by gender and race) are suicide deaths for white men over 85. (54 per 100,000)

U.S. Suicide Statistics (2001)

Attempted Suicides

There are approximately 750,000 suicide attempts each year.

An estimated 5 million living Americans have attempted suicide.

More females attempt suicide than males.

(3 female attempts for each male attempt.)

U.S. Suicide Statistics (2001)

Survivors of Suicide

Each suicide intimately affects at least 6 other people. (estimate)

Based on the 742,000+ suicides from 1977 through 2001, it is estimated that the number of survivors of suicides is 4.45 million (1 out of every 64 Americans).

Since, on average, a suicide occurs every 17 minutes, then there are about 6 new suicide survivors every 17 minutes as well.

U.S. Suicide Statistics (1990-2001)

Suicide Rates

Breakdown by Age Groups

(Rates Per 100,000) Age 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 5-14 0.8 0.7 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.8 0.7 15-24 13.2 13.1 13.0 13.5 13.8 13.3 12.0 11.4 11.1 10.3 10.4 9.9 25-34 15.2 15.2 14.5 15.1 15.4 15.4 14.5 14.3 13.8 13.5 12.8 12.8 35-44 15.3 14.7 15.1 15.1 15.3 15.2 15.5 15.3 15.4 14.4 14.6 14.7 45-54 14.8 15.5 14.7 14.5 14.4 14.6 14.9 14.7 14.8 14.2 14.6 15.2 55-64 16.0 15.4 14.8 14.6 13.4 13.3 13.7 13.5 13.1 12.4 12.3 13.1 65-74 17.9 16.9 16.5 16.3 15.3 15.8 15.0 14.4 14.1 13.6 12.6 13.3 75-84 24.9 23.5 22.8 22.3 21.3 20.7 20.0 19.3 19.7 18.3 17.7 17.4 85+ 22.2 24.0 21.9 22.8 23.0 21.6 20.2 20.8 21.0 19.2 19.4 17.5 65+ 20.5 19.7 19.1 19.0 18.1 18.1 17.3 16.8 16.9 15.9 15.3 15.3 Total 12.4 12.2 12.0 12.1 12.0 11.9 11.6 11.4 11.3 10.7 10.7 10.8

Note the relatively low suicide rate in the 5-14 range. But keep in mind that very young children can, and sometimes do, die by suicide.

Also note the significant increase in the suicide rate in the 75+ range. The elderly are particularly vulnerable to suicide, and it is up to us to be alert for warning signs, and to get immediate help for those in need.

U.S. Suicide Statistics (1990-2001)

Suicide Rates

Breakdown by Gender / Ethnicity

(Rates Per 100,000) Group 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Males 20.4 20.1 19.6 19.9 19.8 19.8 19.3 18.7 18.6 17.6 17.5 17.6 Females 4.8 4.7 4.6 4.6 4.5 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.1 4.1 4.1 White 13.5 13.3 13.0 13.1 12.9 12.9 12.7 12.4 12.4 11.7 11.7 11.9 Nonwhite 7.0 6.8 6.8 7.1 7.2 6.9 6.7 6.5 6.2 6.0 5.9 5.6 Black 6.9 6.7 6.8 7.0 7.0 6.7 6.5 6.2 5.7 5.6 5.6 5.3

Note the significant difference in the rates between males and females – there are about 4 male deaths by suicide for each female death by suicide. But keep in mind that there are about 3 female attempts for every male attempt.

U.S. Suicide Statistics (2004) U.S. Suicide Statistics (2004)

Breakdown by Gender / Ethnicity /

Young, Old Age Groups All Ages Combined Elderly (65+ yrs) Youth (15-24 yrs) Group Number of Suicides Rate of Suicide Elderly Suicides Elderly Suicide Rate Youth Suicides Youth Suicide Rate Nation 32,439 11.1 5,198 14.3 4,316 10.4 Men 25,566 17.7 4,397 29.0 3,596 16.8 Women 6,873 4.6 801 3.8 720 3.6 Whites 29,251 12.3 4,924 15.4 3,610 11.0 Nonwhites 3,188 5.8 274 6.2 706 7.9 Blacks 2,019 5.2 148 4.8 465 7.2 White Men 23,081 19.6 4,180 31.1 3,016 17.9 White Women 6,170 5.1 744 4.0 594 3.8 Nonwhite Men 2,485 9.3 217 12.4 580 12.8 Nonwhite Women 703 2.4 57 2.2 126 2.8 Black Men 1,655 9.0 134 11.3 396 12.2 Black Women 364 1.8 14 * 0.7 69 2.2 There were 32,439 suicides in 2004. On average, someone attempts suicide every 40 seconds in the U.S. On average, 88 people die by suicide each day in the U.S. The national suicide rate is 11.1 per 100,000.



The highest suicide rate is for 65+ white males = 29.0 per 100,000 The highest rate for all ages combined is white males = 17.7 per 100,000 The lowest rate for all ages combined is black females = 1.8 per 100,000 Note that the elderly rate of 14.3 is significantly higher than the all-ages-combined rate of 11.1, which clearly indicates that people 65 or older are more likely to die by suicide than those below 65 years of age.

U.S. Suicide Statistics (2004)

Suicide Methods Method Percent of Total (32,439 suicides) Number of Suicides Firearms 51.6% 16,750 Hanging, strangulation, suffocation 22.6% 7,336 Poisons 17.9% 5,800 All other methods 7.9% 2,553 Firearms are still the most common method for suicide (51.6%), however when we break down the statistice by gender, we see that women use poisining more frequently than firearms (see below).

U.S. Suicide Statistics (2004)

Suicide Methods by Gender Method Men Women Men - Percent of Total Men - Number of Suicides (25,566 total) Women - Percent of Total Women - Number of Suicides (6,873 total) Firearms 56.8% 14,523 32.4% 2,227 Hanging, strangulation, suffocation 23.4% 5,980 19.7% 1,356 Poisons 12.5% 3,200 37.8% 2,600 All other methods 7.3% 1,863 10.0% 690 The most common suicide method for men is firearms = 56.8%



U.S. Suicide Statistics (2004)

Suicide Rates by Region (2004) Region (Subdivision Abbreviations) Rate Number West 12.4 8,373 South 11.8 12,557 Nation 11.1 32,439 Midwest 10.8 7,114 Northeast 8.1 4,395 The suicide rate is highest in the western region of the U.S. and lowest in the northeastern region.