Deaths by suicide in the EU down by 13% in a decade

In 2021, there were 47 346 deaths due to suicide in the EU, corresponding to 0.9% of all deaths reported that year. This is the equivalent of an average of 10.2 deaths per 100 000 people.

Compared with 2011, the first year for which there is data, the number of deaths by suicide decreased by 13.3% (down 7 277 deaths). In 2011, the standardised death rate for suicide in the EU was 12.4 deaths per 100 000 people.

Among EU countries, Slovenia registered the highest rate of suicide in 2021 with 19.8 deaths per 100 000 inhabitants, followed by Lithuania (19.5) and Hungary (15.7).

At the opposite end of the scale, Cyprus recorded the lowest standardised death rates for suicide (2.7 deaths per 100 000 inhabitants), ahead of Greece (4.2) and Italy (5.9).

When looking at regional data, the Limousin region in France recorded the highest standardised death rate for suicide at 21.9 deaths per 100 000 inhabitants. This region was followed by the Dél-Alföld region in Hungary (21.7) and Vzhodna region in Slovenia (21.6). By contrast, the regions with the lowest suicide death rates were Voreio Aigaio in Greece (1.5), Mayotte in France (1.8) and Cyprus (2.7).

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/edn-20240909-1