United Kingdom
Suicides
Graphs on this page:
Supporting information:
Key points
- At 530 in 2009, the number of suicides amongst young adults aged 15 to 24 is only two-thirds of the number of a decade previously. There have, however, been no reductions since 2006.
- Scottish suicides are a fifth of all young adult suicides in Great Britain, which means that the suicide rate in Scotland is around 5 times that in England and Wales.
- Four-fifths of young adult suicides are males.
- As well as suicides, young men are also much more likely to die from accidents than are young women.
Graph 3: Young adult deaths more generally
Why this indicator was originally chosen
Suicide rates among young adults in this country have been a source of long-standing concern both nationally and internationally. 1 Suicide is now the second most common cause of death of young men after accidents, claiming more lives than cancer. 2
What makes suicide an issue in terms of poverty and social exclusion is the connection between suicide and socio-economic conditions. For example, the unemployment rates of a sample of males and females who attempted suicide during the 1980s were considerably higher than the average unemployment rates for the age group. 3
Definitions and data sources
The first graph shows the number of suicides in Great Britain among those aged 15 to 24, with the data shown separately for England and Wales and for Scotland (because Scotland is such a large proportion of the total). The figures have been adjusted for population changes over the period using ONS population estimates for each year.
The second graph shows, for the latest year, a breakdown of the suicides among those aged 15 to 24 by gender. The data relates to Great Britain.
On the advice of the Office for National Statistics, the suicide data includes deaths recorded as ‘undetermined intent’, where there is an open verdict, and therefore includes deaths where suicide was the probable verdict as well as those where suicide was formally given as the verdict. In other words, it includes ICD-10 codes Y10-Y34 (event of undetermined intent) as well as X60-X84 (intentional self-harm). The data is based on year of registration (rather than year of occurrence).
The data sources for the first two graphs are ONS DR reports (England and Wales) and the General Registrar Office (Scotland).
The third graph shows, for the latest year, a breakdown of all deaths among those age 15 to 24 by gender. The deaths are divided into four categories: suicides (as above), accidents (ICD-10 codes V01-X59), diseases and cancers (A00-N99) and other (mostly deaths from injury/poisoning where the intent is unknown plus assaults). The data source is ONS Mortality Division (the data is not publicly available) and the data relates to England and Wales.
Overall adequacy of indicator: medium. Classification of a death as suicide depends upon the practices of coroners’ courts and is therefore potentially affected by administrative or procedural changes.
Relevant 2007 Public Service Agreements
None directly relevant.
The numbers
Graph 1
| Thousands | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Suicides - Unadjusted | Suicides - Adjusted for population changes | ||
| England and Wales | Scotland | England and Wales | Scotland | |
| 1995 | 598 | 106 | 676 | 109 |
| 1996 | 559 | 114 | 642 | 120 |
| 1997 | 590 | 127 | 687 | 137 |
| 1998 | 651 | 114 | 763 | 124 |
| 1999 | 550 | 127 | 643 | 139 |
| 2000 | 555 | 143 | 644 | 156 |
| 2001 | 506 | 126 | 577 | 136 |
| 2002 | 475 | 126 | 530 | 135 |
| 2003 | 492 | 103 | 536 | 109 |
| 2004 | 476 | 99 | 508 | 104 |
| 2005 | 445 | 102 | 465 | 106 |
| 2006 | 399 | 87 | 409 | 89 |
| 2007 | 395 | 115 | 398 | 116 |
| 2008 | 452 | 95 | 452 | 95 |
| 2009 | 432 | 95 | 432 | 95 |
Graph 2
| Males | 413 |
|---|---|
| Females | 114 |
Graph 2
| Cause of death | Males | Females |
|---|---|---|
| Suicides | 339 | 93 |
| Accidents | 692 | 170 |
| Diseases and cancers | 673 | 402 |
| Other | 195 | 92 |