Facts and Figures

• Suicide is the largest external cause of death in Australia. Every day 7 Australians take their own life.

• Suicide ranks in the top 10 causes of death in most western countries. In Australia, suicide is now the leading cause of death by injury, ahead of car accidents and homicides.

• Suicide is approximately 4 times more prevalent in males than females.

• Suicide is most common in people aged 25-49, accounting for more than half of all suicides.

• Among adolescents (12-24 years), suicide accounted for 25% of all male deaths and 15% of female deaths in 2002.

• Although rates have decreased slightly in the past few years, suicide mortality rates in Australia still rank in the top third of all countries.

• Suicide is a prominent public health problem in Australia. Over the past decade, more than 2000 people have died by suicide each year.

• Rates of suicide vary from year to year. In 2004, 2098 people died from suicide in Australia, a rate of 10.4 per 100,000. This represented 1.6% of all deaths registered in that year.

• In 2004, 1661 males (16.8 per 100,000) and 437 females (4.3 per 100,000) died by suicide. Thus, in 2004, males were almost 4 times more likely than females to die by suicide.

• Between 1997 and 2004, the suicide rate fell by 29%, with this rate of change similar for males (29%) and females (31%).

• The age standardised suicide rate for total males (16.8 per 100,000) in 2004 was lower than in any year in the previous decade (1994-2004). The age standardised rate for females (4.3 per 100,000) in 2004 was also lower than in any year in the previous decade (1994-2004). Despite these decreases, suicide remains a major external cause of death, accounting for more deaths than transport accidents between 1994 and 2004.

• The largest drop in suicide rates between 1997 and 2004 is observed for 20 to 24 year olds, with a fall of 51% in suicide rates for this group. This is followed closely by those aged 15 to 19 years, for which the suicide rate has fallen by 48%. In contrast, the smallest reduction in rates between 1997 and 2004 is seen for those aged 40 to 44 years, with a reduction of 16% between 1997 and 2004.

• Suicide is much more common among males than females in every state and territory, in line with trends in other Western countries. In contrast, more females than males intentionally harm themselves. The ratio of male to female suicides rose from 2:1 in the 1960s to over 4:1 in the mid-1990s. Throughout the early 2000s, the ratio of male to female suicides has been slightly below 4:1, and stood at 3.8:1 in 2004.

• The highest rate of suicide during 2000-2004 is evident in the Northern Territory (23.6 per 100,000), followed by Tasmania (14.7 per 100,000) and Queensland (13.5 per 100,000). In contrast, the ACT, New South Wales and Victoria all had rates lower than the national average of 10.4 per 100,000.

• Rates of male suicide fell in most states and territories between 1997 and 2004. Rates for Tasmania and the Northern Territory have generally increased since 1997, with some years of decreased rates.

• People are at higher risk of suicide while in hospital for treatment of a mental disorder and in the weeks following discharge from mental health in-patient hospital care.

• For both males and females, the highest rate of delib-erate self-harm occurs for those aged in their teens to middle age. In 1997-98, 78% of those who were hospitalised due to self-harm were aged between 15 and 44 years and the highest rates were for females aged 15 to 29 years.

• Self-report studies of self-harming behaviour suggest that 5-10% of teenagers may have deliberately harmed themselves in some way.

• People with a previous history of attempted suicide are at greatest risk of suicide.

• Mental disorders such as major depression and psychotic illness are associated with an increased risk of suicide, especially after discharge from hospital or when treatment has been reduced.

• People with alcohol or drug abuse problems have a higher risk of dying by suicide than the general population.

• People who are incarcerated – both Indigenous and non-Indigenous – are more likely to die by suicide than are other Australians.

• Considering all causes of death, suicide accounted for 15% of deaths among 15 to 19 year old males and 24% of deaths among 20 to 24 year old males in 2004. The corresponding percentage for females in both of these age groups is 17%.

• Since 1997, suicide rates among 15 to 19 year old males have decreased fairly consistently and in 2004, the rate was 7.5 per 100,000 – this is the lowest rate seen in this age group for at least 20 years. In contrast, for 15 to 19 year old females, the suicide rate has been relatively stable over the past 20 years at around 3 to 5 suicide deaths per 100,000. In 2004, 4.8 per 100,000 15 to 19 year old females had died by suicide.

• Similar to that seen for their younger counterparts, rates for 20 to 24 year old males also fell substantially between 1997 and 2004. In 1997, the suicide rate for this group was 42.8 per 100,000, compared with 20.0 per 100,000 in 2004.

• The percentage of all deaths attributable to suicide is much higher among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (4.2% in 2004) than other Australians (1.5% in 2004).