Suicide Rate by Country — Every Decade Since 1800

Statistics often reduce the complexity of the human experience to a single decimal, yet these figures represent the most profound indicator of collective mental health, social despair, and the urgent need for human connection and support systems. When we examine the prevalence of self-inflicted death across 155 countries, we are not merely looking at data points; we are tracing the limits of endurance within societies. From the rate of 0.58 per 100,000 in Syria to the rate of 31.02 per 100,000 in Lesotho, these numbers signal shifting landscapes of grief and resilience.

Tracking these rates decade by decade since 1800 reveals a haunting historical arc. The data highlights significant disparities, such as the median rate of 7.35 per 100,000 in Ivory Coast, set against the higher ends of the spectrum in nations like Russia at 21.19 per 100,000 or South Korea at 27.35 per 100,000. While social structures evolve, the consistency with which these trends appear across different eras suggests that the stressors impacting individual lives are deeply rooted in the broader environments we inhabit and build.

For any person born in a specific time and place, these statistics hold a mirror to the specific pressures of their era. Whether a life is lived in a society with a lower incidence—such as Jordan at 0.63 per 100,000 or Saudi Arabia at 1.01 per 100,000—or in countries facing higher pressures like Lithuania at 23.32 per 100,000 or Uruguay at 23.76 per 100,000, the data invites a quiet reflection on the fragility of our shared human story. You are invited to explore the table to compute what these numbers meant for a real life born there.