Suicide Rate
Suicide rate per 100,000 people.
Why did we include this measure?
Suicide is arguably the most extreme indicator of mental illness. Suicide is also consistently and accurately measured over time.
How does the US rank globally?
- Specific Measure: (Same as above.)
(Source: Authors’ analysis of World Health Organization data).
- Percentage of countries the US outperforms: 16% (out of 106 countries)
- International Rank Trend: Worsening
National Trend Worsening
What do the data show?
US suicides have been generally rising, overall and relative to other countries, ranking just below Botswana, Japan, and Finland. A steep, temporary drop in suicides occurred in 2020, coinciding with the COVID pandemic, but these numbers are once again at an all-time high.
What might explain these patterns?
The US suicide rate is higher than almost every other country in part because of the much broader availability of guns, which are, by far, the most common means of suicide. Our suicide rate is also likely rising over time because of a decline in mental health and a rise in isolation and distress reflected in the other measures.
When we look across all these mental health measures, along with survey-based measures in Life Satisfaction and other sections, it is clear that our mental health is poor and getting worse. The causes of mental illness are many and complex, but some potential reasons include social media, social isolation, economic disparity, and increased access to addictive substances and behaviors.
For more information about data sources and treatments, download the Data Notes.