Suicide Rate
Suicide Rate by country
Commentary
Notable countries
The lowest suicide rates in this dataset are in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (0.41 per 100k), Syria (0.59), and Jordan (0.6), with several Middle Eastern countries also clustered among the best performers. At the other end, Lesotho (28.66), South Korea (27.53), and Eswatini (27.23) have the highest rates, followed by Guyana and Uruguay above 24 per 100k. A notable surprise is South Korea’s presence among the worst rates despite many Asian countries appearing in the lowest-rate group.
Regional trends
By continent, North America (5.874) and Asia (6.015) have the lowest average suicide rates, both below the global mean of 8.563. Africa’s average is 7.81, also below the mean, while South America (10.69), Europe (12.38), and Oceania (12.44) are higher. Europe and Oceania stand out for the highest regional averages, and South America is elevated as well, consistent with several of the worst-performing countries coming from those regions.
Data source
Source: World Bank WDI 2021. Values are suicide rates per 100,000 people, with coverage for 184 countries. Lower values are better, and the figures reflect only countries with available data.
Interpretation
A higher value means more deaths by suicide per 100,000 people, so lower rates indicate better outcomes on this measure. The spread is wide, from 0.41 to 28.66, showing large cross-country differences around the mean of 8.563. Overall, the data suggest that suicide burden is unevenly distributed across countries and regions, with no single continent uniformly performing best or worst.