Quick Links

• Consistent with previous years, males are around three times more likely to die by suicide than females. Males accounted for 75.3% of deaths by suicide (2,419 deaths), while females accounted for 24.7% (795 deaths).
• The median age at death for men who died by suicide was 45.8 years.
• The age-standardised suicide rate was 18.0 in 2023 and 18.9 in 2022. Whilst the suicide rate for females appears to have decreased since 2022, it should not be reported as such. Further revisions of the 2023 dataset will provide more accurate data for time series comparisons.
• Suicide was the 11th leading cause of death for males and the highest ranked external cause of death in males.
• Men aged 55-59 are particularly impacted representing 9.5% of suicides of males. They had the highest rates of those aged under 80 years (30.9 per 100,000). They have had the largest increase in their age-specific suicide rate for Australians aged 15 and above (up 22% from 25.2 per 100,000).
• Globally, men also had higher age-standardised suicide rates (12.6 per 100,000 in 2019) which is 2.3 times higher than women. In Australia, the suicide rate for men is 3.1 times higher than women in 2019 (20.1 vs 6.4 per 100,000).

• Females aged between 50-54 years had the highest age-specific suicide rate with a rate of 10.0 deaths per 100,000 females. It accounted for 10.7% of suicide of females, coincidentally the highest proportion of female suicide deaths.
• The median age at death for women who died by suicide was 44.4 years.
• The age-standardised suicide for women was 5.8 in 2023 and 6.1 in 2022. Whilst the suicide rate for females appears to have decreased since 2022, it should not be reported as such. Further revisions of the 2023 dataset will provide more accurate data for time series comparisons.
• *The ‘sex’ variable has traditionally been interpreted as reflecting the sex of the deceased, as reported at birth. In recent years, some states and territories have amended their jurisdictional-based Births, Deaths and Marriages legislation to allow for gender identity to be reported or updated on birth and death registrations. For a death registration, the change in legislation means that a person’s gender identity may be recorded. The terms ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ are interrelated and often used interchangeably, however they are two distinct concepts, and a person’s sex may differ to their gender identity. Data for ‘sex’ in this publication may refer to: 

• • the person’s sex reported at birth. This is currently how the vast majority of deaths are captured. 

• • the person’s gender identity.
• Data for sex is output in tables as ‘males’ and ‘females’ only. Sex not stated may be included in totals. 

• In 2023 there were 275 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who died by suicide across Australia). The number of suicides of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people increased across all jurisdictions when comparing 2014-18 with 2019-23 (864 vs 1,196 deaths).
• The median age of death by suicide of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples Australia was 33.0 years across Australia, more than a decade younger than the median age of death by suicide for the general population of 45.5 years.
• Suicide was the 2nd leading cause of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and 8th for women in 2023. 
• The suicide rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who died between 2014 and 2023 increased by 20% from 2014-2018 to 2019-2023 (20.3 vs 24.3 per 100,000). 

• In 2022, there were 94 children (Australians aged 5-17 years) who died by suicide which accounted for 18.5% of all child deaths. This represents a rate of 2.2 per 100,000 children.
• Suicide has overtaken land transport accidents as the leading cause of child death in Australia in 2022.
• Males had a suicide rate of 2.4 per 100,000 children (53 deaths) and females had a suicide rate of 2.0 per 100,000 (41 deaths).
• Over 87% of children who died by suicide were aged 14-17 years (82 deaths).
• Whilst the suicide rate for children has increased from 2022 (1.8), it remains lower than the rates in 2019-2021 (ranges from 2.4 – 2.8 per 100,000 children).

• When looking at State and Territory data, Northern Territory had the highest age-standardised rate of deaths by suicide at 17.0 per 100,000.
• All states except WA and Tasmania had decreases in the rates of between 2022 and 2023. 
• Age-standardised rates of death by suicide were higher in regional Australia: 15.5 deaths per 100,000 outside capital cities, compared with 10.0 deaths per 100,000 in capital cities in 2023.
• Rates have decreased in regional Australia, from 16.2 deaths per 100,000 in 2022 and decreased in capital cities from 10.5 deaths per 100,000 in 2022. 

• Those who were born in Australia had a suicide rate of 14.7 deaths per 100,000 people, which was the highest suicide rate by region of birth and 75% higher than the suicide rate for those born overseas (8.4 per 100,000).
• Those with a country of birth in Northern Ireland had the highest suicide rate, at 20.9 per 100,000 people.
• Those with a country of birth in Poland had the lowest suicide rate, at 10.3 per 100,000 people.  

• The proportion of suicide deaths recording at least one risk factor was 83.3% with psychosocial risk factors being the most commonly reported risk factor (present in almost 67.4% of deaths of people who died by suicide.) 
• The three most frequently occurring risk factors for Australians of all ages were: mood [affective] disorders (37.5%), suicide ideation (35.2%) and problems in spousal relationship circumstances (23.7%).
• This coincides with 2023 data from Suicide Prevention Australia’s Community Tracker that reveals that close to two in five (37%) Australians who have experienced suicidal behaviour in the past 12 months say they experienced elevated distress due to family and relationship breakdown. This was the third-ranked cause of distress preceded by cost of living and personal debt (53%) and social isolation and loneliness (40%)
• The three most frequently occurring risk factors for men of all ages were: mood [affective] disorders (35.1%), suicide ideation (33.3%) and problems in spousal relationship circumstances (27.9%). Males aged 25-44 years were the most likely age group to have substance abuse mentioned as a risk factor.
• The three most frequently occurring risk factors for women of all ages were: mood [affective] disorders (44.9%), suicide ideation (34.3%) and personal history of self-harm (32.5%). 

• Consistent with previous years, males are around 3 times more likely to die by suicide than females. Males accounted for 75.6% of deaths by suicide (2,455 deaths), while females accounted for 24.4% (794 deaths).
• The median age at death for men who died by suicide was 46.0 years.
• The age-standardised suicide rate increased from 18.3 in 2021 to 18.8 in 2022.
• Suicide was the 11th leading cause of death for males and the highest ranked external cause of death in males.
• Men aged 45-49 are particularly impacted with 10.7% of suicides of males. They had the highest rates of those aged under 80 years (32.6 per 100,000). They have had the largest increase in their age-specific suicide rate (up 9.4 deaths per 100,000).

• Females aged over 85 years had the highest age-specific suicide rate for the first time since the beginning of the ABS mortality data time series (starts in 1968) with a rate of 10.6 deaths per 100,000 females. It accounted for 4.4% of suicide of females.
• The median age at death for women who died by suicide was 44.1 years.
• The age-standardised suicide rate decreased from 6.1 in 2021 to 5.9 in 2022.
• Those aged between 45-49 years had the highest age-specific suicide rate of females aged under 85 years (8.8 deaths per 100,000).
• The highest proportion of suicide occurred in those aged between 25-29 years (9.4%).

• In 2022 there were 239 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who died by suicide across Australia). The number of suicides of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people increased across all jurisdictions when comparing 2013-17 with 2018-22.
• The median age of death by suicide of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples Australia was 33.4 across Australia, more than a decade younger than the median age of death by suicide for the general population of 45.6 years.
• Suicide was the 2nd leading cause of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and 10th for females in 2022. For the 10 year period (2013-2022), suicide remains the fifth leading cause of death. The suicide rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who died between 2013 and 2022 increased by 17.9% from 2013-2017 to 2018-2022.

• When looking at State and Territory data, NT had the highest age-standardised rate of deaths by suicide at 20.5 per 100,000.
• All states except Queensland, Western Australia, and the Australian Capital Territory had increases in the number of suicides between 2021 and 2022.

• Those who were born in Australia had a suicide rate of 14.7 deaths per 100,000 people, which was the highest suicide rate by region of birth and 79.3% higher than the suicide rate for those born overseas (8.2 per 100,000).
• Those with a country of birth in the Oceania and Antarctic region (excluding Australia) had the highest suicide rate, at 14.2 per 100,000 people.
• Those with a country of birth in Southern and Central Asia had the lowest suicide rate, at 4.2 per 100,000 people.

• The proportion of suicide deaths recording at least one risk factor was 85.8% with psychosocial risk factors being the most commonly reported risk factor (present in almost two-thirds of deaths of people who died by suicide.
• The three most frequently occurring risk factors for Australians of all ages were: mood disorders (36.9%), suicide ideation (25.7%) and problems in spousal relationship circumstances (25.1%).
• The three most frequently occurring risk factors for men of all ages were: mood disorders (34.9%), problems in spousal relationship circumstances (26.6%), and suicide ideation (24.6%). Problems in spousal relationships overtook mood disorders as the top risk factor in the 25-44 male age group for the first time and can include separation and divorce as well as arguments and domestic violence situations (36.1%).
• The three most frequently occurring risk factors for women of all ages were: mood disorders (43.3%), personal history of self-harm (34.0%) and suicide ideation (28.8%).

• As in 2020, suicide was the most common cause of death for young people aged 15-24 years. 402 young people aged 15-24 died by suicide, representing 13.0 deaths by suicide per 100,000 people.
• However, this is a decrease from the 454 suicide deaths for young people aged 15-24 in 2020
• Almost one quarter of deaths in those aged 15-44 are due to suicide, the leading cause of death for this age group.

• Consistent with previous years, males are around 3 times more likely to die by suicide than females. Males accounted for 75% of deaths by suicide (2358 deaths), while females accounted for 25% (786 deaths).
• Men aged 50-54 are particularly impacted with 9.1% of suicides of males. They had the highest rates of those aged under 80 years.

• In 2021 there were 219 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who died by suicide across Australia). The age-standardised rate of deaths by suicide amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people over 2012 to 2016 and 2017 to 2021 was double – compared to the rate for non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the same period.
• The median age of death by suicide of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples Australia was 30.2 across Australia, more than a decade younger than the median age of death by suicide for the general population of 44.8 years.

• When looking at State and Territory data, NT had the highest age-standardised rate of deaths by suicide at 18.4 per 100,000
• All states except Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory had decreases in the number of suicides between 2020 and 2021. Queensland (3%) and Australian Capital Territory (14%) reported increases.
• Age-standardised rates of death by suicide were higher in regional Australia: 16.7 deaths per 100,000 outside capital cities, compared with 9.8 deaths per 100,000 in capital cities.
• And rates have increased in regional Australia, up from 15.5 deaths per 100,000 in 2020, while rates in capital cities have fallen from 10.3 deaths per 100,000.

• The proportion of suicide deaths recording at least one risk factor was 90% with psychosocial risk factors being the most commonly reported risk factor (present in almost two-thirds of deaths of people who died by suicide.
• The three most frequently occurring psychosocial risk factors were problems in relationship with spouse or partner (23.2%), personal history of self-harm (22.7%), and disruption of family by separation and divorce (9.7%).
• Mental and behavioural disorders were present in almost 63 percent of deaths of people who died by suicide.
• People who died by suicide had an average of three to four risk factors mentioned.

• 65,000 suicide attempts each year (est.)
• It is estimated that more than 500,000 Australians have attempted suicide at some time in their life.

Further information: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)

• In 2020, 454 young people aged 15-24 died by suicide, representing 21.2 deaths by suicide per 100,000 people. Over one-third of deaths in 15-24 year olds are due to suicide.
• Suicide was the most common cause of death for adults aged 15-44, with 1,612 deaths by suicide in this group.

• Consistent with previous years, males are around three times more likely to die by suicide than females. Males accounted for 75.9% of deaths by suicide (2,384 deaths), this represents an age-standardised suicide death rate of 18.6 per 100,000 people (compared with a rate of 5.8 for females).
• Men aged over 85 are particularly impacted with 36.2 deaths by suicide per 100,000.

• In 2020 there were 223 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who died by suicide.
• The median age of death by suicide of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was 31.3 years, more than a decade younger than the median age of death by suicide for the general population of 43.5 years.

• When looking at State and Territory data, NT had the highest age-standardised rate of deaths by suicide at 20 per 100,000.
• All states except Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory had decreases in the number of suicides between 2019 and 2020.
• Age-standardised rates of death by suicide were higher in regional Australia: 15.7 deaths per 100,000 outside capital cities, compared with 10.3 deaths per 100,000 in capital cities.
• The largest difference was in Western Australia with an age-standardised death by suicide rate of 12.7 per 100,000 in Greater Perth, compared with 20.8 per 100,000 in the rest of the state.

We can never underestimate the impact that every life lost to suicide has on family, friends, workplaces and the broader community. Over 10 million Australian adults are estimated to know someone who has died by suicide, and 1 in 2 young people are impacted by suicide by the time they turn 25. The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data shows that around 9 lives are lost per day to suicide.

These statistics are based on 2020 data which was released by the ABS on 29 September 2021.

• 3,139 Australians died by suicide in 2020, which represents an age-standardised suicide death rate of 12.1 per 100,000 people.
• This is a decrease of around 6.6% compared with the 12.9 age-standardised suicide death rate reported for 2019.
• However, over the previous ten years the age-standardised suicide death rate per 100,000 people has increased from 10.5 in 2011 to 12.1 in 2020, an increase of 15.2%.
• Suicide was the 15th most common cause of death overall (down from 13th in 2019), accounting for 1.9% of deaths.
• The median age of death by suicide was 43.5 years, compared to 81.7 years for all causes of death. Because suicide frequently occurs at a younger age than other causes of death the potential years of life lost are high. As in in previous years, in 2020 suicide was the cause of death resulting in the highest number of potential years of life lost: 109,525 years. This was more than half again (57.7%) as many years higher as the next most significant cause.

Young People

• In 2020, 454 young people aged 15-24 died by suicide, representing 21.2 deaths by suicide per 100,000 people. Over one-third of deaths in 15-24 year olds are due to suicide.
• Suicide was the most common cause of death for adults aged 15-44, with 1,612 deaths by suicide in this group.

Men

• Consistent with previous years, males are around three times more likely to die by suicide than females. Males accounted for 75.9% of deaths by suicide (2,384 deaths), this represents an age-standardised suicide death rate of 18.6 per 100,000 people (compared with a rate of 5.8 for females).
• Men aged over 85 are particularly impacted with 36.2 deaths by suicide per 100,000.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People

• In 2020 there were 223 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who died by suicide.
• The median age of death by suicide of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was 31.3 years, more than a decade younger than the median age of death by suicide for the general population of 43.5 years.

Region

• When looking at State and Territory data, NT had the highest age-standardised rate of deaths by suicide at 20 per 100,000.
• All states except Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory had decreases in the number of suicides between 2019 and 2020.
• Age-standardised rates of death by suicide were higher in regional Australia: 15.7 deaths per 100,000 outside capital cities, compared with 10.3 deaths per 100,000 in capital cities.
• The largest difference was in Western Australia with an age-standardised death by suicide rate of 12.7 per 100,000 in Greater Perth, compared with 20.8 per 100,000 in the rest of the state.

Risk Factors

• In 2020, over 90% of people who died by suicide had at least one risk factor reported. Both mental and behavioural disorders and psychosocial risk factors were present in over two-thirds of deaths of people who died by suicide. People who died by suicide had an average of 3-4 risk factors mentioned.
• The proportion of suicide deaths recording at least one psychosocial risk factor was 67.1%.
• The three most frequently occurring psychosocial risk factors for men were: a personal history of self-harm (19.5% of deaths by suicide), disruption of family by separation and divorce (14%), and problems in relationship with spouse or partner (11.8%).
• The three most frequently occurring psychosocial risk factors for women were: a personal history of self-harm (32.8% of deaths by suicide), problems in relationship with spouse or partner (10.9%), and disappearance or death of family member (9.7).

Other Statistics

• 65,000 suicide attempts each year (est.)
• It is estimated that more than 500,000 Australians have attempted suicide at some time in their life.

Further information: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)

• In 2020, over 90% of people who died by suicide had at least one risk factor reported. Both mental and behavioural disorders and psychosocial risk factors were present in over two-thirds of deaths of people who died by suicide. People who died by suicide had an average of 3-4 risk factors mentioned.
• The proportion of suicide deaths recording at least one psychosocial risk factor was 67.1%.
• The three most frequently occurring psychosocial risk factors for men were: a personal history of self-harm (19.5% of deaths by suicide), disruption of family by separation and divorce (14%), and problems in relationship with spouse or partner (11.8%).
• The three most frequently occurring psychosocial risk factors for women were: a personal history of self-harm (32.8% of deaths by suicide), problems in relationship with spouse or partner (10.9%), and disappearance or death of family member (9.7).

• 65,000 suicide attempts each year (est.)
• It is estimated that more than 500,000 Australians have attempted suicide at some time in their life.

Further information: Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)