Statistics

Australian Bureau of Statistics
Suicide data 2005

(http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/mf/3309.0/)

In 2005, there were 2101 registered deaths by suicide. Nearly 80% of these were male.

Suicide counts for 1.6% of total deaths, across both sexes and all ages. However, when broken down into gender and age brackets, the figures are often much higher. For example, between the ages 20 to 34, suicide is the cause of roughly 25% of male deaths. Female deaths in the same age bracket account for roughly 17% of all deaths.

Across all ages, the suicide death rate for males in the years 1995-2005 and 16.4 per 100 000; for females, 4.3 per 100 000. The suicide death rate for males is roughly four times that of the rate for females.

In 2005, the age group of males with the highest suicide rate was the 30-34 group, with 27.5 per 100 000. The lowest rate was in the group 15-19, with 9.5 per 100 000. For females, the age group of the highest suicide rate was the 35-39 group, with a rate of 6.9 per 100 000. The age group with the lowest was the 15-19 group, with 3.6 per 100 000.

51% of all suicides in 2005 were by hanging. Poisoning (by drugs, exhaust fumes and other methods) was the method used in 28% of cases. Firearms accounted for 7% of deaths, and the remaining 14% accounted for methods such as drowning, jumping from a height, and other methods. Suicide caused by firearms more than halved in the decade 1995-2005, going from 389 to 147.

Suicide rates in each state and territory of Australia vary, due to accuracy and consistency of registration, and different coronial processes. Across the years 2001-2005, the age and gender-standardised suicide rates are

• NSW: 10 per 100 000
• Vic: 11 per 100 000
• QLD: 14 per 100 000
• SA: 14 per 100 000
• WA: 12 per 100 000
• Tas: 16 per 100 000
• NT: 24 per 100 000
• ACT: 10.5 per 100 000
• Australia: 12 per 100 000

The Northern Territory has a rate double that of the national rate. Tasmania has a rate 39% higher than the national rate. Queensland and South Australia have 14% higher than the national rate. These figures are accounted for by the fact that suicide rates in rural areas are higher than those in metropolitan areas.

Suicide in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Populations

(http://www.responseability.org/site/index.cfm?display=25861#5)

Table 1: Proportion of total deaths by suicide for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians compared with other Australians, for selected states, 2004.

State	Origin	Percentage of Total Deaths %
NSW	Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander	3.1
	Other Australians	1.2
QLD	Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander	3.6
	Other Australians	1.8
SA	Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander	5.3
	Other Australians	1.4
WA	Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander	4.0
	Other Australians	1.6
NT	Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander	5.3
	Other Australians	6.0

Current data suggests that in 2004, there were 83 registered deaths by suicide of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the five states and territories considered. This number of suicides accounted for 4.2% of all deaths of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. In contrast, suicide deaths in the same states and territories represented only 1.5% of deaths among other Australians.

Suicide is more concentrated in the earlier adult years for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people than for other Australians, with the highest rates occurring in early to mid adulthood. Detailed data available for WA, SA and NT for 1997-2001 reveal that in the 15-24 age group, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander male suicide rates were 3.4 times that for other Australian males and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander female suicide rates were 6.1 that for other Australian females (Thomson et al, 2004).

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) statistics 2002

(http://www.oecdobserver.org/news/fullstory.php/aid/1791/Suicide_battle.html)

• Average suicide rate across the OECD in 2005 was 19.6 per 100 000 for males, and 5.6 per 100 000 for females.
• The country with the lowest rates, for males and females, was Greece, with 4.0 and 0.9 per 100 000 respectively.
• The country with the highest female suicide rate was South Korea, with 11.1. The country with the highest male suicide rate was Hungary, with a rate of 39.9 (Hungary’s male suicide rate was 25% higher than the preceding country, Finland).

Suicide rates in the United States 2004

(http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus06.pdf#046)

• The age-adjusted suicide rate for both sexes in 2004 was 10.9 per 100 000. For males the rate was 18 per 100 000; females 4.5 per 100 000.