The suicide rate in the European Union decreased by over 13 percent in the last decade and reached 10.2 deaths per hundred thousand inhabitants in 2022. Romania is below the European average of 10, registering 9.85 deaths per hundred thousand of inhabitants. The highest rate of suicides in Romania is recorded in Transylvania, and the data far exceeds the European average, according to Eurostat.
Overall, our country falls within the Union average in the field, but there are large differences between regions. The highest suicide rate in our country is in Transylvania, the Central Region, where over 14.02 suicides per hundred thousand inhabitants are recorded.
Next comes the North-East Region, which includes a large part of Moldova. Here we have a rate of 11.43. In the South-East Region, which includes Dobrogea and Southern Moldova, we have 9.99 suicides per hundred thousand inhabitants.
The North-West Region follows, with a rate of 9.6, Muntenia with 8.36, and Oltenia with 8.14.
The lowest suicide rate in Romania is in Banat, Western Region, with 7.38 suicides per hundred thousand inhabitants.
The suicide rate in the European Union decreased by over 13 percent in the last decade and reached 10.2 deaths per hundred thousand inhabitants in 2022.
Slovenia has the highest proportion, almost 20, followed by Lithuania and Hungary. At the opposite pole is Cyprus, which has the lowest rate – 2.7, followed by Greece and Italy.
In terms of regional data (NUTS2), the Limousin region of France had the highest standardized suicide mortality rate, with 21.9 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. This region was followed by Hungary’s Dél-Alföld (21.7) and Slovenia’s Vzhodna region (21.6). Conversely, the regions with the lowest suicide death rates were Voreio Aigaio in Greece (1.5), Mayotte in France (1.8) and Cyprus (2.7).
More suicide deaths among men
As in previous years, the suicide rate was higher among men than women, with men accounting for 76.7% of all suicide deaths. The highest number of deaths by suicide in the EU was recorded in the 45-64 age group, with 17,441 cases, representing 37% of the total. The 65 and over age group followed closely behind with 15,998 deaths, accounting for 34% of the total.