Almost 8 in 10 suicides among men across EU

Around 48 700 people in the European Union (EU) died as a result of intentional self-harm in 2016, corresponding to 1% of all deaths reported that year. Almost 8 in 10 of these suicides (77%) were among men, says the latest Eurostat report.

On average, there were almost 11 deaths per 100 000 inhabitants resulting from suicide in the EU in 2016.

In 2017, among the EU Member States, Lithuania registered the highest rate of suicide at 26 deaths per 100 000 inhabitants, followed by Slovenia (20 deaths per 100 000 inhabitants), Latvia (18), Estonia and Hungary (both 17).

At the opposite end of the scale, Cyprus recorded the lowest standardised death rates for suicide (4 deaths per 100 000 inhabitants), followed by Greece and Malta (both 5), Italy (6) and Slovakia (7).

In Romania, the rate of suicide is below 10 per 100 000 inhabitants.

When looking at regional data (NUTS2), the Central and Western regions of Lithuania recorded the highest standardised death rate for suicide at 28 deaths per 100 000 inhabitants. This was followed by Luxembourg, in the Walloon Region in Belgium, with 25 deaths per 100 000 inhabitants, the South Great Plain in Hungary (23) and East Slovenia (23).

At the other end of the scale, the regions with the smallest number of deaths resulting from suicide were: Mayotte in France (in 2016), Campania in Italy, Ceuta in Spain and Central Greece (Sterea Ellada) in Greece. All of these recorded a standardised death rate for suicide of 3 deaths per 100 000 inhabitants.