Ministers have been urged to treat suicide as a public health crisis after the rate at which people killed themselves in England and Wales reached the highest level in more than two decades.
The official figures, described by the suicide prevention charity Samaritans as “worse than expected”, showed 6,069 suicides were registered in the two nations in 2023, up from 5,642 in 2022 and the highest rate since 1999.
Three-quarters of the deaths were of males, but the female suicide rate reached its highest level since 1994, according to the annual Office for National Statistics figures.
“Rates increased across all age groups compared to 2022, especially among those aged 45 to 64 years,” said Vahé Nafilyan, the head of data and analysis for social care and health at the ONS.
“Suicide rates either increased or remained unchanged in each of the nine English regions, but the north-west saw the largest rise. Suicide leaves a devastating impact on individuals, families and communities, and we will continue to monitor suicide registrations, to support work to protect vulnerable people at risk.”
Jacqui Morrissey, the assistant director of influencing at Samaritans, said: “Based on these figures, over 900 people will have died by suicide in the 55 days since the new government took power but while we immediately heard about plans for more wind turbines, it is suicide prevention that has been left blowing in the wind. The government needs to get its priorities straight because lives depend on it.”
Samaritans called on the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to “commit to proper investment for suicide prevention with the same ambition that we have seen drive down smoking rates”.
Morrissey said: “These figures are the final wake-up call: suicide is preventable but not without real action.”
London had the lowest suicide rate of any region in England. The suicide rate for women across England and Wales was 5.7 per 100,000 people. The rate for men was 17.4 per 100,000 but increased to 25.5 for men aged 45 to 49.
A Department for Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Every suicide is a tragedy and these figures show a clearly worrying trend, which this government is committed to reversing.
“We know that people with mental health issues are not getting the support or care they need. That’s why we will fix our broken health system to ensure that we give mental health the attention and focus it deserves.
“Alongside acting to improve mental health support, we will work across government to tackle the underlying causes of unequal health outcomes including suicide, across the country.”
• In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counsellor. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org
