Suicide Facts, Suicide Statistics, Teen Suicide Statistics

It is a fact that suicide takes more lives every year than homicides do and yet people rarely talk about the critical need to address this, and other, painful suicide statistics. In fact, even though we have statistically analyzed suicide deaths significantly, little is done to reduce the risk of those who are particularly vulnerable.

Facts on the Risk Factors for Suicide

Some of the risk factors for suicide are non-modifiable (such as gender), while others can be treated to be mitigated.

Suicide risk factors (both chronic and acute) include:

• Demographics such as: being white, being an American Indian, older age, being male, being separated/divorced, being widowed early
• History of:

• Suicide attempts / prior suicide ideation
• Self-harm behavior
• Suicide in the family
• Parental history of violence, substance abuse, hospitalization, divorce
• Trauma or abuse
• Psychiatric hospitalization
• Violent/impulsive/reckless behaviors

• Presence of a major psychiatric disorder such as a mood, eating, substance abuse or personality disorder
• Presence of a major medical condition particularly involving functional impairment or chronic pain
• Traumatic brain injury
• Low self-esteem / high self-hatred
• Lack of family acceptance of sexual orientation
• Easy accessibility to firearms
• Stress
• Increased use of drugs and alcohol
• Anhedonia (inability to experience pleasure)
• Anxiety / panic
• Agitation
• Recent exposure to another's suicide

For all the facts on suicide risk factors, see The American Association of Suicidology fact sheet.

Suicide Statistics in the United States for 2011

2011 is the latest year for which suicide statistics are available. The following is a sampling of suicide facts and statistics according to official American Association of Suicidology data:

• There were 108.3 suicides per day equating to 39,518 deaths in 2011; this accounts for 1.6% of all deaths in the United States
• 78.4% of all suicides were male; 71.1% of all suicide were white males
• An average of one person every 13.3 minutes died of suicide
• There were almost one million suicide attempts in 2011
• Suicide overall ranks as the 10th leading cause of death, homicide ranks as the 16th
• Wyoming and Montana have the highest rates of suicide while New Jersey and the District of Columbia have the lowest

Teen Suicide Statistics

While the suicide facts and statistics in the general American population are staggering, facts and statistics about suicide in teens and young people are even more so. Teen suicide statistics provided by the American Association of Suicidology include:

• Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death in people under the age of 24
• In the young (age 15-24) suicide is responsible for 16.3% of deaths
• 282 children between the ages of 10-14 died by suicide in 2011
• One young person (under the age of 24) dies of suicide every 1 hour and 43 minutes
• For every suicide death, it's estimated that young people make 100-200 suicide attempts

Suicide Facts and Statistics

While these facts on suicide may seem disheartening, they are important to understand as they will allow for the creation of comprehensive anti-suicide initiatives.