Northern Ireland Suicide Statistics For 2023
The latest figures published today by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) show that there were 221 suicide deaths registered in 2023.
And research has shown that people in the most deprived areas are more than twice as likely to experience suicide compared to those in better off areas.
Since 2015, annual numbers of registered suicides have fluctuated, ranging from 195 in 2016 to 237 in 2021.
Considering a three-year average trend drawing on post-review data (from 2015), the average rose from 204.7 in 2017 to 220.3 in 2021 and has remained at a similar level since then (220.3 in 2023) showing an increase in suicide deaths.
The suicide rate (age-standardised) in Northern Ireland was 13.3 deaths per 100,000 population in 2023. This rate has fluctuated since the start of the revised series (2015), ranging from 11.9 per 100,000 in 2016 to 14.3 per 100,000 in both 2018 and 2021.
171 (77.4 per cent) of the 221 registered suicide deaths in 2023 were males and 50 (22.6 per cent) were females.
The age-standardised rate for males increased from 19.2 per 100,000 males in 2022 to 20.9 in 2023, while for females, the equivalent rate increased from 5.7 per 100,000 females in 2022 to 5.9 in 2023.
The suicide rate (crude rate) per 100,000 population (aged 16+) was higher among those with a marital status of single (21.7) or divorced (17.6), compared to those recorded as married (9.6) or widowed (8.3).
The percentage of suicides in 2023 within Northern Ireland’s most deprived areas (28.5 per cent) was over twice that of the least deprived areas (13.1 per cent).
The Northern Ireland 2023 age-standardised rate of 13.3 suicides per 100,000 population was lower than the rate for Scotland (14.6 suicides per 100,000 population) but higher than the rate for England and Wales (11.4 suicides per 100,000).
It should be noted, however, that cross country comparisons will be affected by differences in data collection and collation processes in the separate jurisdictions.
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