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Suicide Statistics 2021

There were 512 deaths of people by suicide in Ireland in 2021, but late registrations impact comparability across years

Online ISSN: 2009-6747
CSO statistical publication, , 11am
Late Registrations

All deaths attributable to external causes are referred to the Coroner. As such, these deaths are registered after the standard three-month time period, and often much later than the 22-month deadline for CSO annual publications.

Key Findings

  • In 2021, there were 512 deaths of people by suicide in Ireland, unchanged from the number recorded in 2017.

  • The proportion of deaths of people by suicide for males has remained broadly similar between 2017 and 2021, at around eight in ten deaths.

  • Over the five-year period from 2017 to 2021, 2018 recorded the largest number of female deaths due to suicide in a single year at 143.

  • Of the 512 deaths by suicide in 2021, the highest number occurred among people aged between 55 and 59 years at 58 deaths.

  • In 2021, both males and females aged 50 to 54 years had the highest crude suicide rate per 100,000 with 29.5 for males and 9.2 for females.

  • Just over one in every ten deaths (12.7%) of people by suicide in 2021 were to those aged 65 years and older, which has remained broadly similar over the 5-year period 2017 to 2021 (range of 10.9% to 12.7%).

  • In 2021, Dublin City was the local authority with the highest number of deaths of people by suicide at 68. 

  • Between 2017 and 2021 a total of 2,631 deaths of people by suicide occurred, of which Dublin City recorded the highest number (297) and Leitrim the fewest (17).

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (25 November 2024) published Suicide Statistics 2021.

Commenting on the release, Seán O'Connor, Statistician in the Life Events and Demography section of the CSO, said: “All deaths attributable to external causes are referred to the Coroner. As such, a lag can occur as to when these deaths are registered with the General Register Office (GRO), and in some cases they can be registered much later than the 22-month deadline to produce the CSO's Vital Statistics Annual Reports. This impact can be particularly pronounced in deaths due to external causes, which can include deaths due to suicide.

For instance, the 2021 Annual Report published on 31 October 2023, indicated that 449 deaths occurred of people due to suicide. The updated figures published in today’s release show this has increased by 14% to 512 deaths. Given the impact of these late registrations, particularly for external causes of mortality, the CSO introduced a range of tables to take account of late registered deaths. 

It should be noted, given the number of late notifications, care should be taken when comparing external causes of mortality across time, as this data is more likely to have been revised to take into account the late registration of such deaths.

The Results

Analysing the 2021 data, of the 512 deaths of people due to suicide in 2021, just under seven in ten deaths were to those who were 35 years and over (66%). Examining deaths by sex, males accounted for 78.3% of deaths by suicide, with the remainder being to females. 

Looking at cause of death by different cohorts provides very different trends. In 2021, a total of 98 deaths of males aged 20 to 24 years were recorded, and of these, 37.8% were due to suicide. This was the highest proportion of deaths due to suicide by age cohort for males.

A similar pattern was seen for females, where more than three out of every ten (34.6%) deaths among females aged 20 to 24 years was due to suicide. 

Dublin City was the region with the highest number of deaths by suicide in 2021 at 68. Over the five years between 2017 and 2021, a total of 2,631 deaths by suicide occurred, of which Dublin City recorded the highest number (297) and Leitrim the fewest (17).”

Support Information

If you, or someone you know is impacted by this information, remember that support for your mental health is always available. Contact Samaritans on Freephone 116 123, Text HELLO to 50808, or contact Pieta – anytime day or night.

You can also visit www.yourmentalhealth.ie for information on how to mind your mental health, support others, or to find a support service in your area.

If you are a media professional covering a suicide-related issue, remember research evidence shows that certain types of media depictions - such as explicitly describing a method, or sensational and excessive reporting - can lead to imitational suicidal behaviour among vulnerable people. Incorrect interpretations of suicide figures can also have harmful impacts. Guidance is available.

Headline Figures

  • In 2021, from the latest available data there were 512 deaths where the underlying cause of death was denoted as being intentional self-harm (suicide).
  • For the five period 2017 to 2021, 2018 had the highest number of deaths due to suicide at 550 such deaths, followed by 2019 with 542 deaths. 
  • Ten years ago, in 2011 the number of deaths due to suicide stood at 572, a decrease of 10.5%. However, late registrations impact comparability. 
  • Ten years ago, in 2011 the proportion of deaths due to suicide accounted for by males stood at 82.7%, while in 2021 this has decreased slightly to 78.3%. 
Figure 1 Deaths due to suicide by year of occurrence and sex, 2011 - 2021

Suicide and Age

  • Of the 512 deaths due to suicide in 2021, the highest number occurred among those aged 55 to 59 years at 58 deaths.
  • Just over one in every ten deaths (12.7%) due to suicide in 2021 were to those aged 65 years and older, which has remained broadly similar over the years. 
  • Males aged between 45 and 49 years accounted for 9.4% of all deaths due to suicide in 2021, the highest proportion by cohort.
  • In 2021 111 female deaths occurred due to suicide, with those aged 55 to 59 years accounting for the highest share (12.6% or 14 deaths).
  • At national level the crude suicide rate for 100,000 of the population was 10.1 overall, with it being 16.0 for males and 4.3 for females. 
  • In 2021, both males and females aged 55 to 59 years had the joint highest crude suicide rate per 100,000 at 29.5 for males and 9.2 for females.
Figure 2 Deaths due to suicide by age and sex, 2021

Note - Age groups where no deaths occurred due to suicide have been omitted from this graph. 

Table 1 Crude suicide death rates by sex and age group, 2021

Map 1 Deaths due to suicide by year of occurrence and local authority, 2017-2021

Suicide and Local Authorities

  • In 2021, just over one out of every ten deaths due to suicide occurred in the Dublin City region (13.3% or 68 deaths).

  • Between 2017 and 2021 a total of 2,631 deaths due to suicide occurred, of which Dublin City recorded the highest number (297) and Leitrim the fewest (17).

  • Looking at the five-year period (2017-2021), deaths due to suicide as a share of all deaths stood at 1.6% nationally. Galway City was the local authority where this share was highest (2.3% of all deaths in Galway City was due to suicide) and Dún Laoghaire Rathdown was lowest (0.8% of all deaths was due to suicide).

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