Men in Sri Lanka have higher suicide rates than women

By Huzefa Aliasger

Colombo, Nov. 18 (Daily Mirror) - Men in Sri Lanka continue to suffer from diseases such as depression and anxiety, thus leading to a higher suicide rate, which is 27 per 100,000 males and five per 100,000 females with an overall suicide rate of 15 per 100,000 population, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

WHO says that the suicide rates for males in Sri Lanka are above the global average suicide rate of 10.5 per 100,000 population.

According to the study by WHO, which was done in 2022, the rate of suicide increases with age, with the highest rate among older males (55+ years: 65 per 100,000), while, among females, it is found mainly in young women (17–25 years: 10 per 100,000).

The study also says that the highest proportion of suicide deaths was due to hanging (69.9 per cent), followed by pesticide self-poisoning (14.0 per cent), other methods (12.2 per cent), and non-pesticide self-poisoning (3.9 per cent).

WHO says “Suicide accounts for more than one in every 100 deaths globally, and for every death by suicide, there are more than 20 suicide attempts. In 2019, an estimated 703,000 people across all ages (or 9 per 100,000 population) lost their lives to suicide globally, and 77 per cent of all suicides occurred in Lower Middle-Income Countries, where most of the world’s population lived. In 2019, suicide was the fourth leading cause of death among 15–29-year-olds and accounted for eight per cent of all deaths.”