One person dies by suicide every 94 minutes in England and Wales
New stats from the Office for National Statistics show suicide numbers remain high
Last updated 6th Sep 2022
New stats show 5583 people died by suicide in England and Wales in 2021.
The figure is an increase on the numbers registered in 2020, but is broadly in line with pre-pandemic levels.
It also shows there has not yet been an increase in the suicide rates linked to the UK's periods in lockdown.
Male suicide outweighs female 3:1
The Office for National Statistics has published the most up-to-date figures on suicides registered in 2021, highlighting some deaths will have taken place in 2020, but were only counted in last year's figures as a result of a delay in the coroner's inquests response times through the pandemic.
Once again, male suicides outnumber female suicides by around 3:1, with men in their 50s the group most likely to take their own lives.
For women, those aged 45-49 were most at risk of dying by suicide, while females under the age of 24 saw the largest increase in suicide rates since records began in 1981.
The North East and North West of England has the highest suicide rate (14.1 an 12.9 deaths per 100,000 people) while London has the lowest (6.6 deaths per 100,000)
Increase in young deaths
The number of young people (aged 15-19) dying by suicide each year has more than doubled since 2010.
More than a decade ago it stood at 3.1 per 100k, whereas now it's 6.4 deaths per 100k.
Jake Mills set up the charity Chasing the Stigma after surviving his own suicide attempt.
He told us the number of deaths across England and Wales show we still have not got to grips with the scale of the problem:
Speaking to our #MentalHealthMonday Podcast he said: "People are needlessly dying and the can be saved.
"To accept it is immoral, and we have to do so much more, and I feel as a society we should be a lot angrier about this than we seem to be.
"These are lives that have been lost, these are families these are people who've been struggling and suffering who thought suicide was the only way out.
"Suicide is not inevitable.
"It's simply not good enough. We need to be doing so much more, the evidence is in front of us, that what we are doing as a society is not enough"
Get mental health support
If you, or someone you know is suffering with their mental health, or experiencing suicidal thoughts, you can speak to your GP.
If someone's life is in danger - call 999 immediately.
Find mental health support near you using the Hub of Hope which also includes links to national services.