Suicide Statistics

2021 USA General Statistics

Download the 2021 Official Factsheet

Graphic representation of 2021 general statistics

A 3.6% rate increase was seen from 2020 to 2021 ( a 3.4% decrease was observed from 2019 to 2020).

In 2021, 48,183 Americans died by suicide.

Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the U.S.

Every day, approximately 132 Americans die by suicide.

There is one suicide death in the US every 10.9 minutes.

Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death for 15 to 24 year old Americans.

The highest suicide rates (per 100,000) in the US are among white males (26.4), followed by American Indian/Alaska Native males (25), and Black males (14.1).

There is one suicide death for every estimated 25 suicide attempts.

There are approximately 1,204,575 annual attempts in the U.S. (using 25:1 ratio) or one attempt every 26.2 seconds

SAVE provides free use of national suicide statistics as soon as they become available from the National Center for Health Statistics as compiled by Drs McIntosh and Drapeau. See the bottom of this page for additional detailed data sheets.

Global Statistics

For more information on suicide stats by region and country visit the World Health Statistics Data Visualizations Dashboard.

Nearly 800,000 people die by suicide in the world each year, which is roughly one death every 40 seconds.

Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death in the world for those aged 15-24 years.

Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide.

By Gender

SAVE recognizes the following data is non inclusive of all genders.

One male dies by suicide every 13.7 minutes in the U.S.

There are 3.9 male deaths by suicide for each female death by suicide.

One female dies by suicide every 53.5 minutes in the U.S.

There are three female attempts for each male attempt.

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By Age

Older adults made up 16.8% of 2021 population, but 20% of suicides.

Middle Aged people made up 25.2% of the 2021 population, but were 30.4% of suicides.

 

 

Young people made up 13% of 2021 population and 13.5% of suicides.

Adults aged 25-44 made up 26.8% of the 2021 population and 34.7% of suicides.

Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual kids are three times more likely than straight kids to attempt suicide at some point in their lives (di Giacomo et al. 2018).

Medically serious attempts at suicide are four times more likely among LGBTQ youth than other young people (CDC).

African American, Latino, Native American, and Asian American people who are lesbian, gay, or bisexual attempt suicide at especially high rates (National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, Appendix D).

41% of trans adults said they had attempted suicide, in one study. The same study found that 61% of trans people who were victims of physical assault had attempted suicide (National Transgender Discrimination Survey).

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual young people who come from families that reject or do not accept them are over eight times more likely to attempt suicide than those whose families accept them (Pediatrics (Vol. 123, No. 1)).

Each time an LGBTQ person is a victim of physical or verbal harassment or abuse, they become 2.5 times more likely to hurt themselves (National Transgender Discrimination Survey).

Rate of Suicide by Race/Ethnicity

 

In 2021, the highest suicide rate by race is American Indian/Alaska Native  (16.8 per 100,000).

The second highest rate in 2021 was among whites (16.5 per 100,000).

From 2020, suicide rates increased 12% for Blacks in 2021 (from 7.5 to 8.4).

Suicide rates increased 15% for American Indian/Alaska Natives  from 2020 (14.6 to 16.8).

Suicide rates in 2021 for Hispanic/Latinos increased 4% per 100,000 from 2020 (7.5 to 7.8).

Depression Statistics

Only half of all Americans experiencing an episode of major depression receive treatment. (NAMI)

80% -90% of people that seek treatment for depression are treated successfully using therapy and/or medication. (TADS study)

Females experience depression at roughly two times the rate of men.(Mayo Clinic)

An estimated 275,000 each year become suicide survivors (SAVE).

Depression affects 20-25% of Americans ages 18+ in a given year (CDC).