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6. The number of suicides continued decreasing

The number of suicides was at its highest in 1990, when there were a total of over 1,500 suicides in Finland. Since then, suicide mortality has decreased by over 40 per cent in twenty years. The declining trend continued in 2012. Altogether, 873 persons committed suicide, which was 39 fewer than in 2011.Men's suicide mortality is much higher than women's. In 2012, three out of four of the people that committed suicides were men. Suicide mortality or the number of suicides a year per 100,000 population was 16.1, 24.6 for men and 7.9 for women. Women's suicide mortality has remained more or less unchanged for decades. The decrease in suicide mortality is mostly the result of a drop in the number of suicides among men. In 2012, the number of suicides among men was still triple compared to that among women.

Compared with other EU countries, the suicide mortality of Finns aged under 65 was around 1.5 times as high as the EU average in 2010. By contrast, for persons aged 65 and over, the suicide mortality in Finland did not differ from the EU average.

Figure 9. Suicide mortality 1970 to 2012

Source: Causes of death, Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Airi Pajunen 09 1734 3605, Kati Taskinen 09 1734 3297, kuolemansyyt@stat.fi

Director in charge: Riitta Harala

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Updated 30.12.2013