Countries by Suicide mortality rate (per 100,000 population)
Lesotho ranks 1st globally for suicide mortality rate at 28.66 per 100,000 population in 2021, nearly 70 times higher than last-ranked St. Vincent and the Grenadines at 0.41. The 6,890% spread across 185 countries reflects the wide variation in this measure of fatal self-harm burden worldwide.
Ranking 2021
Values shown in per capita.
Analysis
This metric measures the number of suicide deaths in a year per 100,000 population as a crude suicide rate (not age-adjusted), drawn from the World Bank World Development Indicators under indicator code SH.STA.SUIC.P5. It captures the raw mortality burden of suicide at the national level but does not adjust for differences in population age structure across countries. The 2021 dataset covers 185 countries, all with data from the last seven years, and 100% of datapoints are classified as official-quality. Statistical screening identified 27 extreme outliers using a 3-standard-deviation threshold, and average year-over-year change across the dataset was 7.0%.
The top of the ranking is led by Lesotho (rank 1, 28.66), South Korea (rank 2, 27.53), and Eswatini (rank 3, 27.23). Guyana (rank 4, 24.78) and Uruguay (rank 5, 24.75) follow closely, making them notable high-rate countries in South America. European countries also feature prominently near the top: Lithuania ranks 8th at 22.12, Russia ranks 9th at 21.37, Slovenia ranks 13th at 18.85, and Belgium ranks 15th at 18.36. The United States ranks 24th at 15.63, while Japan ranks 17th at 17.43.
In the middle of the ranking, countries such as China (rank 65, 8.95), Spain (rank 67, 8.72), and Ireland (rank 71, 8.55) sit alongside several sub-Saharan African nations including Togo (rank 61, 9.34) and Rwanda (rank 68, 8.68). Toward the lower end, countries in the Middle East and North Africa cluster near the bottom: Egypt ranks 182nd at 0.63, Jordan ranks 183rd at 0.60, and Syria ranks 184th at 0.59. Indonesia ranks 176th at 1.20 and Saudi Arabia ranks 177th at 0.95, placing them among the lowest-rate large-population countries in the dataset.
Because this is a crude rate rather than an age-standardized rate, countries with older populations may show elevated values partly due to demographic structure rather than differences in underlying risk. Suicide reporting practices vary considerably across countries, and underreporting is a recognized concern in national vital statistics, particularly in settings where suicide carries social or legal stigma or where civil registration systems are less complete. Comparisons between countries should account for these reporting differences. The metric reflects only recorded deaths classified as suicide and does not capture attempted suicides or self-harm that does not result in death.
Methodology
Data are drawn from the World Bank World Development Indicators, indicator code SH.STA.SUIC.P5, for the reference year 2021. The source defines the metric as follows: suicide mortality rate is the number of suicide deaths in a year per 100,000 population; crude suicide rate (not age-adjusted). The dataset covers 185 countries, all of which have data from within the last seven years (100% recency). All 185 datapoints are classified as official quality. The range runs from 0.41 (St. Vincent and the Grenadines, rank 185) to 28.66 (Lesotho, rank 1), a spread of 6,890.2%. Viability screening identified 27 extreme outliers at the 3-standard-deviation threshold. Average year-over-year volatility across the dataset is 7.0%, well within the 50% acceptability threshold. Because the rate is crude and not age-adjusted, demographic differences across countries can influence rankings independently of actual suicide risk levels.