Numbers of deaths by suicide increased steadily over the first half of the 20th Century (from 461 in 1907 to 760 in 1950), with peaks and troughs in numbers of suicides corresponding with significant world events (see below). However, since the 1950s numbers of deaths by suicide increased more steeply over time—in part driven by population growth. Peaks in numbers of deaths by suicide occurred during the 1960s and late 1990s. Since the mid-2000s numbers of deaths by suicide in Australia have increased to about 3,000 Australians dying by suicide each year.
Have suicide rates changed over time?
Between 1907 and 2019, age-standardised suicide rates in Australian ranged from 8.4 deaths per 100,000 population per year (in 1943 and 1944) to 18.4 in 1963.
- Suicide rates peaked in 1913 (18.0 deaths per 100,000 population), 1915 (18.2), 1930 (17.8), 1963 (18.4) and 1967 (17.7). These peaks tended to coincide with major social and economic events or changes, see Impact of social and economic events.
- Suicide rates tended to increase from 1907 to 1915 (from 16.9 to 18.2 deaths per 100,000 population). Rates then fluctuated throughout the late 1910s and early 1920s (from 13.1 deaths per 100,000 population in 1918 to 16.2 in 1920, returning to 12.8 in 1922), before increasing to a peak of 17.8 in 1930.
- Rates then declined throughout the 1930s and early 1940s, reaching a low of 8.4 deaths per 100,000 population in 1943 and 1944 (however, suicide rates for the war years may have been underestimated, see Impact of social and economic events below).
- Rates tended to increase throughout the 1950s, peaking at 18.4 deaths per 100,000 population in 1963. Rates remained high throughout the 1960s while the 1970s and early 1980s saw a decline in rates (from 15.4 deaths per 100,000 population in 1971 to 11.6 in 1984).
- Rates began to rise in 1985 and fluctuated from 14.3 in 1987 to 11.9 in 1993 with a recent peak of 14.8 in 1997. This was followed by sustained declines over the early 2000s, with a low of 10.2 per 100,000 population in 2006.
- After 2006, suicide rates began to rise. In 2019, the rate was 12.9 deaths per 100,000 population—down from a high of 13.2 in 2017.
It is important to note that deaths by suicide were underestimated in the collection of routine deaths data, particularly in the years before 2006 (AIHW: Harrison et al 2009; De Leo, 2010; AIHW: Harrison & Henley 2015). Since then, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has introduced a revisions process to improve data quality by enabling the revision of cause of death for open coroner’s cases over time. Deaths registered in 2019 and 2018 are preliminary and data for 2017 are revised and therefore, data for these years are subject to further revision by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Data from 1907 to 2016 are final (for further information see Technical notes).
What’s changed in the last decade?
Trends in suicide rates, especially recent trends—over the last 10 years, are a matter of public and policy interest. However, interpretation of trends and changes in rates is complicated by large yearly variation due to small numbers of deaths by suicide. Caution is advised when making year to year comparisons.
Impact of social and economic events
While an individual’s reasons are personal and often complex, overall peaks and troughs in rates and numbers of deaths by suicide coincide—more or less—with social and economic events.
Falls in the male suicide rate coincided with both World Wars 1 and 2. These falls are at least partly a statistical artefact due to the fact that deaths from all causes (including deaths by suicide) of Australian service personnel while overseas were not included in Australian death registration data, while population estimates were not adjusted to allow for the absence of these personnel (AIHW 2005; AIHW: Harrison & Henley 2014).
The highest annual age-standardised rate for males in the last century occurred in 1930 (29.8 deaths per 100,000 population), during the Great Depression—a period of high unemployment, particularly among males. The rise in both male and female suicide rates in the 1960s has been attributed, in part, to the unrestricted availability of barbiturate sedatives (Oliver & Hetzel 1972; Whitlock 1975). Subsequent falls in these rates in the late 1960s and early 1970s have in turn been attributed to the introduction of restrictions to the availability of these drugs in July 1967 (AIHW: Harrison & Henley 2014). High rates of suicide in the late 1980s and early 1990s coincide with a period of economic uncertainty in Australia.
Males have consistently higher rates of suicide than females
Since 1907, the male age-standardised suicide rate has been consistently higher and more variable than the female rate. Variations in the overall suicide rate in Australia have been largely driven by changes in the male suicide rate.
The peak in overall suicide rates in 1930 was driven by an increase in male suicide rates, peaking at 29.8 deaths per 100,000 in 1930—the highest rate ever recorded. Similarly, the increase in overall suicide rates in the 1990s was also mainly driven by an increase in male rates. The peak in the 1960s reflects a rise in suicide rates for both males and females.
The male suicide rate ranged from a high of 5.6 times that of females in 1930 to lows of less than twice the female rate in the 1960s and early 1970s—mainly due to the marked rise in female suicide rates at this time. Since then, the male suicide rate has fluctuated around 3–4 times that of the female rate.
Although males are more likely to die by suicide, females are hospitalised for intentional self-harm (with and without suicidal intent) almost twice as frequently as males (see Intentional self-harm hospitalisations). Furthermore, early indications from ambulance attendance data reporting on attendances for suicide attempts in 2019 suggest females are more likely to attempt suicide than males (see Ambulance attendances, self-harm behaviours and mental health).
Patterns of suicide by age have changed over time
Age-specific suicide rates for males are higher than those for females across all age groups for all years. Use the year slider to see how patterns of suicide in males and females have changed in Australia over time. Hover over the graph to display the tooltip to see the trend in deaths by suicide by sex over time for each age group.
A more detailed breakdown by 5-year age groups is provided for the most recent suicide data from 2018: see Australia’s Health Suicide and intentional self-harm snapshot. The highest proportion of deaths by suicide occur during mid-life. More than half of all deaths by suicide (55%) in 2019 occurred in people aged 30–59 (1,816 deaths) compared with 23% for those aged 15–29, and 21% for those aged 60 and over. Some of the highest suicide rates for both males and females occur in their 40s; in 2019, the highest suicide rates were in males aged 45–49 (32.2 deaths per 100,000 population) and 85 and over (32.3) and in females aged 40–44 (9.7).