Suicide Statistics

When it comes to suicide and suicide attempts there are rate differences depending on demographic characteristics such as age, gender, ethnicity and race. Nonetheless, suicide occurs in all demographic groups.

In the U.S., no complete count of suicide attempt data are available. The CDC gathers data from hospitals on non-fatal injuries from self-harm as well as survey data.

In 2021, (the most recent year for which data are available), the rate of visits to the emergency departments for nonfatal self-harm injuries was approximately 148.2 per 100,000 people.

Based on the 2022 National Survey of Drug Use and Mental Health it is estimated that 0.6% of the adults aged 18 or older made at least one suicide attempt. This translates to approximately 1.6 million adults. With regard to race and ethnicity, suicide attempts ranged from 1.5% among American Indian or Alaskan Native or Multiracial adults to 0.1 percent in Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. The rate of attempts for Blacks was 0.9% and the rate for rate for Whites and Hispanic adults were 0.6%. The rate for Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander and Asian adults was 0.2%.

Based on the most recent Youth Risk Behaviors Survey from 2021 (most recent results), 10.0% of youth in grades 9-12 reported that they had made at least one suicide attempt in the past 12 months. Female students attempted 1.86 times as often as male students (13% vs. 7%). American Indian or Alaska Native students reported the highest rate of attempt (16%) with white students at 9%. Approximately 3% of all students reported making a suicide attempt that required treatment by a doctor or nurse.