Suicide, self-harm, and suicide-related behaviours in Canada: Key statistics:
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General information on suicide and suicide-related behaviours in Canada.
On this page
Resources
This page presents statistics on suicide and suicide-related behaviours, and some people might find it upsetting or disturbing.
If you or someone you care about is in crisis or immediate danger, call 9-1-1.
Resources and confidential support for suicide prevention and mental health are also available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week:
- 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call or text 9-8-8
- Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868 or text CONNECT to 686868
- Hope for Wellness Helpline for Indigenous peoples: 1-855-242-3310
- Trans Lifeline: 1-877-330-6366
- Preventing suicide: When and how to help
- Mental health support: Get help
- Wellness Together Canada
Context
Suicide is a significant public health issue recognized by the World Health Organization and the government of Canada. In 2019, suicide was the ninth leading cause of death in Canada. However, it was the second leading cause of death among people aged 15 to 34.
In Canada, the Federal Framework for Suicide Prevention aims to:
- reduce stigma and raise public awareness
- connect people in Canada with information and resources
- accelerate the use of research and innovation in suicide prevention
To support this, the Public Health Agency of Canada developed the Suicide Surveillance Indicator Framework. This interactive data tool shows statistics on suicide and self-harm and their risk and protective factors.
This data blog complements the framework by providing more information to stakeholders and the public. This keeps them better informed and improves access to the latest statistics on suicide in Canada.
Learn more:
- Suicide (World Health Organization)
- Federal Framework for Suicide Prevention
- Public Health Infobase: Suicide Surveillance Indicator Framework
Latest statistics
This section summarizes the information on:
- suicide mortality
- self-harm
- other suicide-related behaviours
For every person who has died by suicide, many more have:
- attempted suicide
- made plans for suicide
- had thoughts of suicide
Every year in Canada, there are approximately:
Notes
- These statistics come from multiple sources:
- Data on the number of deaths by suicide is from the Canadian Vital Statistics Death Database.
- Data on the number of self-harm hospitalizations is from the Canadian Institute of Health Information.
- Data on suicide attempts, suicide plans, and thoughts of suicide is from the Canadian Community Health Surveys.
- The number of deaths by suicide excludes Yukon.
- The number of self-harm hospitalizations includes people aged 10 years and older from all provinces and territories.
- These 3 categories include people aged 15 years and
older from all provinces and territories:
- People who reported having attempted suicide.
- People who made suicide plans.
- People who had serious thoughts of suicide.
Figure: Text description
Every year in Canada, there are approximately:
- 4,500 deaths by suicide (this corresponds to 12 deaths by suicide every day)
- 20,000 hospitalizations due to self-harm
- 100,000 people who made a suicide attempt
- 250,000 people who made suicide plans
- 840,000 people who had serious thoughts of suicide
Suicide mortality
In Canada, suicide mortality rates are:
- higher among males than females
- higher in middle-aged males than other age groups for males
Overall, suicide mortality rates have not changed since 2008. However, suicide mortality rates have changed for some groups in the population in recent decades. Rates have:
- decreased among males aged:
- 10-14
- 25-64
- 75 and older
- increased among females aged:
- 10-24
- 45-64
Self-harm hospitalizations
Each year, thousands of people in Canada are hospitalized after intentionally harming themselves. Non-fatal self-harm injuries are a significant risk factor for suicide, and monitoring hospitalizations for self-harm is critical for suicide prevention.
Self-harm hospitalization rates are higher among females than males.
Females aged 10 to 19 years old have the highest rate among all age groups and for both sexes.
Rates of hospitalizations for self-harm vary by geographic location.
They are 6.5 times higher in very remote areas compared to urban areas.
Suicide-related behaviours
Other types of suicide-related behaviours include:
- attempting suicide
- making a suicide plan
- having serious thoughts of suicide
During their lifetime, many people in Canada aged 15 and older will experience suicide-related behaviours.
- Almost 1 million will attempt suicide.
- 1.3 million will make suicide plans.
- 3.8 million will have serious thoughts of suicide.
Among people aged 15 to 19 years old, rates of suicide-related behaviours are higher in females than in males. Compared to males:
- suicide attempts are 5 times higher in females
- suicide plans are almost 4 times higher in females
- serious thoughts of suicide are 2 times higher in females
Suicide affects all groups in the population, but some have substantially higher risk of:
- attempting suicide
- making suicide plans
- having thoughts of suicide
People who are more likely to experience suicidal ideation than others are those:
- born in Canada
- who never married
- younger than 65 years
- with a lower level of education
Compared to heterosexual and cisgender populations, people who are 2SLGBTQI+ are more likely to:
- make suicide attempts
- make suicide plans
- have thoughts of suicide
Suggested citation
Public Health Agency of Canada. Suicide, self-harm and suicide-related behaviours in Canada: .... Ottawa: Public Health Agency of Canada; ....
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