Suicide statistics in Scotland

This is an overview of suicide rates^* in Scotland only. For more detailed information and breakdowns please visit the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) (external link) for figures relating to deaths recorded as resulting from intentional self-harm or deaths from events of undetermined intent, last updated August 2010.

Annual changes are based on relatively small numbers, so may not be statistically significant. It is conventional to pool rates over a three-year period, and develop three year rolling averages to account for yearly fluctuations.

The target is to reduce suicide by 20% by 2013.

Headline Statistics

• There were 781 deaths by suicide in Scotland in 2010 (deaths from intentional self harm and events of undetermined intent). This equates to an age-standardised rate of 14.7 per 100,000 population.
• Based on three-year rolling averages there was a 14% fall in suicide rates between 2000-02 and 2008-10. 
• In 2010, the suicide rate for males was just under three times that for females.
• Between 2001-05 and 2006-10, the suicide rate decreased in 8 of the 14 NHS Boards and in 19 of the 32 local authorities.
• Suicide rates generally increased with increasing deprivation, with the rate in the most deprived decile double the Scottish average.
• Based on three-year rolling averages there was a 15% fall in suicide rates between 2000-02 and 2008-10 in men and a 9% fall in women.
• In 2010 the rate of suicides due to ‘intentional self-harm’ remained the same as in 2009 at 10.8 per 100,000 people. The rate of suicides from ‘undetermined intent’ rose to 3.9 per 100,000 from 3.4 100,000 in 2009.

A beginner's guide to using suicide statistics from the Choose Life website has been developed to help you:

• understand which figures to consider when looking at suicide

• know when to use numbers, and when to use rates

• understand when to use crude rates, age standardised mortality rates and standardised mortality ratios.

Footnotes

^*Suicide data normally combines deaths classified as intentional self-harm with those of undetermined intent, as the majority of the latter are probable suicides. This prevents under-recording and provides a more accurate figure for international and geographical comparisons. The term 'suicide' is used to refer to deaths by intentional self-harm and undetermined intent combined.

^**Suicide statistics are released annually in August by the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS). The 2010 statistics were published on 5 August 2011.