Suicide: key points

• There were 781 suicides (deaths from intentional self harm and events of undetermined intent combined) in Scotland in 2010. This is an increase on the 2009 figure, and equates to an age-sex-standardised rate of 14.7 per 100,000 population.
• Based on three-year rolling averages, between 2000-02 and 2008-10 there was a 14% fall in suicide rates overall (15% for males and 9% for females). The national target is to reduce the suicide rate in Scotland by 20% between 2000-02 and 2011-2013.
• In 2010, the suicide rate for males was just under three times that for females.
• Suicide is a leading cause of mortality in those under the age of 35 years.
• Suicide rates generally increase with increasing deprivation, with rates in the most deprived areas of Scotland significantly higher than the Scottish average. The rate is four times higher in the most deprived decile (tenth of the population) compared to the least deprived decile.
• Scottish rates vary among NHS boards and local authority areas Between 2001-05 and 2006-10, the age-sex-standardised suicide rate per 100,000 population decreased in 8 of the 14 NHS Boards and in 19 of the 32 local authorities. The rate for 2006-10 was significantly higher than the rate for Scotland in one NHS board (Greater Glasgow and Clyde) and one local authority area (Glasgow City).
• In 2008 (the latest year for which comparable UK data are available) the Scottish female rate (7.7 per 100,000 population) was higher than rates in other parts of the UK, for example, 3.8 for England and Wales*.
• In 2008 the Scottish male rate was 24.1 per 100,000 population, compared to 12.6 in England and Wales*.
• A change in the procedure used by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service to inform National Records of Scotland (NRS) (formally GROS) about suicides was implemented mid-2009. This procedural change appears to have had little effect on the figures. Full details can be viewed on the NRS website.

* Numbers of suicides (and therefore suicide rates) in the smaller nations of the UK are subject to a greater degree of year-on-year fluctuation than is found in England. In making UK comparisons it is therefore preferable to use pooled rates over several years. Pooled rates were not available, however, so caution should be taken when interpreting these data.