Suicide rates in England & Wales

Suicide rates vary widely across England and Wales, with the rate among males in the North East nearly twice that of the South East. We need to urgently level-up opportunity, health and hope to try and tackle this ongoing tragedy.

Of the many geographical inequalities facing the UK one of the most tragic is the significantly higher rates of suicide in certain parts of the country. The North, particularly the North East and Yorkshire and the Humber have far higher rates of people taking their own lives compared to London and the South East. Yorkshire and the Humber also saw the highest increase in suicide rates compared with the previous year. Amongst men the rate there increased from 15.3 to 19.0 deaths per 100,000 from 2017 to 2018.

The Samaritans suggest that workplace, housing and financial problems are some of the key causes of suicide which would correlate with some of the challenges seen in parts of the North. People can also feel they are stuck within a “career cul-de-sac” where there are few job opportunities, chances of meaningful work or are in precarious employment.