Hungary registers the 5th highest suicide rate among EU states

Photo: Eurostat

Hungary has the fifth highest death rate due to suicide among EU states. Looking at regional patterns in the EU, the third-highest standardised death rate for suicide was observed in the South Great Plain, Hungary.

Eurostat looked at the standardised death rates due to suicide across NUTS2 regions in 2017. Results suggest that Lithuania has the highest standardised death rates for suicide, while Cyprus has the lowest. 77% of suicides are committed by men.

Summary

In 2017, Lithuania registered the highest suicide rate among the EU states with 26 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. Lithuania is followed by Slovenia (20 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants), Latvia (18), Estonia, and Hungary (both 17). Cyprus recorded the lowest standardised death rates for suicide at 4 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Greece and Malta (both 5), Italy (6), and Slovakia (7).

Regional patterns

The Central and Western regions of Lithuania recorded the highest standardised death rate for suicide at 28 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. This was followed by Luxembourg, the Walloon Region in Belgium with 25 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, the South Great Plain in Hungary (23), and Eastern Slovenia (23).

Regions with the smallest number of deaths resulting from suicide were Mayotte in France, Campania in Italy, Ceuta in Spain, and Central Greece (Sterea Ellada) in Greece. All of these countries recorded a standardised death rate for suicide of 3 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.

In Hungary

In one year, 1,631 people died by suicide in Hungary, which corresponds to 16 in every 100,000 inhabitants. This number is somewhat better than previous years’, but it is still 1.5 times the EU average, hvg reports.

Looking at regional patterns, the Great Plain has the highest standardised death rate for suicide at 23 deaths in 100,000 inhabitants. There are only six regions where the rate is above 20.