Today's day is probably a day of great significance - the global population officially exceeded 8 billion today.
From 2011, the global population exceeded 7 billion to become a junior high school geography test center, in the past twelve years, natural disasters and man-made disasters have experienced a lot, and on November 15, 2022, the increase of 1 billion is considerable!
"Reaching 8 billion people in the world is not a disaster, in fact, it is a huge success on a global scale because more people survive." Rachel Snow, an official at the United Nations Population Fund, said so, while stressing that if humanity is not prepared for development in the coming decades, it will be a disaster.
Compared with such a large population base, the human suicide rate calculated in the table below probably no longer seems so terrifying. But for the families involved, it was a great tragedy anyway.
The ten countries with the highest suicide rates (suicides per 100,000 people) in 2019 were:
1. Lesotho - 72.4
2. Guyana - 40.3
3.Eswatini-29.4
4. South Korea - 28.6
5. Kiribati - 28.3
6. Federated States of Croatia - 28.2
7. Lithuania - 26.1
8. Suriname - 25.4
9. Russia - 25.1
10. South Africa - 23.5
The only Western European country with an unusually high suicide rate is Belgium, which ranks 11th with 18.3 suicides per 100,000 people. However, it is worth noting that Belgian law allows doctors to assist with euthanasia, which is likely a factor in its statistics. There are opinions on this.
The country with the lowest suicide rate in 2019
Perhaps surprisingly, many of the world's most problematic countries have relatively low suicide rates. Afghanistan 4.1 suicides per 100,000 people; Iraq has 3.6 and Syria has only 2.0. It is unclear whether suicide statistics for these countries reflect suicide due to mental health problems and terminal illness, which are the leading causes of suicide for most people in the world, or whether they include suicide in ongoing conflicts in these countries.
1. Antigua and Barbuda - 0.4
2. Barbados - 0.6
3. Grenada - 0.7
4. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines - 1.0
5. Sao Tome and Principe - 1.5
6. Jordan - 1.6
7. Syria - 2.0
8. Venezuela - 2.1
9. Honduras - 2.1
10. Philippines - 2.2
Among Asian countries, South Korea and Japan have much higher suicide rates than our country! This also shows that the survival pressure of these two countries is still much higher than that of the mainland. In 2019, South Korea had the fourth highest suicide rate in the world! One factor in its high suicide rate is suicide among the elderly. Traditionally, children are expected to care for their elderly parents. However, as this traditional virtue largely disappeared in the 21st century, many older people commit suicide instead of feeling that they are a financial burden on their families. ——Perhaps, this is also the bitter fruit of learning the West and abandoning Chinese culture!
In addition to older adults, students also have above-average suicide rates, at least in part because they feel pressured to succeed academically. When they don't achieve their goals, they may feel like they have failed their families. Alcohol consumption, lack of sleep, stress, and poor social relationships can increase a student's risk of suicide.
Japan's total far exceeds the top ten, but suicide remains a serious problem. Suicide is the leading cause of death for men aged 20-44 years and women aged 15-34 years. The government has been actively intervening to reduce the risk of suicide, especially among vulnerable groups. Japanese men are twice as likely as women to commit suicide, especially after a divorce. Of particular concern are the recent suicides of men who have lost their jobs and can no longer provide for their families. The pressure of people's expectations to stay married to someone and work on a job for life can make divorce or unemployment feel like a failure. The Aokigahara-based forest at the foot of Japan's Mount Fuji is a hotspot for suicide, with hundreds of people going there every year to end their lives. Police regularly patrol the area, looking for suicide victims and survivors.
In China, suicide is the fifth leading cause of death. Although the suicide rate is not high, the total number of suicides accounts for more than a quarter of the world's suicides because of the large population base. The incidence of suicide is also much higher in rural areas than in urban areas. Almost every second time, I heard about someone drinking paraquat – probably this is the main option for suicide in Chinese?
Below is the ranking of the global suicide rate in 2022 (per 100,000 people), with China ranking 121.