Quarterly suicide death registrations in England: 2001 to 2023 registrations and Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) to Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2024 provisional data

• There were 1,449 suicides registered in Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2024 in England, equivalent to a rate of 11.2 suicide deaths per 100,000 people, shown in provisional analysis; this rate was the highest seen in any previous Quarter 3, but slightly lower compared with Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2024.

• In Quarter 3 2024, there were 16.9 suicide deaths per 100,000 males (1,064 deaths registered) and 5.8 suicide deaths per 100,000 females (385 deaths registered).

• The South East had the lowest suicide rate of any region of England (9.0 suicide deaths per 100,000), while the highest rate was in the North East (15.9 suicide deaths per 100,000).

• For suicides in England, the median registration delay decreased from 198 days in Quarter 3 2023 to 191 days in Quarter 3 2024.

If you are a journalist covering a suicide-related issue, please consider following the Samaritans' media guidelines on the reporting of suicide because of the potentially damaging consequences of irresponsible reporting. In particular, the guidelines advise on terminology and include links to sources of support for anyone affected by the themes in the bulletin.

If you are struggling to cope, please call Samaritans for free on 116 123 (UK and the Republic of Ireland) or contact other sources of support, such as those listed on the NHS help for suicidal thoughts webpage. Support is available 24 hours a day, every day of the year, providing a safe place for you, whoever you are and however you are feeling.

Official statistics in development

These statistics are labelled as "official statistics in development". Until September 2023, these were called "experimental statistics". Read more about the change in the Guide to official statistics in development (opens in a new tab).

These statistics are based on information from mortality statistics, derived from information provided when deaths are certified and registered. We are developing how we collect and produce the data to improve the quality of these statistics.

Once the developments are complete, we will review the statistics with the Statistics Head of Profession. We will decide whether the statistics are of sufficient quality and value to be published as official statistics, or whether further development is needed. Production may be stopped if they are not of sufficient quality or value. Users will be informed of the outcome and any changes.

We value your feedback on these statistics. Contact us at health.data@ons.gov.uk.

Data source

Statistics on mortality come from the information provided when deaths are certified and registered. This release uses the accredited official statistics definition of suicide, which is consistently used by government departments, agencies, and the devolved administrations across the UK.

For deaths caused by suicide, around half of the deaths registered each year will have occurred in the previous year, or earlier, because of the length of time it takes to hold a coroner's inquest. For further information on registration delays and their impact, see our Suicide rates in the UK Quality and Methodology Information (QMI) report.

Quarterly rates

Calculation of mortality rates for quarterly deaths requires adjustments to be made to annual population estimates, to calculate rates that are comparable with annual rates. Further information is in our accompanying Deaths caused by suicide by quarter in England dataset.

More quality and methodology information

More quality and methodology information on strengths, limitations, appropriate uses, and how the data were created is available in our Mortality statistics in England and Wales Quality and Methodology Information, our Suicide rates in the UK Quality and Methodology Information and our User guide to mortality statistics.