Quarterly suicide death registrations in England: 2001 to 2021 registrations and Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) to Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2022 provisional data

• Provisional analysis shows there were 10.7 suicide deaths per 100,000 people in Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2022 in England, equivalent to 1,314 deaths registered; in Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2022 there were 9.7 suicide deaths per 100,000 people, equivalent to 1,201 registered deaths.
• The rate seen in Quarter 1 2022 is consistent with the rate seen in previous years; the rate seen in Quarter 2 2022 continues to be like the rate seen in earlier years, except for 2020, when we saw a decrease in suicide rates because of the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the coroner’s inquests.
• Among males, there were 15.9 suicide deaths per 100,000 males in Quarter 1 2022 (958 registered deaths) and 14.3 suicide deaths per 100,000 in Quarter 2 2022 (873 registered deaths).
• For females, there were 5.7 suicide deaths per 100,000 females in Quarter 1 2022 (356 registered deaths) and 5.2 suicide deaths per 100,000 in Quarter 2 2022 (328 deaths registered).
• In Quarters 1 and 2 2022, London had the lowest suicide rate of any region of England (7.3 and 5.8 suicide deaths per 100,000, respectively), while the highest rate in Quarter 1 2022 was in the North West (13.3 suicide deaths per 100,000), and in Quarter 2 2022, the highest rate was in the North East (12.9 suicide deaths per 100,000).

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 article.

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 round the clock, every single day of the year, providing a safe place for anyone struggling to cope, whoever they are, however they feel, whatever life has done to them.

Fewer than one in six of the suicides registered so far in 2022 had a date of death that was also in 2022

The analysis reported in this release cannot be used to show the number of suicides with a date of death in 2022. See our Deaths from suicide that occurred in England and Wales: April and December 2020 article for further information on suicide during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Of the 2,515 suicides registered in England in 2022, 15.0% of these had a date of death that was also in 2022 (377 deaths). This is in line with expectations, given coroner involvement with the investigation of these deaths and the amount of time it takes to hold an inquest.

Looking at Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2022, 3.8% of the 1,314 suicides registered in this period had a date of death in the same period (50 deaths), with the remaining deaths (96.2%) occurring in 2021 or before. This is in line with the figures seen in previous years.

For Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2022, 2.7% of the 1,201 suicides registered in the period occurred in the same period (33 deaths), with the remaining deaths occurring in Quarter 1 2022 (24.5%) or earlier (72.8%).

Suicide

This release is based on the National Statistics’ definition of suicide. This definition includes all deaths from intentional self-harm for persons aged 10 years and over. It also includes deaths where the intent was undetermined for those aged 15 years and over. For further information on the definition used, please see our Suicides in England and Wales Statistical bulletins.

Year of registration

Figures are based on deaths registered in each calendar year, rather than the date on which the death occurred.

Registration delay

The registration delay refers to the time lag between the date of death (that is, when the death occurred) and the date the death was registered. For further information on the impact of registration delays, see Section 7 of our Suicide rates in the UK Quality and Methodology Information (QMI).

Age-standardised mortality rate

Age-standardised mortality rate in this bulletin refers to a weighted average of the age-specific mortality rates per 100,000 people and is standardised to the 2013 European Standard Population. They allow for differences in the age structure of populations and therefore allow valid comparisons to be made between geographic areas, the sexes and over time. For more information, see Section 8 of our Suicide rates in the UK QMI.

Statistical significance

The term "significant" refers to changes or differences based on unrounded figures. You can find out more about statistical significance in our Uncertainty and how we measure it for our surveys methodology. Significance has been determined using a 95% confidence interval, where instances of non-overlapping confidence intervals between figures indicate the difference is unlikely to have arisen from random fluctuation. For more information, see Section 8 of our Suicide rates in the UK QMI.

Figures are for deaths registered, rather than deaths occurring in each quarter. 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.

Further information on registration delays and their impact can be found in our Suicide rates in the UK Quality and Methodology Information (QMI).

Quarterly age-standardised 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 detailed in our accompanying Deaths caused by suicide by quarter in England datasets.

More quality and methodology information on strengths, limitations, appropriate uses, and how the data were created is available in our Suicide rates in the UK QMI.

This release aims to monitor suicide death registrations in England, based on the best available provisional data.

Quarterly data for 2022 are provisional and may be subject to changes once annual death registrations are complete. Data for 2022 will be finalised in the annual Suicides in England and Wales release in 2023.

Quarterly age-standardised rates are included to aid interpretation, such as whether changes by quarter in a given registration year are statistically meaningful. This is especially important when interpreting low numbers of deaths, which are prone to random fluctuation and volatility over time.

Our Suicide rates in the UK Quality and Methodology Information (QMI) contains further detail on the strengths and limitations of suicide registration figures.