Quarterly suicide death registrations in England: 2001 to 2021 registrations and Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) to Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2022 provisional data

• There were 1,376 deaths registered in Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2022 in England, equivalent to a provisional rate of 10.9 suicide deaths per 100,000 people; this rate is similar to the rate in Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2022 and to those in Quarter 4 of previous years.

• In 2022, 5,275 suicides were registered in England, equivalent to a provisional rate of 10.6 suicide deaths per 100,000 people; this rate was similar to 2021 but statistically significantly higher than 2020; however, 2020 saw a decrease in suicide rates because of the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the coroner's inquests, and a decrease in male suicides at the start of the pandemic.

• In the provisional Quarter 4 2022 data, there were 16.8 suicide deaths per 100,000 males (1,036 deaths registered) and 5.3 suicide deaths per 100,000 females (340 deaths registered).

• In Quarter 4 2022, London had the lowest suicide rate of any region of England (7.1 suicide deaths per 100,000), while the highest rate was in the South West (14.0 suicide deaths per 100,000).

• For suicides, the median registration delay increased from 185 days in Quarter 4 2021 to 196 days in Quarter 4 2022.

• As the final part of our analysis looking at suicide occurrences in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, we have also examined suicide occurrences up to 2021, which is included in Section 3: Deaths from suicide that occurred in England and Wales: 2021

4 in 10 suicides registered in 2022 had a date of death that was also in 2022

Of the 5,275 suicides registered in England in 2022, 42.0% of these had a date of death that was also in 2022 (2,213 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. In Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2022, the median registration delay in England was 196 days.

In Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2022, 3.8% of the 1,314 suicides registered had a date of death in the same period (50 deaths). The remaining deaths occurred in 2021 or earlier (96.2%).

In Quarter 2 (Apr to June) 2022, 2.7% of the 1,201 suicides registered had a date of death in the same period (33 deaths). The remaining deaths occurred in Quarter 1 2022 (24.5%) or earlier (72.8%).

In Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2022, 2.6% of the 1,384 suicides registered had a date of death in the same period (36 deaths). The remaining deaths occurred in Quarter 1 2022 (34.3%), Quarter 2 2022 (22.0%) or earlier (41.0%).

In Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2022, 2.0% of the 1,376 suicides registered had a date of death in the same period (28 deaths). The remaining deaths registered in Quarter 4 2022 occurred in Quarter 1 2022 (16.1%), Quarter 2 2022 (32.5%), Quarter 3 2022 (23.5%) or earlier (25.9%).

In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, we have previously published articles on Deaths from suicide that occurred in England and Wales in 2020, which are based on date of death occurrence, rather than date of registration. Here, we provide a final update to this analysis for 2021 suicide occurrences.

In England and Wales, there were 5,199 suicides with a date of death in 2021, equivalent to a rate of 9.9 deaths per 100,000 people. This was statistically significantly lower than each rate between 2018 and 2020. Rates of suicide occurrences in January and December 2021 were lower than rates in preceding years (2020 to 2017). This coincides with the strictest lockdown periods of 2021 in England and Wales, according to the Timeline of UK government coronavirus lockdowns and restrictions from the Institute for Government.

Rates of suicide occurrences for both males and females were lower during the lockdown period in January and omicron period in December in 2021 than in all preceding years (2020 to 2017). Rates for males were also lower than all preceding years between August and October, which coincided with the lifting of lockdown restrictions and the end of the furlough period.

Suicide occurrence rates were the highest in those aged 40 to 49 years throughout 2021, except for age group 50 to 59 years in which rates were highest during March and April, and those aged 30 to 39 years in which rates were highest during July. Ages 10 to 19 years had the lowest rates throughout the year of 2021. 

Rates of suicide occurrences in London were the lowest of any English region, while the North East had the highest rates in 2021. While this is consistent with suicide registration rates in 2021 and previous years, the disparity between highest and lowest rate increased in 2021. For further information, see our accompanying occurrences dataset.

In pre-coronavirus pandemic years, approximately 90.0% of suicides were registered within a year of death. In 2021, this figure decreased to 81.0%.

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.

Registration delay

In England and Wales, all deaths caused by suicide are certified by a coroner following an inquest and cannot be registered until the inquest is completed. This process can take months, and in some cases, years. 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) report.

Age-specific mortality rate

The total number of deaths per 100,000 people of an age group, used to allow comparisons between specified age groups.

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 report.

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 report.

Data source

Statistics on mortality come from the information provided when deaths are certified and registered.

The release uses the National 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. Further information on registration delays and their impact can be found in our Suicide rates in the UK 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 detailed in our accompanying Deaths caused by suicide by quarter in England datasets.

Monthly rates

To calculate monthly mortality rates that are comparable with annual rates, adjustments must be made to annual population estimates to account for the time period covered. Find more detail on how this is calculated in Section 2 of our Coronavirus and mortality in England and Wales methodology article.

Quality

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 QMI report

• Suicide rates in the UK QMI report

• User guide to mortality statistics

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

Strengths

• Quarterly and monthly age-standardised mortality rates allow for differences in the age structure of populations and therefore allow valid comparisons to be made over time and between geographic areas and sexes.

• Rates are included to aid interpretation, such as whether changes are statistically meaningful; this is especially important when interpreting low numbers of deaths, which are prone to random fluctuation and volatility over time.

• We only refer to groupings that have at least 20 deaths; for these, reliable age-standardised rates can be calculated, reducing the likelihood of the findings being a result of chance, rates have been marked as unreliable where there are fewer than 20 deaths in our accompanying datasets.

• Suicide deaths are compiled using information supplied when a death is registered, which gives complete population coverage.

Limitations

• Quarterly registrations 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 bulletin in autumn 2023.

• Provisional death occurrences data are used for 2021 in this article, so they are subject to change; this enables timely analysis to be completed to monitor trends.

• Because of registration delays, death occurrence data are always somewhat incomplete.

Our Suicide rates in the UK QMI report contains further detail on the strengths and limitations of suicide registration figures.