Which country has the highest suicide rate in Africa?
When calculating the suicide rate, two estimated mortality rates from suicide are given: age-standardised and crude. The crude suicide rate is the number of suicide deaths in a year, divided by the population and multiplied by 100,000. The age-standardised rate adjusts for differences in the age distribution of the population, assuming a standard population for all countries. For comparisons between countries, age-standardised rates are the most appropriate.
Africa has the world’s highest rates of death by suicide. Around 11.2 people per 100,000 per year die by suicide in the region, higher than the global average of nine per 100,000 people. This is partly due to insufficient action to address and prevent the risk factors, including mental health conditions which currently affect 116 million people, up from 53 million in 1990. Lesotho had the highest age-standardised rate of suicide in the region in 2019 at 87.5 per 100,000 people.
