USA Suicide Summary: 1998 Official Final Data

[ 1998 State Data ] [ 1997 Final Data ] [ Additional 1998 Detailed Data Tables ]

U.S.A. SUICIDE: 1998 OFFICIAL FINAL DATA

Number Per Day Rate % of Deaths

Nation
30,575 83.8 11.3 1.3

Males
24,538 67.2 18.6 2.1
Group (Number of Sui.)
Rate

Females
6,037 16.5 4.4 0.5
White Male (22,174)
20.3

Whites
27,648 75.7 12.4 1.4
White Female (5,474)
4.8

Nonwhites
2,927 8.0 6.2 0.9
Nonwhite Male (2,364)
10.5

Blacks
1,977 5.4 5.7 0.7
Nonwhite Female (563)
2.3

Elderly (65+ yrs.)
5,803 15.9 16.9 0.3
Black Male (1,659)
10.2

Young (15-24 yrs.)
4,135 11.3 11.1 13.5
Black Female (318)
1.8

Extrapolations about:

Deaths by Suicide (Completions):

Average of 1 person every 17.2 minutes killed themselves.
Average of 1 old person every 1 hour 30.1 minutes killed themselves.
Average of 1 young person every 2 hours 7.1 minutes killed themselves. (If the 324 suicides below age 15 are included, 1 young person every 1 hour 57.9 minutes)
4.1 male completions for each female completion.
8th ranking cause of death in U.S.A.-- ranks15th for old; ranks 3rd for young

Causes of Death Among Those 15-24 Yrs. of Age, 1998:

Cause	Number	Rate
All Causes	30,627	82.3
1-Accidents	13,349	35.9
2-Homicide	5,506	14.8
3-Suicide	4,135	11.1

Suicide ranks 8th as a cause of death; Homicide ranks 13th. That is, more Americans kill themselves than are killed by others.

Attempts (figures are estimates; no official U.S. national attempt data are compiled; based on research findings):

25 attempts for every completion for nation.
764,000 annual attempts in U.S.
100-200:1 for young, and 4:1 for elderly (attempts to completion ratios)
5 million living Americans (estimate) have attempted to kill themselves
3 female attempts for each male attempt

Survivors ("Suicide survivors" refers to the family, friends, significant others, and loved ones of individuals who die by suicide. No official data exist to determine the number of survivors and no systematic or large-scale epidemiological study has been conducted to provide better estimates.):

Each suicide intimately affects at least 6 other people (estimate)
Based on 31,000 suicides annually, the number of survivors grows 186,000 each year
If there is a suicide every 17 minutes, then there are 6 new survivors every 17 minutes as well
Based on the over 732,000 suicides from 1974 through 1998, it is estimated that the number of survivors of suicides in the U.S. is 4.4 million (1 of every 62 Americans in 1998)

Men, Women, Young, Old All Use Firearms as Their Leading Method of Suicide

Suicide by Firearms:

Number

Rate
Percent of Total
All Other Methods

Number

Rate
Percent of Total

Firearm suicides USA

17,424

6.4
57.0%
All Other USA

13,151

4.9
43.0%

Firearm suicides Young

2,510

6.7
60.7%
All Other Young

1,625

4.4
39.3%

Firearm suicides Old

4,113

12.0
70.9%
All Other Old

1,690

4.9
29.1%

Firearm suicides Male

15,104

11.4
61.6%
All Other Male

9,434

7.1
38.4%

Firearm suicides Female

2,320

1.7
38.4%
All Other Female

3,717

2.7
61.6%

U.S.A. Suicide Rates by Age
(Rates per 100,000 population)
1990-1998
Age	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998
5-14	00.8	00.7	00.9	00.9	00.9	00.9	00.8	00.8	00.8
15-24	13.2	13.1	13.0	13.5	13.8	13.3	12.0	11.4	11.1
25-34	15.2	15.2	14.5	15.1	15.4	15.4	14.5	14.3	13.8
35-44	15.3	14.7	15.1	15.1	15.3	15.2	15.5	15.3	15.4
45-54	14.8	15.5	14.7	14.5	14.4	14.6	14.9	14.7	14.8
55-64	16.0	15.4	14.8	14.6	13.4	13.3	13.7	13.5	13.1
65-74	17.9	16.9	16.5	16.3	15.3	15.8	15.0	14.4	14.1
75-84	24.9	23.5	22.8	22.3	21.3	20.7	20.0	19.3	19.7
85+	22.2	24.0	21.9	22.8	23.0	21.6	20.2	20.8	21.0
65+	20.5	19.7	19.1	19.0	18.1	18.1	17.3	16.8	16.9
Total	12.4	12.2	12.0	12.1	12.0	11.9	11.6	11.4	11.3

10 Leading Causes of Death in the U.S.A., 1998
(total of 2,337,256 deaths)
Rank	Cause of Death	Rate	Deaths
1	Diseases of the heart	268.2	724,859
2	Malignant neoplasms	200.3	541,532
3	Cerebrovascular diseases	58.6	158,448
4	Chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases	41.7	112,584
5	Accidents	36.2	97,835
6	Pneumonia & influenza	34.0	91,871
7	Diabetes mellitus	24.0	64,751
8	Suicide	11.3	30,575
9	Nephritis, nephrosis	9.7	26,182
10	Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis	9.3	25,192
-	All other causes (Residual)	171.5	463,427

Old made up 12.7% of 1998 population but committed 19.0% of the suicides.

Young were 13.8% of 1998 population and committed 13.5% of the suicides.

Official data source: Murphy, S.L. (2000). Deaths: Final data for 1998. National Vital Statistics Report, 48(11). Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. DHHS Publication No. (PHS) 2000-1120. [Data to be published in the 1998 annual volume of Vital Statistics of the United States.]

Population figures source: Table I, p. 100, of the National Center for Health Statistics (Murphy, 2000) publication above.

	number of suicides by group	Suicide Data Page: 1998
suicide rate =	-----------------------------------	X 100,000	2 August 2000
	population of group	Prepared for AAS by John L. McIntosh, Ph.D.

American Association of Suicidology

4201 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 408

Washington, DC 20008

(202) 237-2280 Phone

(202) 237-2282 FAX

www.suicidology.org Website

ajkulp@suicidology.org Email

"to understand and prevent suicide as a means of promoting human well-being"

[ 1998 State Data ] [ 1997 Final Data ] [ Additional 1998 Detailed Data Tables ]

Visitors since October 2, 2000 Counter provided by

8/2/00 - JLM- Prepared for the American Association of Suicidology by John L. McIntosh, Ph.D. - revised 10/2/00 and 3/16/01

	Number	Per Day	Rate	% of Deaths
Nation	30,575	83.8	11.3	1.3
Males	24,538	67.2	18.6	2.1	Group (Number of Sui.)	Rate
Females	6,037	16.5	4.4	0.5	White Male (22,174)	20.3
Whites	27,648	75.7	12.4	1.4	White Female (5,474)	4.8
Nonwhites	2,927	8.0	6.2	0.9	Nonwhite Male (2,364)	10.5
Blacks	1,977	5.4	5.7	0.7	Nonwhite Female (563)	2.3
Elderly (65+ yrs.)	5,803	15.9	16.9	0.3	Black Male (1,659)	10.2
Young (15-24 yrs.)	4,135	11.3	11.1	13.5	Black Female (318)	1.8

Suicide by Firearms:	Number	Rate	Percent of Total	All Other Methods	Number	Rate	Percent of Total
Firearm suicides USA	17,424	6.4	57.0%	All Other USA	13,151	4.9	43.0%
Firearm suicides Young	2,510	6.7	60.7%	All Other Young	1,625	4.4	39.3%
Firearm suicides Old	4,113	12.0	70.9%	All Other Old	1,690	4.9	29.1%
Firearm suicides Male	15,104	11.4	61.6%	All Other Male	9,434	7.1	38.4%
Firearm suicides Female	2,320	1.7	38.4%	All Other Female	3,717	2.7	61.6%