Global suicide report reveals where rates are highest… as US makes shocking entry..

A worldwide ranking by international prescription service Universal Drugstore listed South Korea as having the highest rate of suicides in men and women, with Croatia and Australia tying for the number 10 spot, The United States has the sixth-highest suicide rate in the world, a grim ranking that comes amid a decades-long rise in suicides over the past three decades…

Suicide has become the tenth-leading cause of death in the US. Rates increased 16 percent from 2011 to 2022, with the highest rate yet being reported in 2022 with a record high of 49,369 suicide deaths, The US suicide rate came to 14.1 deaths per 100,000 people, considerably lower than South Korea’s 24.1 suicides per capita, though quite a bit higher than Australia and Croatia’s 12.4 deaths per capita.

Men were, across the top 10 countries, more likely to commit suicide. In Lativa, men were nearly eight times more likely to commit suicide than women, the hihest ratio among listed countries. On average, men were about four times as likely to commit suicide, Behind South Korea was Lithuania, with a suicide death rate per capita of 18.5. Then came Slovenia, with 15.7 deaths per capita.

This suggests that cultural influences could play a large role in determining suicide rates, as all of these countries are from two specific geographical regions, East Asia and Eastern Europe, They did not offer much by way of explanation for those high rates, but it is likely tied to stigma attached with mental health issues and seeking help in the forms of therapy and medicine, South Korea and Japan have particularly high-pressure educational and work environments as well as social stigma around mental health that may be driving up suicide rates there.