Quarterly suicide death registrations in England: 2001 to 2022 registrations and Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) to Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2023 provisional data

• There were 1,439 suicides registered in Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2023 in England, equivalent to a provisional rate of 11.4 suicide deaths per 100,000 people; this rate is similar to the rate in Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2023 and to those in Quarter 4 of previous years.

• In 2023, 5,579 suicides were registered in England, equivalent to a provisional rate of 11.1 suicide deaths per 100,000 people; this rate was statistically significantly higher than the rates in 2022, 2021 and 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 2023 data, there were 17.0 suicide deaths per 100,000 males (1,051 deaths registered) and 6.1 suicide deaths per 100,000 females (388 deaths registered).

• In Quarter 4 2023, London had the lowest suicide rate of any region of England (7.9 suicide deaths per 100,000), while the highest rate was in the North East (16.2 suicide deaths per 100,000).

• For suicides, the median registration delay increased from 196 days in Quarter 4 2022 to 201 days in Quarter 4 2023.

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 bulletin.

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 24 hours a day, every day of the year, providing a safe place for you, whoever you are and however you are feeling.

Data source

Statistics on mortality come from the information provided when deaths are certified and registered. This 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. For further information on registration delays and their impact, see our Suicide rates in the UK Quality and Methodology Information (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 in our accompanying Deaths caused by suicide by quarter in England dataset.

Quality

For more quality and methodology information on strengths, limitations, appropriate uses, and how the data were created, see our Mortality statistics in England and Wales QMI and Suicide rates in the UK QMI. Further details are available in our User guide to mortality statistics.