Suicide (Latin suicidium, from sui caedere, "to kill oneself") is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair, the cause of which is frequently attributed to a mental disorder such as depression, bipolar disorder,schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder,[1] alcoholism, or drug abuse.[2] Stress factors such as financial difficulties or troubles with interpersonal relationships often play a role. Efforts to prevent suicide include limiting access to firearms, treating mental illness and drug misuse, and improving economic development.
The most commonly used method of suicide varies by country and is partly related to availability. Common methods include: hanging, pesticide poisoning, and firearms. Around 800,000 to a million people die by suicide every year, making it the 10th leading cause of death worldwide.[2][3] Rates are higher in men than in women, with males three to four times more likely to kill themselves than females.[4] There are an estimated 10 to 20 million non-fatal attempted suicides every year.[5] Attempts are more common in young people and females.
Views on suicide have been influenced by broad existential themes such as religion,honor, and the meaning of life. The Abrahamic religions traditionally consider suicide anoffense towards God due to the belief in the sanctity of life. During the samurai era in Japan, seppuku was respected as a means of atonement for failure or as a form of protest.Sati, a now outlawed East Indian practice, expected the widow to immolate herself on her husband's funeral pyre, either willingly or under pressure from the family and society.[6]
Suicide and attempted suicide, while previously criminally punishable, is no longer in most Western countries. It remains a criminal offense in many countries. In the 20th and 21st centuries, suicide in the form of self-immolation has been used as a medium of protest, and kamikaze and suicide bombings have been used as a military or terrorist tactic
Mental disorders

Mental disorders are often present at the time of suicide with estimates ranging from 27%[21] to more than 90%.[14] Of those who have been admitted to a psychiatric unit, their lifetime risk of completed suicide is about 8.6%.[14] Half of all people who die by suicide may have major depressive disorder; having this or one of the other mood disorders such as bipolar disorder increases the risk of suicide 20-fold.[22] Other conditions implicated include schizophrenia (14%), personality disorders (14%),[23] bipolar disorder,[22] and posttraumatic stress disorder.[14] About 5% of people with schizophrenia die of suicide.[24] Eating disorders are another high risk condition.[25]
A history of previous suicide attempts is the greatest predictor of eventual completion of suicide.[14] Approximately 20% of suicides have had a previous attempt and of those who have attempted suicide 1% complete suicide within a year[14] and more than 5% commit suicide after 10 years.[25] Acts of self-harm are not usually suicide attempts and most who self-harm are not at high risk of suicide.[26]Some who self-harm; however, do still end their life by suicide and risk for self-harm and suicide may overlap.[26]
In approximately 80% of completed suicides the individual has seen a physician within the year before their death,[27] including 45% within the prior month.[28] Approximately 25–40% of those who completed suicide had contact with mental health services in the prior year
Approximately 0.5% to 1.4% of people die by suicide.[3][14] Globally, as of 2008/2009, suicide is the tenth leading cause of death[2] with about 800,000 to one million people dying annually, giving a mortality rate of 11.6 per 100,000 persons per year.[3] Rates of suicide have increased by 60% from the 1960s to 2012,[87] with these increases seen primarily in the developing world.[2] For every suicide that results in death there are between 10 and 40 attempted suicides.[14]
Suicide rates differ significantly between countries and over time.[3] As a percentage of deaths in 2008 it was: Africa 0.5%, South-East Asia 1.9% Americas 1.2% and Europe 1.4%.[3] Rates per 100,000 where: Australia 8.6, Canada 11.1, China 12.7, India 23.2, United Kingdom 7.6, United States 11.4.[105] It is ranked as the 10th leading cause of deathin the United States in 2009 at about 36,000 cases a year,[106] with about 650,000 people seen in emergency departments yearly due to attempting suicide.[14] The country's rate among men in their 50's rose by nearly half in the decade 1999-2010.[107] Lithuania, Japan and Hungary have the highest rates.[3] The countries with the greatest absolute numbers of suicides are China and India accounting for over half the total.[3] In China suicide is the 5th leading cause of death.[108]
Notable cases
An example of mass suicide is the 1978 "Jonestown" cult suicide, in which 918 members of the Peoples Temple, an American cult led by Jim Jones, ended their lives by drinking grape Flavor Aid laced with cyanide.[155][156][157] Thousands of Japanese civilians committed suicide in the last days of the Battle of Saipan in 1944, some jumping from "Suicide Cliff" and "Banzai Cliff".[158]
The 1981 hunger strikes, led by Bobby Sands, resulted in 10 deaths. The cause of death was recorded by the coroner as "starvation, self-imposed" rather than suicide; this was modified to simply "starvation" on the death certificates after protest from the dead strikers' families.[159] Erwin Rommel during World War II was found to have foreknowledge of the July 20 Plot on Hitler's life and was threatened with public trial, execution, and reprisals on his family unless he took his own life.[160]
Other species