What is the suicide rate in Russia?
According to national sources, the suicide rate in Russia was 10.7 per 100,000 people in 2021. An international figure places the rate at 21.4 per 100,000. The rate has fallen every year since 2002.
Questions about Suicide in Russia
Short answers, pulled from the story.
When did suicide rates in Russia peak?
Suicide rates in Russia peaked in 1994 and 1995, reaching 41.4 suicides per 100,000 people in 1995. That year, approximately 61,000 people died by suicide. The peak followed the dissolution of the Soviet Union, market reforms, the First Chechen War, and falling incomes.
How does alcohol consumption relate to suicide in Russia?
An estimated half of all suicides in Russia have been correlated with alcohol abuse. Researchers found that Russia's suicide rate declined alongside per capita alcohol consumption from the 1990s onward, even during periods of economic hardship, suggesting alcohol is a stronger driver than economic conditions.
Which regions of Russia have the highest suicide rates?
At the end of 2015, high suicide rates were recorded in 37 of Russia's 85 regions, concentrated in the north, the Urals, Siberia, and the Russian Far East. The highest rates were in the Altai Republic, Transbaikal, the Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Buryatia, and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, all areas with large indigenous populations.
Did Gorbachev's anti-alcohol campaign reduce suicides in Russia?
Yes. After Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in May 1985 and launched an anti-alcohol campaign with partial prohibition, Russia's suicide rate fell by 34.5%, dropping from 29.6 to 19.4 per 100,000 inhabitants over a couple of years. The decline reversed when the country's socio-economic situation worsened by the end of the 1980s.
When did Russia begin collecting nationwide suicide data?
Russia began collecting suicide data for the entire population in 1956, under Nikita Khrushchev. Before that, records in the Russian Empire and for much of the Soviet era covered only individual cities, regions, or the urban population.