Russia’s Suicide Rate Falls to 50-Year Low

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – February 10, 2016)

The number of suicides in Russian totaled 24,982 last year – the lowest number in 50 years, the RBC news website reported Wednesday, citing official statistics data.

RBC also reported that last year there were 17.1 cases of suicide per 100,000 people, which is lower than in 1962, when 17.4 suicides for every 100,000 people were registered, but higher than in 1961 when the rate was 16.1.

Russian suicide rates have been declining over the past 14 years.

In 2015, the number of suicides was down 6.2 percent compared to 2014, according to the Rosstat state statistics service.

A high suicide rate – more than 20 cases per 100,000 people – was registered in 37 out of 85 regions last year, RBC reported. These include regions in the North, the Urals, Siberia and the Far East, according to Rosstat.

Eighteen Russians regions, including Moscow, St. Petersburg and the North Caucasus republics, showed low suicide rates – fewer than 10 cases for 100,000 people.