Suicide statistics - first half of 2025

-Automatic translation

Official suicide statistics are based on the Directorate of Health's Cause of Death Register, where intentional self-harm (ICD-10 codes: X60-X84) is recorded as the cause of death on a death certificate.

The number of suicides in the first six months of 2025 was 17, or 4.3 per 100,000 inhabitants. For comparison, there was an average of 21 suicides in the first six months of the years 2020-2024, or 5.6 per 100,000 inhabitants. This preliminary figure indicates a decrease, but suicide figures fluctuate between years, so it is important not to interpret six-month preliminary figures as an indication of a decline in the suicide rate.

Looking at the rates over full years and periods, an average of 43 individuals died by suicide annually in Iceland from 2020 to 2024, or 11.5 per 100,000 inhabitants. In the previous five-year period, 2015-2019, an average of 38 individuals died by suicide each year, or 11.1 per 100,000 inhabitants, while for the period 2010-2014, the average was about 41 individuals, or 12.8 per 100,000 inhabitants.

This shows that, because the nation's population is small, minor changes in population size can lead to fluctuations in the annual mortality rate. Therefore, it is better to consider the average over several years rather than individual years when analysing the suicide rate in Iceland.

Lífsbrú - Centre for Suicide Prevention has issued guidelines on responsible media coverage of suicide, which are accessible on the Directorate of Health's website and the Icelandic Journalists' Association's website.

More information
Guðrún Jóna Guðlaugsdóttir, Project Manager, Lífsbrú - Centre for Suicide Prevention gudrun.j.gudlaugsdottir@landlaeknir.is
Kjartan Hreinn Njálsson, Assistant to the Medical Director of Health, kjartan.h.njalsson@landlaeknir.is

Where can you get help?

Anyone struggling with suicidal thoughts is advised to contact the Píeta helpline on 552-2218, the Primary Healthcare Information Line on 1700, or the heilsuvera.is web chat, the Red Cross Helpline on 1717, and the 1717.is web chat.

Those who have lost a loved one to suicide are advised to seek support from the Grief Centre (Sorgarmiðstöð) on 551-4141, the Primary Healthcare Information Centre on 1700, or the heilsuvera.is web chat, and the Píeta helpline on 552-2218.