Statistics are not available for several countries in Africa and South-East Asia
The World Health Organisation (WHO), on Friday said that at least a million people die by their own hand each year.
A figure the organisation claimed accounted for more deaths than wars and murders put together and as a result called for urgent measures to be taken to curb the problem.
WHO in a report ahead of the World Suicide Prevention Day on Monday said: ?Data from the WHO indicate that approximately one million people worldwide die by suicide each year. This corresponds to one death by suicide every 40 seconds.?
The organisation further stated that the number of attempted suicide each year is 20 times higher than the number of deaths by suicide, adding that five percent of people in the world try to kill themselves at least once during their lifetime.
The organisation decried the trend was getting worse, saying ?given the magnitude of the public health problem of suicidal behaviours?, insisting that urgent action was needed.
?As suicide is largely preventable, it is imperative that governments, through their health, social and other relevant sectors, invest human and financial resources in suicide prevention,? the report said.
Dr. Shekhar Saxena, the report team leader, said suicide rates have increased in some parts of the world in recent years, with some countries seeing their rates jump by as much as 60 percent.
?Although suicide continues to remain a serious problem in high income countries, it is the low and middle income countries that bear the larger part of the global suicide burden,? the report said.
It added that: ?It is also these countries that are relatively less equipped to prevent suicide?.
According to WHO report, the highest documented suicide rates can be found in Eastern European countries like Lithuania and Russia, while they are lowest in Latin America, while United States, Western European countries and Asia fell in the middle of the range, WHO said.
Statistics however, are not available for several countries in Africa and South-East Asia.
Globally, suicide is the second cause of death worldwide among 15-19 year-on-year, with at least 100,000 adolescents killing themselves each year, while among adults, the suicide rate is highest especially between the age of 75, the study show.
