There are a number of reasons why understanding suicide statistics can be challenging, as they are not always as straight forward as they immediately seem.
 

Rates per 100,000 people: Rates per 100,000 people are calculated in order to adjust for the underlying population size, which does mean that sometimes they can be misleading. For example, an area or group with a larger population may have a higher number of suicides in comparison to an area or group with a smaller population, but the rate per 100,000 may be lower.
 

National rates of suicide can mask regional variations: There may be very important differences in area’s, regionally or locally, that are not represented through national statistics.

​

Small groups/populations: It’s important to be aware that the size of populations may have a big impact on the rate, for example suicide in the elderly – as their population is lower than in younger age groups, they may produce rates that are less reliable as the rates per 100,000 are based on small numbers.

​

The under reporting of suicide: There are various reasons that are acknowledged by professionals in the field of suicide research for why suicides are commonly under reported.
– Misclassification of deaths – This would mean that the death is not classified as suicide, as is listed under another cause of death. It is the job of the coroner to determine the cause of death, and in the case of suicides, to establish where there was intent by the individual to take their own life. If the coroner cannot determine the exact cause of death or the intent, the cause of death may be recorded as ‘undermined intent’ or ‘accidental’.

– Difference in methods – The difference in methods of suicide between males and females is often described by many researches as being a factor which affects the under-reporting of suicides. For example, it has been documented that men tend to choose more ‘final’ methods than females, such as poison and hanging. It may be that in cases of female suicide it is not as easy for the coroner to establish the intent as easily in methods more common to men.

– Subjective nature of coronial system –  There may be many differing reason why a coroner would not classify a death as a suicide and therefore determine another cause of death.  It may be that the coroner does not believe there is enough evidence to prove that suicide was the cause of death – a coroner must base their decisions on the principle of ‘beyond doubt’ opposed to ‘on the balance of probabilities’. It has previously been suggested that there may be inconsistencies in coroners’ processes to establish the cause of death, and one coroner’s verdict may differ from others.