Suicide Facts
Provisional 2002 All-Ages Statistics

Date of publication: April 2005

HP 4092

Suicide deaths in 2002

• A total of 460 people died by suicide, compared with 507 in 2001 and 458 in 2000. See page 3 for the definitions of suicide numbers and suicide rates.

• The suicide mortality rate declined by 25 percent since a peak in 1998, from 14.3 to 10.7 deaths per 100,000 population.

• The age-standardised suicide rate for the total population was 10.7 per 100,000 population, with males continuing to have a higher rate than females (16.6 compared to 5.2 per 100,000 population).

• The all-ages sex ratio for the suicide rate in New Zealand was 3.2 male suicides to every female suicide per 100,000 population.

• The rate of suicide was higher for Mäori than for non-Mäori. For Mäori males and females the age-standardised rates were 19.7 and 5.9 deaths respectively per 100,000 population, and for non-Mäori males and females they were 15.6 and 4.8 deaths per 100,000 population respectively.

• People aged 20–24 years had the highest age-specific suicide rate for five-year age groups (20.7 deaths per 100,000 population), followed by people aged 25–29 years (20.6 deaths per 100,000 population).

• When considering life-cycle age groups, for females, 15-24-year-olds had the highest age-specific suicide rate (11.0 per 100,000 population), while for males 25-44-year-olds had the highest age-specific suicide rate (29.5 per 100,000 population).

• In 2002, New Zealand’s all-age suicide rates for males and females were the sixth highest among OECD countries with comparable data.

Hospitalisation for intentional self-harm in 2001/02

• The hospitalisation rate for intentional self-harm for the total population was 128.2 cases per 100,000 population, compared with 129.2 cases per 100,000 population in the 2000/01 financial year.

• The female-to-male rate ratio for intentional self-harm in New Zealand was 1.95 female hospitalisations to every male hospitalisation per 100,000 population.

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Suicide Facts - Provisional 2002 All-Ages Statistics
Suicide Facts - Provisional 2002 All-Ages Statistics (Word, 179 kB)
Suicide Facts - Provisional 2002 All-Ages Statistics (PDF, 184 kB)

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Regional Analysis for Suicide Deaths 1998-2002
Regional Analysis for Suicide Deaths 1998-2002 (Word, 53 kB)
Regional Analysis for Suicide Deaths 1998-2002 (PDF, 76 kB)

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Related information

Anderton comments on falling suicide rate (Media Release)

Suicide Prevention in New Zealand

Other publications relating to suicide

Data and statistics

Suicide Facts - Provisional 2001 Statistics (all ages)

Suicide Facts - Provisional 2000 Statistics (all ages)

Suicide Facts - Provisional 1999 Statistics (all ages)

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