World map of male to female ratios of suicide rates, blue means more male suicides (2017, OWID)
Age-standardized male (top) and female (bottom) suicide mortality rates per 100,000 (2015, WHO)
0 - 5
5 - 10
10 - 15
15 - 25
25 - 35
Above 35
No data
Gender differences in suicide include different rates of suicides and suicidal behavior between males and females, among both adults and adolescents.[1][2] While females more often have suicidal thoughts, males die by suicide more frequently.[1][3] This discrepancy is known as the gender paradox in suicide.[1][2][4]
Globally, death by suicide occurred about 1.8 times more often among males than among females in 2008, and 1.7 times in 2015.[5][6][7] In the Western world, males die by suicide three to four times more often than do females.[5][8] This greater male frequency is increased in those over the age of 65.[9]Suicide attempts are between two and four times more frequent among females.[10][11][12] Researchers have partly attributed the difference between suicide and attempted suicide among the sexes to males using more lethal means to end their lives.[8][13][14] Other reasons, including disparities in the strength or genuineness of suicidal thoughts, have also been given.[1][15][16]
^Chang, B; Gitlin, D; Patel, R (September 2011). "The depressed patient and suicidal patient in the emergency department: evidence-based management and treatment strategies". Emergency Medicine Practice. 13 (9): 1–23, quiz 23–4. PMID22164363.