Key points
- 746,000 people died by suicide in 2023. Suicide was the second leading cause of death among 15–29-year-olds globally that year (WHO suicide fact sheet, 3 November 2026).
- The older figure — 727,000 deaths in 2021, third leading cause — is superseded and should not be quoted as current.
- WHO's prevention framing is LIVE LIFE: limit access to means, responsible media reporting, socio-emotional life skills in adolescents, and early identification and follow-up.
- This page carries no crisis content and no crisis numbers of its own. The Wellbeing Support Directory's crisis banner stands.
Direct answer: More than 740,000 people die by suicide every year — 746,000 in 2023 (WHO suicide fact sheet, published 3 November 2026). Suicide was the second leading cause of death among 15–29-year-olds globally in 2023. WHO's prevention framing is LIVE LIFE: four interventions, described below. This page is awareness only, in WHO's framing. It gives no crisis content and no crisis numbers of its own — the Wellbeing Support Directory's crisis banner stands, and this page links to it.
The figures
The figures are WHO’s, from the suicide fact sheet published 3 November 2026 — the latest update, which supersedes earlier versions. 746,000 people died by suicide in 2023. Suicide was the second leading cause of death among 15–29-year-olds globally in 2023. 73% of global suicides in 2023 occurred in low- and middle-income countries. The older figure — 727,000 deaths in 2021, third leading cause among 15–29-year-olds — is superseded and should not be quoted as current. The change is a newer estimate from newer data, not a sudden rise in one year. A population figure describes the world; it does not describe any one person.
LIVE LIFE: the four interventions
WHO’s LIVE LIFE initiative frames prevention in four interventions. First, limit access to means. Second, responsible media reporting of suicide. Third, foster socio-emotional life skills in adolescents. Fourth, early identification, assessment, management and follow-up of anyone affected by suicidal behaviour. The initiative also has six pillars, covering the systems that support those interventions — the fact sheet and the initiative page carry the detail, and this page links to them rather than restating it. The framing is population-level: it describes what health systems and societies can do, not what any individual should do.
How few countries have a plan
Only 38 countries report having a national suicide prevention strategy, and only about 80 WHO Member States have good-quality vital-registration data for suicide (WHO, 3 November 2026). The gap matters for two reasons. First, a country without a strategy has no coordinated prevention to point to. Second, a country without good-quality data cannot know whether prevention is working — the 746,000 figure is an estimate, and in much of the world the true count is less certain than the number looks. Progress on suicide prevention is therefore partly a data problem, not only a services problem.
Stigma and the taboo
Stigma surrounding mental disorders and suicide means many people thinking of taking their own life, or who have attempted suicide, are not seeking help (WHO, 3 November 2026). Raising community awareness and breaking the taboo is named by WHO as important for progress. The companion guide on tackling stigma and asking for help covers that barrier in full — the three types of stigma, why people do not ask for help, and how conversations start. This page states the WHO point and goes no further: it does not describe personal experiences, and it does not advise anyone on what to say to a person at risk.
Where crisis help sits on this site
This page carries no crisis content and no crisis numbers. The Wellbeing Support Directory carries the site’s crisis banner — “If life is in immediate danger, call your local emergency number or go to your nearest emergency department” — and that banner stands unchanged. The directory lists official support routes only, with no scoring, no questionnaire and no triage, and it deliberately holds back crisis numbers that have not been verified from their official source. Any crisis number added later must be verified from its official source first; this page does not add any.
Frequently asked questions
How many people die by suicide each year?
746,000 people died by suicide in 2023 (WHO, fact sheet 3 November 2026). Suicide was the second leading cause of death among 15–29-year-olds globally that year.
What is WHO's LIVE LIFE approach?
Four interventions: limit access to means; responsible media reporting; socio-emotional life skills in adolescents; and early identification, assessment, management and follow-up.
Where do I find crisis help on this site?
In the Wellbeing Support Directory, which carries the site's crisis banner. This page adds no crisis content or numbers of its own.