Iranian Official: 4-5% Annual Increase in Suicide Rates in Iran Over Past Seven Years

The head of the country’s Social Affairs Organization announced on Sunday, February 9, that suicide statistics in Iran have increased by 4 to 5 percent annually over the past seven years.

Taghi Rostamvandi also reported an increase in suicides among individuals under 18 years old and over 60 years old, but did not provide any specific figures in this regard, only stating that the announcement of definitive suicide statistics in the country would be possible through data monitoring at the end of the year.

According to forensic medicine statistics in 2020, an average of 15 people died by suicide daily in Iran.

In a report published by the newspaper “Etemaad” on the first of February this year, it cited a source familiar with Iran’s Forensic Medicine Organization as saying that suicide statistics from the beginning of 2020 showed a 4.2 percent increase compared to the same period the previous year.

Based on published reports, between September and October 2020, six students in just Ramhormouz city in southern Iran committed suicide.

In recent months, numerous reports have been published about teenage suicides in Iran. These statistics indicate a decrease in the age of suicide in Iran, with the reasons primarily cited as “economic poverty” and “social and family disorders.”

The head of the country’s Social Affairs Organization also reported in another part of his remarks a 30 percent increase in symptoms of depression, stress, and anxiety due to the coronavirus pandemic, stating that “economic pressures and sanctions over the past two years have had significant impacts on the country’s social environment.”

Source: Radio Farda