An Iranian official: Suicides in Iran have increased by four to five percent annually over the past seven years.

The head of the country's Social Affairs Organization announced on Sunday, February 10, that the suicide rate in Iran has increased by four to five percent annually over the past seven years.

Taghi Rostamvandi also reported an increase in suicides among people under the age of 18 and over the age of 60, but did not provide any statistics in this regard and only said that it would be possible to announce definitive suicide statistics in the country by monitoring the data at the end of the year.

According to forensic statistics in 2020, an average of 15 people died from suicide in Iran every day.

In a report published by the Etemad newspaper on February 1 of this year, an informed source in the Iranian Forensic Medicine Organization was quoted as saying that the suicide rate has increased by 4.2 percent since the beginning of 2020 compared to the same period last year.

According to published reports, between October and November 2019, six students committed suicide in Ramhormoz County in southern Iran alone.

In recent months, there have been numerous reports of teenage suicides in Iran. These statistics indicate a decrease in the age of suicide in Iran, and the reasons for this have been attributed to "economic poverty" and "social and family disorders."

In another part of his statement, the country's Social Affairs Organization also reported a 30 percent increase in symptoms of depression, stress, and anxiety due to the coronavirus outbreak, and said that "economic pressures and sanctions have had a great impact on the country's social atmosphere in the past two years."

Source: Radio Farda