Suicide Facts & Stats
Suicide is death caused by injuring oneself with the intent to die. A suicide
attempt is when someone harms themselves with the intent to end their life,
but they do not die as a result of their actions.
- Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the US for all ages.
- Suicide takes the lives of over 44,965 Americans every year.
- Every day, approximately 123 Americans die by suicide.
- There is one death by suicide in the US every 12 minutes.
- 786 people died by suicide in Alabama in 2016 (two per day)
- There is one suicide for every estimated 25 suicide attempts.
- For every suicide there are 25 attempts (More than 1.1 Million in 2016)
- 1 in 4 Individuals have thoughts of suicide in their lifetime!
9 out of 10 people who die from suicide suffer from diagnosed or undiagnosed mental disorder
Alcohol and drugs increase the risk of suicide dramatically
80% of people who die from suicide give definite warnings signs.
1 in 6 students nationwide (grade 9-12) seriously considered suicide in past year
Veterans accounted for 18% of all deaths by suicide (~8K)
While women attempt suicide 3x more often than men, men complete suicide 4x more often than women
51% of suicides are completed with firearms.
25.9% of suicides are completed by suffocation/hanging
What Can Be Done?
The SAM Foundation is an Alabama nonprofit dedicated to promoting suicide awareness and prevention. Our initial and primary focus is to facilitate and schedule free suicide prevention training to individuals and organizations in both Alabama and Georgia.
Schedule training for you or your organization. Working together we can make a difference in the lives of the most hopeless among us.
What are the Warning Signs?
Learn to recognize the warning signs and risk factors associated with suicide.