Male suicide rates in Wales highest in the UK
Ella Groves
Research released today (3 December) from the Centre for Policy Research on Men and Boys (CPRMB) has found that male suicide rates in Wales are the highest of any UK nation.
6,723 men have died from suicide in Wales since 2000, with 337 men dying by suicide in 2024 alone.
The analysis found that the problem varies in severity along geographic lines with Blaenau Gwent and Monmouthshire having the highest rates of male suicide.
Since 1981, when records began, the male suicide rate in Wales has increased by 56%, with men representing 3 in every 4 suicides in Wales.
Comparatively, the female suicide rate has dropped by 24% since records began.
The rate of suicide for women is 6.8 out of 100,000 – a figure in stark comparison with the male rate of 25 out of every 100,000.
The CPRMB has emphasised however that this is not a zero-sum-game nor should it be seen as a competition.
Mark Brooks, Policy Director of the CPRMB, said: “Every life lost through suicide is a tragedy, and the latest official figures on male suicide rates in Wales are a huge concern.
“They continue to rise, are the worst ever in Wales and now are the highest in the UK. There needs to be a specific strategy and plan solely focused on male suicide, and more broadly, men’s health.
To deal with any problem it’s really important to properly understand it, and if we fail to look at the problem of suicide without looking at gender, we will never make significant inroads into prevention. We need to know why so many men in Wales are taking their own lives, a tragedy for those men and their families, friends, workmates, and all who love them.”
The CPRMB has called for a national strategic response, criticising the lack of focus on male suicide rates by the Welsh Government.
As such they have presented two policy proposals: the implementation of a Men’s Health Plan in Wales; and a gender-sensitive approach to the problem of suicide in Wales.
There is already a Women’s Health Plan in Wales, and the Secretary of State for Health, Wes Streeting, has recently announced the creation of a Men’s Health Strategy for England – the first of its kind in the UK.
The CPRMB have criticised a lack of reference to men in the Welsh Government’s suicide prevention plans, although they recognise the government plan does include an aim for “an annual reduction in the number and rates of suicide and attempted suicides.”
In response to the research, the Welsh Government said: “Earlier this year we published our new Suicide Prevention and Self-Harm Strategy, which draws on people’s experience and aims to reduce the rates of suicide and attempted suicides.
“We are developing same-day, open access to mental health support to ensure people can receive compassionate and person-centred support, whenever they need it.. This service will be open to those experiencing suicidal ideation, those in crisis, and those at immediate risk of suicide.
We are also investing more than £2m in the National Centre for Suicide Prevention and Self-harm Research at Swansea University through Health and Care Research Wales, marking a significant advance in understanding suicide risk, particularly among men, and how we can offer timely support.”
For help and support call Samaritans on 116 123 or email [email protected].
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There is no coincidence that Blaenau Gwent has some of the worst poverty in Cymru and also one of the highest rates of male suicide. This issue with poverty has not gone away it still haunts our country. It will not be addressed by Westminster – it’s time for independence.
Who on earth would downvote this comment? Good grief.
Agree that poverty has a lot to do with it, but also think that young people often take on too many responsibilities too soon. Too many things are expected of men and women both materially and emotionally. Try to be a balanced and content adult before you start a family with all the burdens and bonuses that it brings. Social media should be avoided and comparison with others. Try to enjoy simple things in life like nature and helping people rather than just eating, alcohol or drug dependency.
Correct Clive, but they want it all and they want it now, in the ‘me now’ culture that is way more important than the long term planning of their education and career.
Interesting that there is such thing as the Centre for Policy Research on Men and Boys.
Amongst their other concerns are:
The challenges faced by boys and men at all stages of education and work including attainment, re-training, stress, redundancy and unemployment
The challenges faced by men as parents, particularly new fathers and separated fathers
Boys with no positive male role models in their lives.
I could add – in Wales – we took away coal and steel, and made farming low-profit. And look at the state of the WRU. Lot of this adds up
Anyone who has tried to access serious mental health support in Cymru knows why this is. We need to be honest that this is not just something the English do to us. It is our administrators who make government websites trumpeting our trauma-informed, patient first mental health system, but this stuff doesn’t exist, is impossible to access, or exists only in tiny, trunkated versions. One time my GP and I went through the list of treatments advertised by our local NHS service and selected the one we thought I would benefit from and she made a referral. A few months(!)… Read more »
As an American former nurse, this breaks my heart. Men’s health issues are important; and with poverty it’s very easy to feel hopeless. Especially when men are told their worth is tied to how much money they can provide; but there are not options to attain wealth. Bob Marley said “destruction of the poor is in the poverty; destruction of the soul is vanity.” With the fake social media portrait of “IF YOU’RE A MAN, YOU NEED TO BE SUCCESFUL AND HAVE A YACHT OR YOULL NEVER GET A WOMAN” and all of the other alpha male toxicity. I remember… Read more »