Albania among the countries with the lowest number of suicides in the EU

2025-09-10 22:31:00, Sociale CNA

In Albania, around 200 people commit suicide per year, according to data published by INSTAT on causes of death. In 2022, 192 people voluntarily gave up their lives, while in 2024, their number is 199.

In relation to the revised population, Albania has about 8 murders per 100 thousand inhabitants. It seems that poverty is not a reason to give up on life. At these levels, Albania has a lower suicide rate per 100 thousand inhabitants than the European Union average of 10.6 and is among the 10 countries that have this lowest indicator.

Today is the day of suicides and Eurostat has published data for Europe.

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In 2022, 5,017 young people aged 15–29 in the European Union died as a result of intentional self-harm. Compared to 2011, this represents a decrease of 20% (–1,248 deaths).

The data show that, in this age group of 15–29 years, more than 1 in 6 deaths were recorded as intentional self-harm (suicide), while in the total population, the weight of self-harm to other causes of death was 1 in 100. For young people, this was the second leading cause of death, after accidents.

According to available data by age, people in their twenties were more likely to die from deliberate self-harm than their younger peers. The highest crude suicide death rate among young people in the EU was recorded in the 25–29 age group, with a rate of 8.3 deaths per 100,000 population, while for those aged 20–24 the rate was 7.7.

For ages 15–19, the crude death rate was 4.4.

Since 2011, there has been a decrease in the crude death rates associated with intentional self-harm. In the 25–29 age group, the rate has fallen by 1.2 percentage points (pp), from 9.5 in 2011, while in the 20–24 age group it has fallen by 1.1 pp, from 8.8. For the 15–19 age group, the change is smaller, with a decrease of 0.4 pp, from 4.8.

The crude death rate associated with intentional self-harm is higher for the total population than for young people – even though the weight of this cause relative to other causes of death is significantly smaller.

Annual increase in suicide deaths in the EU in 2022

In 2022, a total of 49,042 deaths of residents of all ages due to suicide were recorded in the EU, corresponding to a standardized rate of 10.6 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants.

Compared to 2021, the number of deaths in the general population from intentional self-harm increased by 1 696, reaching a standardised rate of 10.24 deaths per 100 000 population. However, compared to 2011 – the first year for which data are available – the number of deaths from self-harm decreased by 10% (–5 581 deaths). In 2011, the standardised rate of deaths from suicide in the EU was 12.4 deaths per 100 000 population.

Differences between EU countries

Among EU countries, Slovenia recorded the highest standardized suicide death rate in 2022, with 18.3 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Lithuania (18.2) and Hungary (16.7). At the other end of the scale, Cyprus recorded the lowest standardized suicide death rate (4.1 per 100,000 inhabitants), followed by Greece (4.6) and Malta (5.2)./ Monitor