The suicide rate among men aged 25 to 39 in Hong Kong showed a significant rise in 2024, with unmarried men affected the most, according to a study by a suicide research and prevention group.
Hong Kong’s overall suicide rate rose from 13.5 per 100,000 people in 2023 to 14.1 in 2024, the Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention (CSRP) said on Wednesday.
A total of 1,016 suicide deaths were recorded in 2023, while the estimated number last year reached 1,061, the CSRP said.
According to the annual study, the overall suicide rate in Hong Kong increased from 2021 to 2024. While men contributed most to the increase, there was no significant change in the female suicide rate.
The most significant increase was among men aged 25 to 39, rising from 17.9 in 2023 to 23 in 2024. It was followed by the 40 to 59 age group, which increased from 20.1 in 2023 to 23.4 in 2024.
See also: Nearly half of Hongkongers who lost loved ones to suicide at high risk of PTSD, survey shows
Paul Yip, director of the CSRP, said on Wednesday that 72.7 per cent of men aged 25-39 who took their lives were unmarried. Many faced financial issues, with debts being the most common. Their debts stemmed from company failure, gambling, investment failure, and daily expenses, among other things, Yip said.
Other common personal problems found among the suicide population were mental and physical health issues.
“Suicides are never caused by a single reason. But if some people have mental health issues and financial problems at the same time, the impact is more significant,” said Yip, who is also a chair professor of population health at the University of Hong Kong (HKU).
The HKU scholar called on loan companies to “have social responsibility” and refrain from granting loans to applicants who could not manage their finances to prevent driving them to financial hardship.
At the same press conference, Vincent Ng, executive director of Suicide Prevention Services, said the group received a total of 85,583 calls via its hotline between January and August. The figure marked a 15.5 per cent rise compared with the same period last year. The calls from men aged 25-39 rose by more than 66 per cent in 2024, increasing from 2,577 to 4,280, Ng said.
| 💡If you are in need of support, please call: The Samaritans 2896 0000 (24-hour, multilingual), Suicide Prevention Centre 2382 0000 or the gov’t mental health hotline on 18111. The Hong Kong Society of Counselling and Psychology provides a WhatsApp hotline in English and Chinese: 6218 1084. See also: HKFP’s mental health services guide. |
See also: ‘Actually I am not happy’: Hong Kong seeks new strategies to stem rise in student suicides
Wednesday’s study showed that suicides among teenagers, which raised public concerns in 2023 when Hong Kong saw a decade-high number of suspected student suicides, showed a significant decrease from 1.5 to 0.8.
Yip said that despite the decrease, the suicide rate among those aged 15 to 25 remained high. He went on to say that the three-tier response mechanism launched by the government in December 2023, which aims to help schools identify students at higher risk of suicide and provide early support, may not be very effective.
He explained that high-risk students – those with mental health issues – only made up around 25 per cent of the student suicide population, according to their statistics. The remaining students may be overlooked, he said.
“That’s why we emphasise building a happy school environment, to make students feel happy in school and feel cared for by teachers,” Yip said.
