About one person in 5,000–15,000 dies by suicide every year, with an estimated global rate of 10.5 per 100,000 population. According to the World Health Organization, one person takes their life every 40 seconds.

In high-income countries, male and female rates of suicidal behaviours are different from the rest of the world. While women are reportedly more prone to suicidal thoughts, rates of suicide are higher among men (suicide in men has been described as a “silent epidemic”). According to a WHO report in 2016, the suicide rate for men outranked women on a ratio of 53:47 in Nigeria. 8,410 reported cases of suicide were women, while 9,300 suicide cases were men.

In Africa, suicide is more common than people care to admit. In Nigeria, suicide rates stood at 3.50% in 2019. A rate that is steadily climbing due to poverty, unemployment and inflation which are termed leading causes of depression and suicide in low-income countries in Africa.

Recent data on global suicide rates showed that African country, Lesotho has the highest suicide rate in the world for a country at 72.4%.

Here are six African countries with the highest suicide rates in Africa.

Countries Rates (Per 100k People)
Lesotho 72.4%
Eswatini 29.4%
South Africa 23.5%
Botswana 16.1%
Mozambique 13.6%
Central Africa Republic 12.3%