ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Mental Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1596682
This article is part of the Research TopicMultidimensional Approaches to Suicide Prevention: Innovations, Challenges, and Future DirectionsView all 18 articles
The Correlation between Economic Development and Suicide Rate -Based on Global WHO and WB database
Provisionally accepted
- 1Shandong Second Medical University, Weifang, China
- 2Shandong Xiangbai Hospital Co., Ltd. Weifang Hospital, Weifang, China
- 3Department of Respiratory Critical Care Medicine, Weifang No.2 People’s Hospital, Weifang, Shandong, China
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Background: Although some studies have reported correlations between economic factors and suicide rates, there is a lack of systematic analysis from a global data perspective. Methods: The most recent suicide rates (from 2017 to 2019) were obtained from WHO (World Health Organization). The economic variables were obtained through the WB (World Bank) website. Software was used to match the suicide rates and the related variables database country by country. Statistical methods were employed to analyze the correlations between them. Results: Economic indicators, such as national income level, GDP per capita, GNI per capita, Gini index are negatively correlated with suicide rates. However, this correlation was not consistent across all countries, and the direction of the association varied depending on the income levels of the countries. GDP per capita, GNI per capita, and the consumer price index were negatively correlated with suicide rates in low-income group. A statistically significant correlation between the consumer price index and Gini index was found in the lower middle and upper middle income group respectively. GDP per capita, GNI per capita and consumer price index showed positive correlations, but Gini index had a negative correlation with suicide rate in high income group. Conclusion: The correlations between economic indicators and suicide rates vary by national income level, playing different roles at different stages of economic development. Differentiated and targeted monitoring of the economic indicators has practical implications for suicide prevention.
Keywords: Economic Development, global perspective, Hierarchical analysis, Psychological strains, suicide rates
Received: 20 Mar 2025; Accepted: 18 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Lyu, Ding, Zhou, Zhang and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Juncheng Lyu, Shandong Second Medical University, Weifang, China
Qingxiang Zhang, Department of Respiratory Critical Care Medicine, Weifang No.2 People’s Hospital, Weifang, Shandong, China
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