The correlation between economic development and suicide rate - based on the global WHO and WB database

Although some studies have reported correlations between economic factors and suicide rates, there is a lack of systematic analysis from a global data perspective.

The most recent suicide rates (from 2017 to 2019) were obtained from the World Health Organization (WHO). The economic variables were obtained from the World Bank (WB) website. Software was used to match the suicide rates and the related variables from the database, country by country. Statistical methods were used to analyze the correlations between them.

Economic indicators, such as national income level, GDP per capita, GNI per capita, and the 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 the low-income group. A statistically significant correlation between the consumer price index and the Gini index was found in the lower-middle- and upper-middle-income groups, respectively. GDP per capita, GNI per capita, and the consumer price index showed positive correlations, but the Gini index had a negative correlation with suicide rate in the high-income group.

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 economic indicators has practical implications for suicide prevention.