28/11/2025
Does anyone actually care about men?
3/4 of Australian su***des are male.
AMHF - Australian Men's Health Forum
10 new facts about male su***de in Australia (2025)
November 28, 2025 by Glen Poole
We are talking about male su***de as a social issue in 2025 more than at any time in history.
In doing so, there can be a tendency to try and force a greater sense urgency by pushing a narrative that men’s su***de rates are constantly getting worse. While the need for more action is clear, that action needs to be based on a nuanced understanding of the data.
This month, the ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) released its annual Causes of Death data for 2024, which provides the raw data on the number of su***de deaths by age and location. These figures don’t provide information on the underlying factors behind each su***de, but they do provide the most up-to-date insight we have on the scale of the problem nationally.
While male su***de rates remain lower than they have been for significant periods in the past (see “Deaths by su***de over time”), as the population grows, the number of men dying by su***de keeps hitting new highs (see below for more information on the difference between numbers and rates).
There also appears to be an underlying trend in the age profile of male su***de that is missing from the public narrative, with su***de in boys and young men on a downward trajectory, while the number of su***des in men of working age (25-64) reached a record high in 2024. To help encourage more nuanced conversations on the issue of male su***de, here are 10 new facts on male su***de in Australia, drawn from the ABS’s latest release of its annual Causes of Death report.
1. Su***de kills 7 men a day
In 2024, a total of 3,307 people died by su***de in Australia; 2,529 males and 778 females. Men account for 3 in 4 su***des, with the proportion of deaths by su***de that are male being at least 75% every year since 1983. On average, 9 people a day die by su***de – 7 men and 2 women.
2. Male su***de is up 50% and down 7.5%
The number of male su***des each year in Australia has increased by more than 50% in the past two decades, from 1,658 deaths in 2005 to 2,529 deaths in 2024. This is the second highest number of male su***des on record after 2019, when there were 2,546 deaths. Looking at the rate of male su***de, rather than the number, there has been a fall in male su***de rates of 7.5% in the past 5 years, down from 20.2 deaths per 100,000 population in 2019, to a rate of 18.7 per 100,000 in 2024.
3. The figures have risen (and it’s more complex than that)
The unacceptably high number of men who died in 2024 is the second biggest number on record and, as the population of Australia continues to grow, we can expect that number to rise. However, when making comparisons between different years and different groups of people, it’s
important to look at the “rates” of su***de – which are different from the total number of su***des – and are measured as the number of deaths per 100,000 population.
For example, from 2023 to 2024, the rate of male su***de stayed exactly the same at 18.7 su***des per 100,000 population, but the number of su***des increased from 2,479 to 2,529 as the overall population of Australia increased.
4. The Gender Gap is still 3-to-1
In 1930, during the Great Recession, male su***de reached its highest recorded rate in Australia at 29.8 deaths per 100,000 population. The gender gap was close to 6-to-1, with men accounting for 84% of su***de deaths. Over the next 30 years, the gender ratio mostly followed a downward trend until the mid-1960s, when for 3 years (1965-67) the ratio fell below 2-to-1 and female su***de reached a record high of 12.9
deaths per 100,000 population.
By the 1990s, the gender gap had doubled to 4-to-1, peaking in 1994 when 81% of su***des were male. By 2012, the gender ratio had fallen to 3-to-1 and has stayed at that level (or just over) for the past 13 years. As such the statement that 3 in 4 su***des are men remains true, with men accounting for 76.5% of all su***des in 2024.
5. The su***de gender gap emerges in the teenage years
Rates of su***de in children are much lower than in the adult population, though of course, every child lost to su***de is one too many. In the past 5 years (2019-2024) there were an average of just under 100 su***des a year in children under the age of 18. The majority of these – around 75% - were in teenagers aged 15-to-17 years old. While rates fluctuate, there is very little gender difference in su***des in children under 15. In 2019-2024, there were around 20 su***des a year (47.4% boys and 52.6% girls). At around 15 years old, the gender gap begins to emerge. In 2019-2024, there was close to one su***de per day in teenagers aged 15-to-17-years-old, with boys accounting for nearly 2 in 3 su***des
(62.8%).
6. The majority of su***des are in men of working age
Working-age men (25-64 years old) account for the majority of male su***des (73%). The number of su***des in this age group in 2024 is the highest ever recorded, with a total of 1,845 deaths or 5 su***des a day.
7. Su***de in younger men seems to be falling
Young men and boys under 25 years old account for nearly 10% of all male su***des, with su***de being the leading killer of men and boys in this age group. Thankfully, only a small number of boys under 15 die from su***de (5 deaths were recorded in 2024). Notably, su***des in this age group appear to be on a significant downward trend, with the number of su***des now at the lowest level since 2012. In 2024, a total of 240 boys and young men under 25 years old died by su***de. The rate of teenage su***de in 15 to 19-year-old males has fallen significantly to 9.6 deaths per 100,000 from a recent high of 17.8 in 2018. Similarly, the rate in young men aged 20-24, has fallen to 16.5 su***des per 100,000, the lowest on record since 2010.
8. Some downward movement in older male su***de
Older Men over 65 years of age account for nearly 20% of all male su***des. In general, older men record lower rates of su***de than working-age men, but higher rates than boys and young men under 25. Su***de rates continue to drop noticeably at around retirement age (65) as men leave the workforce and remain relatively stable until men reach their mid-80s. Men who live to 85 and over continue to be the outliers, recording the highest rates of su***de of any age group. The number of su***des in older men 65 and over has fallen slightly from a high of 459 deaths in 2021
to 444 deaths in 2024. Even in men 85 and over, 2024 saw the second lowest rate of su***de in a decade.
9. First Nations su***de rates still significantly higher
The rate of su***de in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males is 2.5x higher than in non-Indigenous males (45.0 deaths per 100,000 population compared with 17.7 per 100,000 population). There is a significant gender gap with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males being 3.3x more likely to die by su***de than Indigenous females and 8x more likely than non-Indigenous females. These figures are taken from 6 states and territories where data has been made available (NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, WA, NT).
10. State and Territory
The majority of male su***des (around 75%) are recorded in the three most populous States (NSW, VIC, QLD). The Northern Territory continues to report the highest rates of male su***de at 30.3 deaths per 100,000 population compared to the national average of 18.3 per 100,00. Three States report higher than average rates of male su***de – Queensland (22.0 per 100,00), Western Australia (21.9 per 100,000) and Tasmania (20.8 per 100,00). Three States report lower than average rates of male su***de – South Australia (18.1 per 100,00), New South Wales (16.7 per 100,000) and Victoria (15.8 per 100,00). The Australian Capital Territory has the lowest rate of male su***de, 11.2 deaths per 100,00
population. Queensland currently has the highest gender ratio in su***de deaths (4-to-1), while the ACT has the lowest (2.5-to-1).
Male Su***de Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Men
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