New ONS Data Reveals 160 Higher Education Students Lost to Suicide Each Year, But Rates Lower Than General Population

Today (9th September 2025), the Office For National Statistics (ONS) have published estimates of suicides among higher education students. These are official statistics in development based on linking mortality records with student records between the academic year ending 2017 and the academic year ending 2023.

David Mais, head of mortality statistics at the ONS, said:

“Every life lost to suicide is a tragedy, leaving a lasting grief with all those involved and so it is heartbreaking to see our figures showing 160 higher education students taking this step each year.

“Men, part-time students and undergraduates are found through this study to be at the greatest risk, and we hope that insights like this will help target support as much as possible. 

1,108 HE Students Died By Suicide Between August 2016 and July 2023

ONS identified 1,108 suicides in higher education students that occurred between August 2016 and July 2023, an average of around 160 per year. This is 6.9 deaths per 100,000 students, lower than the 10.2 deaths per 100,000 people in the general population of similar ages.

Between the academic year ending 2017 and the academic year ending 2020, the male suicide rate for higher education students was statistically significantly higher (5.6 deaths per 100,000 students; 202 suicide deaths) compared with female students at 2.5 deaths per 100,000 students (117 suicide deaths); this is in line with the trend seen in the general population where suicide rates are higher among males.

Student Suicide Rate is Lower for Students Of The Same Age, Compared To The General Population

When compared with the general population, the suicide rate for higher education students among those aged 20 years and under and those aged 21 to 24 years showed the biggest difference, with the rate in the general population being 2.7 times higher than that in students.

First Year Male HE Students Most At Risk According to Data From ONS

The ONS calculated that between the academic year ending 2017 and the academic year ending 2020, first year undergraduate males had a significantly higher suicide rate at 7.8 deaths per 100,000 students compared with those studying in other years (4.3 deaths per 100,000).

18.5% of all suicides among those aged 17 to 20 years

ONS also looked at the number of suicides among HE students with all suicides among the general population (including HE students) by age group. For the academic years ending 2017 and 2023, HE student suicides made up approximately:

0.9% among those aged 30 years and over

18.5% of all suicides among those aged 17 to 20 years

16.8% among those aged 21 to 24 years

5.2% among those aged 25 to 29 years

Comparison of suicides by where the student lives

Over the measured period between the academic years ending 2017 and 2023, the rate of suicides in students living with their parents or guardians was the lowest among where the student lives (3.8 deaths per 100,000 students). The next lowest rate in this category, was for students living in private sector halls at 5.4 deaths per 100,000 students.

The Office for National Statistics have been developing their work in this area, improving our ability to link mortality records and student records. This has allowed us to better identify which cases of suicides were higher education students, so these figures should not be compared with previous estimates.

Main points 

In England and Wales, between August 2016 and July 2023:

• ONS identified 1,108 suicides in higher education students that occurred between August 2016 and July 2023, an average of around 160 per year. This is 6.9 deaths per 100,000 students, lower than the 10.2 deaths per 100,000 people in the general population of similar ages.
• The suicide rate for higher education students rose between the academic year ending 2017 and academic year ending 2019 before falling in the academic year ending 2020 and plateauing from there.
• The suicide rate for men in higher education students was higher (10.4  per 100,000 students) compared with women (4.3  per 100,000 students). It was also higher in the “White” ethnic group (7.8 per 100,000 students) compared with the “Black” and “Asian” ethnic groups (4.6 and 5 per 100,000 students respectively). These patterns are also seen in the general population.
• Undergraduates had a higher suicide rate (6.8 per 100,000 students) than postgraduates (5.3 per 100,000 students).
• Those studying part-time had a higher rate (8.8 per 100,000 students) than those studying full-time (6.4 per 100,000 students).
• The suicide rate varied by accommodation type, with those living in their own home having the highest rate (7.1 per 100,000 students) and those living with parents/guardians having the lowest rates (3.8 per 100,000 students).