Alarm Bells: At 772 Suicide Rates Shoot up in Iraq

ALBAWABA - The suicide rates in Iraq are shooting upwards. Many are talking about the phenomena in the social media which points to disturbing trends that won't be abate anytime soon.

Figures are trending after the official figures that are being registered were posted on different social media platforms. The number of those that committed suicide in Iraq went up to 772 in 2021.

These are figures provided by the Iraqi Ministry of Interior and according to its spokesman Khaled Al-Muhanna this new number rose by 100 over the 2020 figure that was registered at 663.  The figure had been on an upward trend since 2016 when the total suicide number stood at 393, going up to 462 in 2017, 530 in 2018 and 605 in 2019.

Al-Muhanna was speaking to the official Iraqi news agency. He said that 36.6 percent of those who took away their lives in 2021 were less than 20 years old and 55.9 percent of these were males and 44.1 percent were females.

 The reasons for the high suicide rates is related to psychological pressure, family violence and the economic deterioration in Iraq that lead increasing poverty rates at 31.7 percent and unemployment that stands at 27 percent according to figures by the country's Ministry of Planning as quoted by Anadolu.

Al-Muhanna added the Iraqi authorities have adopted a package of measures to confront this growing phenomenon, including the formation of specialised committees to look into the causes of the suicide rates the Turkish news agency added.

It pointed out the spread of the coronavirus pandemic since early 2020 has had a severe toll on Iraq’s oil-dependent economy following a significant decline in oil prices which cover about 95 percent of state expenditures.