Turkey’s suicides have climbed 94 percent since the Justice and Development Party (AKP) took office in 2002, rising from 2,301 that year to a record 4,460 in 2024, according to an analysis of Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) data. That equates to a crude suicide rate of roughly 5.22 per 100,000 people in 2024, up from 3.5 in 2002. Although Turkey’s population grew from about 66 million to over 85 million in the same period, the increase in suicides far outpaced population growth.
Official figures indicate the 2024 total was also a sharp year-on-year increase from 4,089 suicides in 2023 and represents the highest rate recorded since at least 2001. Independent outlets that reviewed TurkStat’s “Death and Causes of Death” bulletin note the same totals and rate.
Breakdowns published by outlets summarizing the TurkStat release show men comprised the majority of cases in 2024 (3,499 men vs. 961 women). Illness was the most commonly cited factor (about 25.2 percent), followed by economic hardship (about 9 percent, or 402 cases—382 of them men). Authorities listed the cause as “undetermined” in roughly 21.8 percent of cases, and a further 36.8 percent fell under “other” reasons. Several provinces reported above-average rates, while the largest cities recorded the highest absolute numbers.
Researchers point to an unmistakable upward trend over the long run, with year-to-year fluctuations and notable jumps in 2012 and 2019, but a steadier, faster increase over the past five years. The acceleration since 2020 overlaps with prolonged economic turbulence: the 2018 currency crisis, subsequent bouts of very high inflation and unemployment, and periods of political interference in monetary policy all exacerbated financial stress for households. External shocks—including U.S. sanctions during the 2018 pastor crisis and sharply tighter global financial conditions—compounded vulnerabilities in an economy reliant on foreign-currency borrowing.
Public-health specialists typically cite the interplay of economic strain, social pressures and gaps in mental-health access as risk factors. Turkey has expanded awareness campaigns and hotlines in recent years, but independent studies and WHO profiling highlight continuing capacity constraints—such as a relatively low psychiatrist-to-population ratio by European standards—and call for broader, systemic investment in community-based care.
Global context helps frame the numbers. The World Health Organization estimates about 727,000 people died by suicide in 2021, with suicide the third leading cause of death among 15–29 year-olds worldwide. Turkey’s 2024 crude rate (≈5.22 per 100,000) remains below the latest global average, but the domestic trajectory is upward and, researchers say, concerning.
Methodological notes: TurkStat’s counts combine incidents recorded in institutional settings with cause-of-death coding from civil registries; as in many countries, stigma and classification challenges can lead to underreporting or high shares coded as “other/unknown,” so the precise distribution of causes should be read with caution. Still, the headline pattern—new highs in both counts and crude rate in 2024—appears consistent across multiple summaries of the official bulletin.
