Ethnicity and suicide in England and Wales

Author: Dr Duleeka Knipe and colleagues, University of Bristol

Date: September 2025

Research summary

Research using the Public Health Research Database has provided new insights into groups most at risk of suicide. Individuals from most ethnic minority backgrounds experienced lower rates of suicide than the White British majority, with the exception of those identifying as being from a Mixed ethnicity background or as White Gypsy/Irish Travellers. Results have been shared with the National Suicide Prevention Advisory Group to support policy and priority setting.

Research carried out at the University of Bristol, supported by the Wellcome Trust, examined variations in suicide rates in England and Wales by ethnicity, migrant status, and descendant status. Current understanding of ethnic disparities in suicide in England and Wales has been limited, as ethnicity is not recorded on death certificates.

Data used

The Public Health Research Database (PHRD) is a linked asset which currently includes:

• Census 2011 data
• Mortality data
• Hospital Episode Statistics (HES)
• GP Extraction Service (GPES) data for Pandemic Planning and Research.

The PHRD was the first dataset to combine administrative and health data, using NHS numbers to link records. This linkage provides a person-level, health-based research dataset for England and Wales, comprising 29 million anonymised records of adults in England. It includes their characteristics as recorded on the 2011 Census (if present), mortality data (including cause of death), and evidence of comorbidities from HES and GP data for England only.

Reference: Office for National Statistics; NHS Digital, released 03 July 2023, ONS SRS Metadata Catalogue, dataset, Public Health Research Database - England and Wales, https://doi.org/10.57906/b8zx-6x19

Methods used

The sample included all deaths between 1 January 2012 and 31 March 2019 for which linked data was available in the PHRD, covering 97% of all deaths during this period.

Regression analysis was conducted on ethnic group, migrant status (individuals born outside the UK), and descendant status (individuals who identify as non-White British but were born in the UK). Researchers calculated age-standardised suicide rates for each of the 18 self-identified ethnicity groups in England and Wales, with results presented by age, sex, and method. Age-adjusted and sex-adjusted incidence rate ratios were estimated using Poisson regression models, comparing each minority ethnic group with the White British group as the majority population.

Research findings

Of the 31,644 suicides recorded between January 2012 and March 2019 in England and Wales, 11% were in individuals from a minority ethnic group. Suicide rates were lower in almost all minority ethnic groups compared to the White British group, except for individuals who identify as being from Mixed-heritage backgrounds and White Gypsy or Irish Travellers.

Among males, suicide rates in these two groups and in White Irish individuals were similar to those in the White British majority. Among females, rates were 79% higher in those of Mixed White and Caribbean heritage, and more than double among White Gypsy or Irish Travellers. The higher suicide risk seen in some minority ethnic groups appears to be driven by descendant populations (minority ethnic individuals born in the UK), rather than migrants.

Across all ethnic groups, more males than females died by suicide, with notably higher male-to-female ratios in some groups—for example, 9:1 among those identifying as Black other. Older individuals (aged 65+) of Chinese ethnicity had higher suicide rates than younger individuals in the same group.

No significant differences were found in the methods of suicide used across ethnic groups.

Research impact

This research investigated ethnic differences in suicide rates in greater detail than previous studies and provided national estimates for all 18 ethnic minority groups. These are the first such estimates to be published, helping to fill critical evidence gaps.

The findings highlight the elevated suicide rates among White Gypsy or Irish Travellers and underline the need for targeted public health interventions. They are already being used by The Friends, Families and Travellers charity working with this group to promote suicide prevention activities at the policy level.

The study has been published in Lancet Psychiatry and presented to the Chair of the National Suicide Prevention Advisory Group, who is using the evidence to inform national priorities.

This is the first time elevated suicide risk has been identified in the Traveller community, a group often overlooked. The findings support the targeting of research funding and commissioning of services for this population.

Research outputs

Publications and reports

• Journal article: Ethnicity and suicide in England and Wales: a national linked cohort study, The Lancet Psychiatry, August 2024

Blogs, news posts, and videos

• Blog: Suicide rates lower for almost all ethnic minority groups living in England and Wales - Bristol Biomedical Research Centre, July 2024
• Blog: Ethnic disparities in suicide mortality: what’s going on?, September 2024
• Blog: 2024 suicide by ethnicity data – Researching 'mixedness and suicide/ality', September 2024

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