Instructions for users
How to extract suicide statistics by country from the WHO Mortality
Database Online Tool
This guide explains you how to access suicide statistics and make graphs and tables for your country
using the WHO Mortality Database Online Tool. The following indicators are available:
•
•
Number of suicide deaths, by sex, and age groups
Age-standardized suicide rates, by sex
In order to access the data, you go to “Health Statistics and Information Systems” at the WHO
website: http://www.who.int/healthinfo/mortality_data/en/
Here you click “Access the online database”. This will take you to the WHO Mortality Database
Online Tool (direct link: http://apps.who.int/healthinfo/statistics/mortality/whodpms).
Select parameters
To get started you have to select your parameters. Therefore, click on the button “Select
parameters”. Here you can select your indicators, which countries you are interested in and which
year of data you would like to have displayed.
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Number of suicide deaths
In order to find data on the number of suicides, you need to click on folder 08 “No. of deaths External causes”. Here you will find the folders:
•
•
•
“7160 No. of deaths - Intentional self-harm, male”
“7170 No. of deaths - Intentional self-harm, female”
“7180 No. of deaths - Intentional self-harm, both sexes”
For the definition of any indicator, click on “Definitions” from the main screen. You will see that the
following ICD codes correspond to intentional self-harm: ICD-10 detailed codes: X60 - X84, Y870;
ICD-10 Mortality Tabulation List 1: 1101; ICD-9 Basic Tabulation List: B54.
If you click on one of the folders you will find the number of suicides in total and for the following
age-groups: below 1 year, 1-4, 5-14, 15-24, 25-34, 35-54, 55-74 and 75+ years.
For example: If you are interested in the total number of suicides within your country for both sexes
in all ages you click on:
“7181 No. of deaths - Intentional self-harm, both sexes, all ages”
Now you have selected your indicator. You can choose more, if you like.
You can now choose the country you are interested in. You do that by finding your country’s name
listed under “Countries” and click on it.
Under “Years” you can select the years of data you would like to have displayed. Not all countries
have data for each of the years you can select. If this is the case, you will only get the data for the
years for which suicide statistics are available for your country.
Suicide rates
If you want to find the suicide rates for your country, you should open folder 9 “Age-standardized
death rates per 100 000 world standard population”. Here you will find the folder “8750 ASDR per
100 000 - Intentional self-harm”. If you click on it, you will find the following:
•
“8751 ASDR per 100 000 - Intentional self-harm, all ages – male”
•
“8752 ASDR per 100 000 - Intentional self-harm, all ages – female”
•
‘8753 ASDR per 100 000 - Intentional self-harm, all ages - both sexes”
ASDR means age-standardized death rate. In the WHO Mortality Database Online Tool, the ASDR are
for all ages. ASDR for suicide for other broadly-defined age groups are not available.
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Example of how to make graphs and tables for the number of suicides in a country:
If you are interested in seeing the historical trend in the total number of suicide, in all ages for both
sexes, for example in Japan, you would select the following:
Indicator:
“7181 No. of deaths - Intentional self-harm, both sexes, all ages”
Country:
Japan
Years:
earliest: 1979
Latest: 2010
You have now selected your parameters and can click “OK”. Then you will automatically come back
to the WHO Mortality Database Online Tool. Now you have the choice for making graphs or tables
for your selected parameters.
Graphs
If you want to make a graph for you parameters you click on “Graphs”. Here you have the possibility
to make a “Line chart A”, ”Ranked bar chart”, “Bar chart” or a “Scattergram”. To get a Line chart of
the number of suicides from your selected parameters, you click on “Line Chart A”.
3
Tables
If you want to make a table out of the parameters selected, click on “Tables” and select one of the
different tables from A to D. Below you can see “Table B” displayed.
4
Example of how to make graphs and tables for the suicide rates in a country:
If you are interested in suicide rates for males, females and both sexes within a time period, for
example in Japan, you select the following parameters:
Indicators:
•
•
•
“8751 ASDR per 100 000 - Intentional self-harm, all ages – male”
“8752 ASDR per 100 000 - Intentional self-harm, all ages – female”
“8753 ASDR per 100 000 - Intentional self-harm, all ages - both sexes”
Country:
Japan
Years:
1979
2010
You have now selected your parameters and can click “OK”. Then you will automatically come back
to the WHO Mortality Database Online Tool. Now you have the choice for making graphs or tables
for your selected parameters.
Graphs
If you want to make a graph for your parameters you click on “Graphs”. Here you have the possibility
to make a “Line chart A”, “Ranked bar chart”, “Bar chart” or a “Scattergram”. To get a Line chart of
the age-standardized suicide rates from your selected parameters you click on “Line chart A”. If you
click on “Indicators”, you can select which of your selected indicators you want to see. Below you
see a Line chart of the suicide rates for both sexes. If you want to show the suicide rate for males,
you click on “Indicators” and select your indicator to be “ASDR per 100 000 - Intentional self-harm,
all ages – male” instead.
5
Tables
If you want to make a table out of the parameters selected click on ‘Tables’ and select one of the
different tables from A to D. Below you can see ‘Table C’ displayed.
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Export to Excel
The tables you make can be exported to Excel. Click on ‘Send to’ and select ‘Excel’. Make sure you
have Excel open. If you have Excel open, you will now get an Excel file with the table. From here you
can make graphs of the data according to the graphic options available in Excel.
It might be easiest to select all the indicators you need first, then create a table and export all of it to
Excel. Then you have all the suicide data from your country and are able to make different graphs or
tables in Excel. Please find examples as follows:
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Number of suicides, both sexes, Japan,
1979-2009
35000
30000
number
25000
20000
15000
Japan
10000
5000
2009
2007
2005
2003
2001
1999
1997
1995
1993
1991
1989
1987
1985
1983
1981
1979
0
Age standardized suicide rates, Japan,
1979-2009
Suicide rate per 100 000
35
30
25
20
male
15
female
10
both sexes
5
0
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number
Number of suicides, by age groups,
Japan, 2009
9000
8000
7000
6000
5000
4000
3000
2000
1000
0
both sexes
male
female
5-14
years
15-24
years
25-34
years
35-54
years
55-74
years
75+
years
Number of suicides, by age groups, Japan,
2009
8000
7000
number
6000
5000
4000
both sexes
3000
male
2000
female
1000
0
5-14 years
15-24
years
25-34
years
35-54
years
55-74
years
75+ years
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