Suicides in Australia

Something I have always found quite surprising about Australia is the high suicide rate here and it now appears that the rate is even higher than actually believed:

A study released today, on World Suicide Prevention Day, suggests there are problems with the official Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data that have led to serious under-counting of suicides nationally.

Researchers from the University of Sydney and colleagues in South Australia estimate that in Queensland in one year alone, the numbers fell short by 127 cases, due to errors in reporting. [AAP]

The article didn’t speculate why there was such an undercounting of suicides, but according to this report it is because of the lack of reporting from the aboriginal communities. Currently Australia has the world’s 33rd highest suicide rate.  America comes in at 46th for perspective.  With the undercounting of suicides the suicide rate is probably even higher.  I find this surprising because of the high quality of life here in Australia.  However, Australia come no where near being as high as the suicide rates in Russia and the former Soviet Republics which are three times as high as Australia.