Hong Kong Adolescent Suicides Surge to Ten-Year High, Court Data Indicates

Last year, the number of youth suicide cases certified by Hong Kong’s Coroner’s Court hit the highest level in a decade, even though total suicides across the broader population fell by 10% to 1,019.

The annual coroners’ report released last month shows that confirmed suicide cases dropped in nearly every age bracket, with the exception of individuals aged 10 to 19.

In the past year, 46 young people between 10 and 19 years old died by suicide, rising from 34 the year before and marking a ten-year high. The majority of these fatalities resulted from falls from height.

Additionally, a single child under the age of 10—a girl—also took her own life.

The most significant decrease was observed in the 40–49 age group, which reported 138 cases, a 26% decline from 186 in the prior year.

While the overall suicide count was 10% lower than the decade-high of 1,138 recorded in 2024, it remained substantially higher than the pre-pandemic figures, which were in the triple digits.

Source link