Topic briefing

Suicide prevention


Last updated: 14 October 2025

The issue

As well as a tragedy for bereaved family and friends, the death of a student is likely to have a significant impact on a university or college community. In the case of death by suicide, this impact may well be profound.

Compassionate and timely support can help to create safer environments for students. By taking a proactive approach, and centring the needs of students, providers can effectively support student mental health.  

Key facts

Analysis of higher education student suicides in England and Wales

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published an analysis in September 2025 estimating suicide among higher education students in England and Wales from August 2016 to July 2023.

This has been produced from a dataset linking information from individual Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) data on university students in England and Wales to the ONS mortality records.

The key findings from the data include:

  • After adjusting for age, higher education students in England and Wales had a lower suicide rate (6.9 deaths per 100,000 students) compared with the general population (10.2 deaths per 100,000 people of similar ages), between the academic years ending 2017 and 2023.
  • 1,108 suicides among higher education students were identified between August 2016 and July 2023.
  • The average during this period was around 160 each year. This is a rate of 6.9 deaths per 100,000 students over the period.
  • The suicide rate for higher education students rose from 5.5 deaths per 100,000 students in the academic year ending 2017 to 8.8 deaths per 100,000 students in the academic year ending 2019. This figure has since fallen to 6.0 deaths per 100,000 students in the academic year ending 2023.
  • The suicide rate for male higher education students was higher (10.4 deaths per 100,000 students, 720 suicide deaths) compared with female students (4.3 deaths per 100,000 students, 388 suicide deaths) between the academic years ending 2017 and 2023. This is in line with the general population, where suicide rates are higher among males.
  • The suicide rate was lower for the 'Black' and 'Asian' ethnic groups (4.6 and 5.0 per 100,000 students, respectively) than for the 'White' and 'Other' ethnic groups (7.8 and 7.5 per 100,000 students, respectively), between the academic years ending 2017 and 2023.

Risk factors associated with mental distress and suicide

Information presented in the following reports suggest possible risk factors associated with young people in the general population including higher education students:

Factors that may increase student mental distress include difficulties with academic studies, financial problems, key transition points and broader social and cultural pressures.

Risk factors particularly associated with suicide among people under 25 in the general population are serious self-harm, alcohol and substance misuse and health and psychological factors. For students these psychological factors may include adverse life experiences and early childhood trauma, chronic medical pain, perfectionism, social alienation/isolation, interpersonal conflict and loss and feelings of entrapment and hopelessness.

Groups that have been identified as particularly at higher risk of suicide include those who have experienced bereavement, asylum seekers and refugees, those who have experienced trauma, people with a pre-existing mental health condition or those with underlying health conditions. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning (LGBTQ+) young people exhibit more suicidal behaviour than those who do not identify as LGBTQ+.

While it is possible to identify some of the risk factors for death by suicide, it is important to be aware that only 27 per cent of general population suicides were people who had been in contact with mental health services in the previous 12 months. Therefore, many of the students who may be at risk of suicide may not get in contact with university wellbeing or mental health services.

Definitions

We use the following definitions in this topic briefing:

  • Mental health conditions are clinically diagnosable. They may be more or less severe, and their treatment pathways vary depending on the condition.
  • Mental ill health/poor mental health is a broader term describing mental distress that may or may not be related to a diagnosable mental health condition.
  • Suicidal ideation, sometimes referred to as suicidal thoughts, is a term used to cover thoughts about wanting to take one’s own life. Plans and preparatory acts related to suicide might be included under suicidal ideation or may be referred to as suicidal intent.
  • Suicidal behaviour is a term used to cover thoughts about suicide, suicide attempts and completed suicide.

Our role

We do not directly regulate student mental health systems or services at individual universities and colleges. We encourage higher education providers to develop their own policies and procedures, tailored to the specific needs of their students.

We identify and share effective practice and fund providers to develop innovative approaches to supporting student mental health. We also influence at a national level, partnering with government and key organisations to facilitate change. Read more about our role in student mental health

Published 10 September 2021
Last updated 14 October 2025
14 October 2025
Updated key facts to reflect the latest available data.
22 November 2022
Note about the OfS's role in student mental health
15 June 2022
New data added from the latest ONS analysis
18 May 2022
Notice that we will update the data on this page after the ONS release their latest analysis on 31 May 2022
19 November 2021
Minor updates to links

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