Why so many suicides in Uruguay?

Uruguay It is rich, stable and egalitarian. Happiest country in South America, according to international rankings. However, its ratio Suicides The annual suicide rate per 100,000 citizens is twice the average for Latin America and the Caribbean. Last year, 823 people committed suicide in this country of 3.4 million people, the highest number on record and up nearly 50% since 2010. Why?

At first glance, this situation is confusing. Unemployment is slightly above the regional average and has declined since 2020. Violent crime involving suicides has increased sharply in recent years. But it’s lower than in many neighboring states, and suicide is unusually common even before the homicide rate rises.

However, if you dig a little deeper, Uruguay starts to look like an extreme example of a familiar pattern. Around the world, older men living in rural areas have higher risk factors for suicide. The group is particularly under pressure in Uruguay. One of the oldest populations in Latin America, with 15% of people aged 65 or older. Ana Machado of the University of the Republic in Montevideo, the capital, says young people spend far less time caring for elderly relatives than elsewhere in the region. Many older people suffer from loneliness. Access to palliative care may be inequitable.

Also, cultural barriers make Uruguayans reluctant to talk about it mental health. Men, especially, are expected to be stoic. They represent almost 80% of suicides in the country with a disproportionate risk for people over 60. Uruguay’s male suicide rate is three times higher than the regional average.

All this is alarming in the context of rural population. The suicide rate in Montevideo was 18 per 100,000 people last year. But it rose to 38 per 100,000 inhabitants in Trienta y Tres, 36 in Lavalleja and 34 in Soriano. All three are agricultural suburbs whose rural population has halved over the past three decades. The government wants to distribute free antidepressants through the public health system. But pills alone are not enough when provinces are dying.

© 2023, The Economist Newspaper Limited. All rights reserved.