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Suicide deaths among Hong Kong children and young people rose by more than 30 percent last year, pushing the rate for those aged 19 or below to its highest level in nearly a decade even as the citywide figure fell to a six-year low.
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Provisional Coroner’s Court figures cited by The Samaritan Befrienders Hong Kong showed 1,019 suicide deaths in 2025. The overall rate fell from 15.1 per 100,000 people in 2024 to 13.57, the lowest since 2020.
Among those aged 19 or below, deaths rose from 35 to 47, an increase of more than 30 percent. The suicide rate for the age group climbed to 4.72 per 100,000, the highest in nearly 10 years. Young people were the only age group to record a significant increase.
The organization’s suicide crisis intervention center handled 1,147 cases last year, including 228 involving people aged 19 or below. Male help-seekers outnumbered females by two to one.
Family problems accounted for 29.4 percent of the youth cases, followed by mental health concerns at 20.2 percent and interpersonal difficulties at 17.1 percent.
People aged 70 or above continued to record the highest number and rate, with 257 deaths and 21.1 cases per 100,000 people. Despite remaining the most affected age group, its rate fell for a fourth consecutive year to a near-decade low.
Suicide rates generally declined among people aged 20 to 69, with the rate among those aged 40 to 49 falling by more than 27 percent.
The organization noted that Hong Kong’s crude suicide rate remained above the World Health Organization’s latest global age-standardized estimate of 8.9 per 100,000. However, the two figures are calculated differently and are not directly comparable.
The Samaritan Befrienders urged the government to expand its three-tier emergency mechanism to include suicide-prevention organizations, improve the collection of student suicide data and allocate more resources to family therapy.
