DescriptionONS linked census suicide data for England and Wales: ethnicity and religion breakdowns, methodology, confidence intervals. Census 2011 linked to 35,928 deaths 2011–2021.

Suicide by Ethnicity and Religion — ONS Linked Census Data 2011–2021

This page contains data about suicide.

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Report type

Evidence review

Last updated

April 2026

Primary sources

ONS linked Census 2011 — deaths 2011–2021; NHS England Mental Health Survey 2023–24

Confidence scale

Ethnicity and religion are

not recorded on death certificates

in England and Wales. The death registration process does not collect self-reported ethnicity, and religion is not recorded as a self-reported characteristic during registration. This means routine suicide statistics — published annually by the ONS — cannot be broken down by ethnicity or religion.

The only official route to suicide rates by ethnicity and religion is

linkage of death registrations to Census data

via NHS number. ONS links death records to the 2011 Census using NHS numbers added to census records by linking to the General Practice Patient Register. This allows the self-reported ethnicity and religion from the census to be attached to subsequent death registrations.

This approach has important limitations — set out in full in Section 4 — but it is the most robust official method available and the source of all ethnicity- and religion-disaggregated suicide data cited on this page.

35.1m

People in the study cohort (aged 18–73 on Census day)

35,928

Suicides in the study period (2011–2021)

73.9%

Of suicides in the cohort occurred in men

Source: ONS — Sociodemographic inequalities in suicides in England and Wales: 2011 to 2021 (published 6 March 2023).

Values explicitly stated in ONS bulletin narrative — model-based, not classic annual rates

The ONS adult suicide inequalities bulletin uses

Poisson generalised linear models

to estimate suicide rates by ethnicity and religion. The rates reported are model-based marginal means for the average age of the study cohort (45 years), expressed as rates per 100,000 over the 10-year study period (2011–2021). These are

not

classic annual age-standardised mortality rates — they must not be compared directly with annual suicide rate figures published elsewhere.

The bulletin narrative explicitly states that estimated suicide rates were

highest in White and Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups

for both men and women, and

lowest for the Arab ethnic group

Only groups explicitly cited in ONS bulletin narrative. Error bars show 95% confidence intervals.

Source: ONS — Sociodemographic inequalities in suicides in England and Wales: 2011 to 2021 (6 March 2023). Model-based marginal means for average cohort age 45. Not annual age-standardised rates.

Ethnic group

Men — rate (95% CI)

Women — rate (95% CI)

Notes

The ONS bulletin narrative does not explicitly state model-based rates for Black African, Black Caribbean, or Black Other ethnic groups in the text excerpts available. The full numeric tables are in the accompanying downloadable XLSX dataset. Figures for Black ethnic groups should be extracted directly from that official dataset — they should not be inferred from the chart or estimated. The dataset is available free at ons.gov.uk (see Source Directory, Section 7).

From the separate

Mortality from leading causes of death by ethnic group

article. These are age-standardised mortality rates (2013 European Standard Population), not model-based rates — do not compare directly with the figures above.

Source: ONS — Mortality from leading causes of death by ethnic group, England and Wales: 2012 to 2019 (19 August 2021). Three-year rolling period. Age-standardised to 2013 European Standard Population.

Group differences explicit in ONS source — causation not established by this design

The same ONS adult suicide inequalities bulletin reports that people reporting

any religious affiliation generally had lower estimated suicide rates than those reporting no religion

— with two exceptions: Buddhists and the "Other religion" category, both of which had higher rates.

Rates for

Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, Christian, and Sikh groups were all lower

than for those with no religion. Muslim adults had the lowest cited rates of any religious group.

Important — association, not causation

This is a population-level association from linked administrative data. The study design does not establish that religious practice causes lower suicide risk. Confounding factors — including age, socioeconomic status, social connectedness, and migration history — are not fully controlled for in the published figures. The group difference is explicit in the source; the causal interpretation is not supported by this study design.

Only groups explicitly cited in ONS bulletin narrative. Note: Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Sikh, and No religion rates are in the downloadable dataset — not reproduced here from narrative text alone.

Source: ONS — Sociodemographic inequalities in suicides in England and Wales: 2011 to 2021 (6 March 2023). Model-based marginal means for average cohort age 45. Religion self-reported at Census 2011.

Religious group

vs No religion

Official national survey — self-report, not mortality data; wide CIs for some ethnic groups

The

NHS England Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing, England, 2023 to 2024

adds a different layer to the evidence — it measures

behaviour and experience

, not deaths. The survey asks respondents directly about lifetime suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts, and self-harm. This is distinct from the ONS linked census data, which counts deaths.

Black or Black British adults in the survey reported:

15.8%

Lifetime suicidal thoughts

Black or Black British adults — lower than some other groups in the survey

3.0%

Lifetime suicide attempts

NHS Digital warning — treat ethnic group differences cautiously

NHS Digital explicitly warns that some ethnic group confidence intervals in this survey are wide and overlapping. Differences between ethnic groups should be treated cautiously and should not be presented as definitive. The survey is self-reported — respondents may under-report suicidal thoughts or attempts due to stigma, cultural factors, or other reasons. Under-reporting may differ systematically between ethnic groups.

ONS links death registrations to the 2011 Census using NHS numbers. NHS numbers were added to census records by linking to the General Practice Patient Register. The study population is the 2011 Census enumerated population in England and Wales that could be linked to the patient register, followed for deaths registered from 2011 to 2021 (date of death) plus additional registrations to end 2022 to reduce registration delay bias.

The adult suicide inequalities bulletin uses

model-based marginal means

(Poisson GLM), expressed as rates per 100,000 for the average cohort age of 45 over the 10-year study period. The mortality by ethnic group article uses

age-standardised mortality rates

(2013 European Standard Population), presented as three-year rolling periods. These are methodologically different and must not be compared directly.

Ethnicity and religion are measured at Census 2011. Deaths occur up to 2021. Any real changes in self-identification over that decade are not captured. This is a logical consequence of the design — its magnitude depends on subgroup and age profile. Confidence: Medium.

Post-census migrants and people not enumerated in the 2011 Census are missing from the study population. Linkage completeness differs by ethnic group — ONS applies inverse probability weighting to correct for this, but residual bias may remain.

The mortality by ethnic group article only provides figures based on at least 20 deaths for some outputs, and uses three-year rolling periods to stabilise rates. Rates for smaller ethnic groups — including some Black sub-groups — carry wide confidence intervals and should be interpreted with caution.

Suicide deaths depend on coroner inquests, causing delays between death and registration. The ONS adult suicide inequalities bulletin explicitly used date of death data plus an additional year of registrations to reduce this bias.

ONS has confirmed via FOI responses that routine suicide statistics by ethnicity, religion, or sexuality are generally not held because these characteristics are not recorded on death certificates. The linked census products are bespoke outputs — they are not updated annually. The most recent linked census adult suicide bulletin covers deaths to end 2021 and was published in March 2023.

Dataset exists — specific values must be extracted from the XLSX file directly

ONS published a separate linked dataset for suicide among

children and young people aged 10 to 17 years

in England, covering 2011 to 2022, released 27 February 2025. The dataset includes breakdowns by ethnic group and household reference person religion.

The numeric tables are only provided via the downloadable XLSX dataset file — specific ethnicity and religion estimates for this age band are not reproduced in the HTML bulletin narrative. They should be extracted directly from the official ONS dataset for any publication use.

ONS — Sociodemographic inequalities in suicides in children and young people, England: 2011 to 2022. Dataset released 27 February 2025. Available free at ons.gov.uk. Search for the dataset title or navigate via: People, population and community → Births, deaths and marriages → Deaths → Suicides.

About this report:

View full site methodology →

labelResearch

href/research/british-christianity

labelSuicide — Ethnicity & Religion

valueRate per 100,000

noteHighest cited group alongside Mixed

noteHighest cited rates in bulletin narrative

noteLowest cited rates; wide CI reflects small numbers

nameONS — Sociodemographic inequalities in suicides in England and Wales: 2011 to 2021

confidenceHigh

notesPrimary source for model-based suicide rates by ethnicity and religion. Census 2011 linked to deaths 2011–2021. Cohort: 35.1 million adults aged 18–73. 35,928 suicides. Full numeric tables in accompanying XLSX dataset.

nameONS — Mortality from leading causes of death by ethnic group, England and Wales: 2012 to 2019

notesAge-standardised mortality rates by ethnic group including suicide, three-year rolling periods. Standardised to 2013 European Standard Population. Separate methodology from the suicide inequalities bulletin — do not compare rates directly.

nameONS — Sociodemographic inequalities in suicides in children and young people, England: 2011 to 2022

confidenceMedium

notesEthnicity and household reference person religion breakdowns for ages 10–17. Values only in downloadable XLSX — not in HTML narrative.

nameNHS England — Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing, England, 2023 to 2024

notesSelf-report survey measuring suicidal thoughts, attempts, and self-harm by ethnicity. Black or Black British: 15.8% lifetime suicidal thoughts, 3.0% lifetime attempts. Wide CIs for some ethnic groups — NHS Digital advises caution.

nameONS — Suicide rates in the UK QMI

notesDefines national statistics definition of suicide, age-standardised and age-specific mortality rates, known issues including under-reporting and registration delays.

nameONS FOI — Suicide statistics by ethnicity (6 January 2021)

notesConfirms that routine suicide by ethnicity is not held because ethnicity is not recorded on death certificates. Points users to linked census products.

nameONS FOI — UK suicide data by sex, occupation, religion, and ethnicity in 2021 (28 October 2022)

notesConfirms limited routine provision for religion-linked suicide analysis and reliance on bespoke linked census pathways.

recharts

Low

Caution

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text-2xl font-bold

White

Mixed / Multiple

Arab

Muslim

Buddhist

Other religion

Mixed — Men

White — Men

Mixed — Women

White — Women

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https://blackbritish.org.uk/research/suicide-ethnicity-religion

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Suicide by Ethnicity and Religion — ONS Linked Census Data

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ONS linked census suicide data for England and Wales: ethnicity and religion breakdowns, methodology, confidence intervals. Census 2011 linked to 35,928 deaths.

UK Black Demographics

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ONS linked census suicide data: ethnicity and religion breakdowns, methodology, confidence intervals. Census 2011 linked to 35,928 deaths.

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Dataset

ONS linked census suicide data for England and Wales — ethnicity and religion breakdowns, methodology, confidence intervals, and source inventory.

keywords

suicide ethnicity UK

suicide religion UK

ONS suicide data

Black suicide rates UK

suicide Census 2011 linked data

creator

Organization

ONS

dateModified

2023

Suicide by Ethnicity and Religion

ONS linked census data for England and Wales — the only official route to suicide rates by ethnicity and religion, with full methodology, confidence intervals, and a complete source inventory.

, href:

/charities/black-led

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21.03 (20.56–21.51)

6.79 (6.53–7.05)

Mixed or Multiple

23.56 (21.32–26.04)

9.57 (8.27–11.08)

3.75 (2.33–6.03)

2.54 (1.32–4.88)

Black ethnic groups — why no figures are shown here

mt-6

100%

3 3

group

insideLeft

number

rate

Age-std. rate

men

menLow

menHigh

women

womenLow

womenHigh

5.14 (4.58–5.77)

2.15 (1.79–2.59)

Lower — lowest cited religious group

26.58 (22.75–31.05)

8.88 (7.00–11.27)

Higher — exception to general pattern

33.19 (28.95–38.06)

13.66 (11.41–16.34)

Higher — exception; includes several smaller affiliations

Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Sikh

See ONS dataset

Lower than no religion (stated in bulletin narrative)

Why this matters alongside the mortality data

Access

Free — ons.gov.uk. Published 6 March 2023. HTML bulletin + PDF + XLSX dataset.

Free — ons.gov.uk. Published 19 August 2021. HTML article + XLSX chart and table files.

Free — ons.gov.uk. Published 27 February 2025. XLSX dataset.

Free — digital.nhs.uk → Data and information → Publications.

Free — ons.gov.uk. Methodology page last revised 3 October 2025.

Free — ons.gov.uk FOI responses.

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