Association between Muslim population, legal status, political system, geography, income category, human development index, and suicide rates in Asian countries: An ecological analysis

Understanding the association between national-level indicators and suicide rates is important for informing prevention strategies, particularly in Asia, where cultural and legal contexts differ substantially. This ecological study analyzed publicly available data from 41 Asian countries. Variables included suicide rates, the human development index, income group, major religion, political system, percentage of Muslim population, and the legal status of suicide. Major religion and the percentage of Muslims were associated with total suicide rates, with lower rates observed in Islamic-majority countries. The political system was associated only with female suicide rates. No significant associations were observed between suicide rates and WHO region, income group, or HDI scores/categories. The legal status of suicide showed consistent associations across all groups, with higher suicide rates in countries where suicide was not criminalized. These findings highlight the role of sociopolitical and cultural contexts in shaping suicide epidemiology.

Department

Psychology

Publisher

Elsevier

Sponsor

NA