Till 1960, Greenland’s suicide rate was among the world’s lowest (in 1900-1930 it was 0.3 people per 100,000).
It was in 1970 that the number of cases began to rise; in 1985-2012 the average rate was 83 people per 100,000, which is more than twice the rate of the second most suicidal country in this period, Lithuania.
Suicide accountsAs per the suicide data for 1990-2013 published by Statistics Greenland for 8% of total deaths in Greenland, which is far higher than South Korea (a country often in the news for its high suicide rate) where suicide accounts for 5% of the total deaths.
The reason why Greenland’s suicide is not as much in the news as Japan or South Korea is that it is a part of the Kingdom of Denmark and so, its suicide rates are included with those of Denmark (thus they get masked).
Suicide is the leading causeGlobally, the leading cause of death for this age group is accidents. of death among the young men aged 15-29 in Greenland, and unlike in other Western countries, suicide rate here decreases with age.
Data from different sources suggest that 20%-25% of people in Greenland have tried at least once to kill themselves.
Dark, cold winters were held responsible for mental health issues (and thus suicides) but this reason was dismissed because the suicides actually go up in summers.
One theory suggests that since the sun is visible even past midnight in summers (around June-July), people develop mental health issues because of insomnia and so, become prone to suicidal thoughts.
Some experts believe that since every young person in Greenland knows someone who has committed suicide, it has become a contagious idea (at teenage, it could be a strong trigger).
Alcoholism among the Inuit people, who contribute to 88% of Greenland’s population is also held responsible for such high suicide rates.
Inuit was a fishing and hunting tribe, who were offered Danish citizenship in 1953When Greenland became a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, and in 1960, they were moved “from unpleasant turf houses to comfortable tenement blocks”.
While this was seen as a well-intentioned move, the overnight change from nomadic hunter to flat-dwelling factory worker was too rapid, and major social problems resulted.
The fact that suicide rates went up after this change suggests that this move could have played a role.
Suicidal methods used (shootings and hangings account for 83% of suicidal deaths) also lead to higher suicide-success rates (with poison or medication-overdose, the victim can still be saved).
