Female suicide deaths on the rise in Finland after decades of decline

Female suicide deaths in Finland have increased, reversing a decades-long downward trend, according to a new report by FCG Finnish Consulting Group. The finding emerged from an analysis of premature years of life lost between 2020 and 2024, Yle reports.

The study uses the Potential Years of Life Lost (PYLL) indicator, which measures how many years of life are lost before age 75. While the overall gap between men and women in premature deaths remains 2.3-fold, the shift among women has alarmed experts.

“Although the number of suicides has not skyrocketed, the change signals deepening despair. Adverse development can compound and add to that despair,” said Virpi Pitkänen, leading expert at FCG.

Finland loses about 230,000 years of life prematurely each year, of which 73 percent, or roughly 170,000 years, are considered preventable. Alcohol, drugs, and suicides form what Pitkänen calls a “trinity of despair” that shows no signs of easing. Alcohol-related deaths remain the largest single preventable cause of premature death. Among men, alcohol-related losses have declined since 2000, but drug-related losses have risen. Alcohol still accounts for about a quarter more lost years than drugs.

Regional differences between wellbeing services counties have narrowed, but this is partly because previously better-performing areas have worsened. Only the Åland Islands performs above the national average. The worst-off areas are Kainuu, South Savo, and Päijät-Häme.

Pitkänen noted that Finland loses more than 4,000 years of life per 100,000 people annually, compared with under 3,000 in Sweden. The total economic value of the losses is estimated at around seven billion euros per year when lost work input and human potential are compared with average GDP.