SA has recorded the fourth-highest suicide rate in Africa, highlighting the worsening mental health burden facing the country, according to the latest data from the World Health Organisation’s Global Health Observatory. – Times Live (1 June 2026)
According to the WHO data SA’s suicide rate stands at 21.1 deaths per 100,000 people, placing it behind Lesotho, Eswatini and Zimbabwe among African countries that submitted mental health data. The five African countries with the highest suicide rates are Lesotho, at 36.7 deaths per 100,000 people; Eswatini, at 31.0; Zimbabwe, at 25.4; South Africa, at 21.1; and Eritrea, at 20.2.