A large increase in the number of men committing suicide in Norway in 2009 is being linked to the finance crisis that hit the year before.
Newspaper Aftenposten reported a 13 percent increase in suicides among men, while the number of women taking their own lives has remained fairly constant for the past 20 years.
Per-Henrik Zahl of the state health institute FHI (Folkehelseinstitutt) said that suicides have increased markedly in countries with major economic problems like Greece and Portugal, and health officials are wondering if that’s also behind the rise in suicides in Norway.
The total number of suicides in 2009 rose to 573, from 505 in 2008, according to cause-of-death information collected by state statistics bureau SSB.
The number of suicides declined again last year, to 548.
Views and News staff
