Suicide leads causes of death among teens to 40s, cancer from 50s

Korea’s Ministry of Data and Statistics said Tuesday that suicides were the leading cause of death among people in their teens through their 40s last year, while cancer became the top cause starting in the 50s. The suicide rate fell overall, but teenagers were an exception, posting a record high. Korea’s total deaths reached 362,968, the second-highest level on record. Cancer remained the leading cause of death overall, with 90,203 deaths.

Suicide accounted for 51.2 percent of deaths among teenagers and 53.5 percent among people in their 20s in 2025.

The suicide death rate rose from 8.6 per 100,000 among teenagers to 34.3 per 100,000 among people in their 40s.

Among people in their 50s, cancer accounted for 33.7 percent of deaths, while suicide accounted for 12.3 percent.

Korea recorded 362,968 deaths in 2025, up 4,399, or 1.2 percent, from the previous year.

The age-standardized suicide rate was 24.9 per 100,000 in 2025, the highest among OECD member countries and more than double the OECD average of 10.9.

Published Sep 22, 2026 2:52 pm KST

Updated Sep 22, 2026 3:16 pm KST

Korea sees 2nd-highest annual deaths as aging accelerates

The number of deaths in Korea last year reached the second-highest level on record, while suicide was the leading cause of death among people in their teens through their 40s, according to data released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics on Tuesday.

Although both the number of suicides and the suicide rate declined from the previous year, teenagers stood out as an exception, with their suicide rate climbing to an all-time high.

Meanwhile, cancer emerged as the leading cause of death starting among people in their 50s, highlighting a sharp divide in mortality patterns across age groups.

According to the data, suicide accounted for more than half of all deaths among Koreans in their teens and 20s in 2025, underscoring its disproportionate impact on younger generations.

The share stood at 51.2 percent for teenagers and rose to 53.5 percent for those in their 20s. It then fell to 42.3 percent among people in their 30s and 25.4 percent among those in their 40s.

The suicide death rate, meanwhile, increased progressively across these age groups. It stood at 8.6 per 100,000 among teenagers, rising to 20.8 among people in their 20s, 28.2 among those in their 30s and 34.3 among those in their 40s.

The pattern shifted among people in their 50s, with cancer overtaking suicide as the leading cause of death. Cancer accounted for 33.7 percent of deaths in the age group, with a mortality rate of 97.2 per 100,000.

Suicide was a distant second at 12.3 percent, or 35.6 deaths per 100,000, followed by heart disease.

Cancer continued to rank first among people in their 60s and 70s. Together with heart disease and cerebrovascular disease, the three major causes accounted for 55.6 percent of deaths among those in their 60s and 51.6 percent among those in their 70s.

The pattern was somewhat different among those aged 80 and older. Although cancer still ranked first, its share narrowed to 16.2 percent, while pneumonia and heart disease accounted for 11.9 percent and 10.3 percent, respectively.

Overall, the suicide rate declined last year despite remaining the leading cause of death among younger Koreans. The number of suicide deaths fell by 728, or 4.9 percent, to 14,144, while the suicide rate dropped 4.7 percent to 27.8 deaths per 100,000 people.

Teenagers were the only age group to move in the opposite direction. Their suicide rate rose 7.5 percent from a year earlier to a record 8.6 per 100,000, an increase of 0.6.

“The annual report on suicide statistics and other data show that psychiatric and family-related problems were among the major factors behind suicides among teenagers,” a ministry official said.

Korea also continued to stand out among advanced economies for its high suicide rate. Its age-standardized suicide rate stood at 24.9 per 100,000 in 2025, the highest among OECD member countries and more than double the OECD average of 10.9.

In broader terms, Korea recorded 362,968 deaths in 2025, an increase of 4,399, or 1.2 percent, from the previous year. The tally was the highest since 2022, when COVID-19 pushed the annual death toll to 372,939, and marked the second-highest figure on record.

The ministry attributed the persistently high number of deaths in part to Korea’s rapidly aging population, even after the COVID-19 pandemic subsided. Those aged 80 and older accounted for 54.7 percent of all deaths last year, with their share expanding by 13.9 percentage points over the past decade.

Looking at the population as a whole, cancer remained the leading cause of death. Cancer deaths topped 90,000 for the first time, reaching 90,203. Heart disease ranked second with 33,784 deaths, followed by pneumonia with 30,965. Combined, the three causes accounted for 42.7 percent of all deaths.

If you or someone you know may be at risk of suicide, contact Korea's Suicide Crisis hotline at 109. For foreign language assistance with emergency services, call the 1330 Korea Travel Hotline, or call Danuri Portal's helpline at 1577-1366 to connect with multilingual counseling and referral services.

Suicides account for 1 in 5 international student deaths in Korea, spurring mental health calls

Berklee music professor breaks silence on suicide loss

New suicide prevention chief puts responsibility on state

Korea to put counselors in every school in teen suicide prevention push

韩国数据统计部周二表示，去年自杀是青少年至40岁人群的首要死因，而癌症则成为50岁及以上人群的首要死因。总体自杀率有所下降，但青少年自杀率却创下历史新高。韩国去年累计死亡人数达到362,968人，为历史第二高。癌症仍然是总体死亡人数最多的死因，共造成90,203人死亡。

到 2025 年，自杀占青少年死亡人数的 51.2%，占 20 多岁人群死亡人数的 53.5%。

青少年自杀死亡率从每10万人8.6人上升到40多岁人群的每10万人34.3人。

在 50 多岁的人群中，癌症导致的死亡占 33.7%，自杀导致的死亡占 12.3%。

韩国2025年记录的死亡人数为362968人，比上一年增加4399人，增幅为1.2%。

2025 年，该国的年龄标准化自杀率为每 10 万人 24.9 人，是经合组织成员国中最高的，是经合组织平均自杀率 10.9 人的两倍多。

发布于2026年9月22日下午2:52（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年9月22日下午3:16（韩国标准时间）

韩国人口老龄化加速，年死亡人数位居世界第二。

根据韩国统计厅周二公布的数据，去年韩国的死亡人数达到历史第二高水平，而自杀是青少年至40多岁人群的主要死因。

尽管自杀人数和自杀率都比上一年有所下降，但青少年却是个例外，他们的自杀率攀升至历史最高水平。

与此同时，癌症成为 50 多岁人群的主要死因，凸显了不同年龄组死亡率模式的显著差异。

根据数据显示，到 2025 年，自杀将占韩国青少年和 20 多岁人群死亡总数的一半以上，凸显了自杀对年轻一代的不成比例的影响。

青少年群体中这一比例为 51.2%，20 多岁人群中上升至 53.5%。随后，30 多岁人群中这一比例下降至 42.3%，40 多岁人群中则下降至 25.4%。

与此同时，各年龄段的自杀死亡率呈逐年上升趋势。青少年自杀率为每10万人8.6人，20多岁人群为20.8人，30多岁人群为28.2人，40多岁人群为34.3人。

50多岁人群的死亡模式发生了变化，癌症取代自杀成为首要死因。癌症占该年龄组死亡总数的33.7%，死亡率为每10万人97.2人。

自杀位居第二，死亡率为 12.3%，即每 10 万人中有 35.6 人死亡，其次是心脏病。

癌症仍然是 60 多岁和 70 多岁人群的首要死因。癌症、心脏病和脑血管疾病这三大死因分别占 60 多岁人群死亡人数的 55.6% 和 70 多岁人群死亡人数的 51.6%。

80岁及以上人群的死因分布模式略有不同。虽然癌症仍然位居首位，但其占比已降至16.2%，而肺炎和心脏病分别占11.9%和10.3%。

尽管自杀仍然是韩国年轻人死亡的主要原因，但总体而言，去年的自杀率有所下降。自杀死亡人数减少了728人，降幅为4.9%，至14144人；自杀率下降了4.7%，至每10万人中有27.8人死亡。

青少年是唯一一个自杀率呈现相反趋势的年龄组。他们的自杀率比上一年上升了7.5%，达到创纪录的每10万人8.6人，增加了0.6人。

“年度自杀统计报告和其他数据显示，精神疾病和家庭问题是青少年自杀的主要原因之一，”一位部委官员表示。

韩国的自杀率在发达经济体中也继续居高不下。到2025年，其年龄标准化自杀率将达到每10万人24.9例，在经合组织成员国中最高，是经合组织平均水平10.9例的两倍多。

总体而言，韩国2025年累计死亡人数为362,968人，比上一年增加4,399人，增幅为1.2%。这是自2022年以来的最高数字，2022年受新冠疫情影响，韩国年度死亡人数达到372,939人，而2025年则是历史第二高的数字。

韩国卫生部将持续高企的死亡人数部分归因于韩国人口快速老龄化，即使在新冠疫情消退后，这一趋势依然存在。去年，80岁及以上人群占所有死亡人数的54.7%，过去十年间，这一比例上升了13.9个百分点。

从整体人口来看，癌症仍然是首要死因。癌症死亡人数首次突破9万，达到90203人。心脏病位居第二，死亡人数为33784人，其次是肺炎，死亡人数为30965人。这三种死因合计占所有死亡人数的42.7%。

如果您或您认识的人有自杀倾向，请拨打韩国自杀危机热线 109。如需外语紧急服务协助，请拨打韩国旅游热线 1330，或拨打 Danuri Portal 的求助热线 1577-1366 联系多语种咨询和转介服务。

在韩国，五分之一的国际学生死亡是由自杀造成的，这引发了人们对心理健康的关注。

伯克利音乐学院教授打破沉默，谈及自杀悲剧

新任自杀预防负责人将责任归咎于州政府

韩国将在每所学校配备心理咨询师，以预防青少年自杀