Slovenia's suicide rate dropped to 16.96 per 100,000 people last year, the lowest level in a decade. The rate fluctuated in 2014-2023 but on the whole it trended downwards, show official data released ahead of World Suicide Prevention Day, observed on 10 September.

"The data is certainly encouraging for further work on suicide prevention, which remains a task for the whole society and something that needs to be addressed throughout the year," psychologist Saška Roškar from the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) told reporters on 6 September.

Last year, 358 people committed suicide in Slovenia, 295 men and 63 women. Except for those aged 75 or more, the suicide rate in 2023 was lower for all age groups compared to the previous year.

However, Slovenia is still among the countries with the highest suicide rates.

Regions in the east of the country remain at higher risk. However, the Savinja region, which had the highest number of suicides in the previous years, had the rate fall to half the figure at the national level in 2023.

The Slovenian Association for Suicide Prevention, one of the organisations providing help to people in distress, has set up a network of counselling centres in 18 Slovenian cities to provide free help to adults, and eight counselling centres for adolescents.

Samo Mirt Kavšek, head of the association, says their clients mostly have problems in relationships with their partners or family, in interpersonal relationships, problems at work, or struggle with identity crises during adolescence.

The Centre for Suicide Research, which is part of the Andrej Marušič Institute at the University of Primorska, is also engaged in many activities, including organising prevention workshops for adolescents. Suicide is one of the main causes of death in this age group.

Adolescents often imitate suicides, according to Vita Poštuvan, Slovenia's representative to the International Association for Suicide Prevention.

While suicide prevention is included in the county's national mental health programme, the Health Ministry is also working on an action plan to be valid for the next four years.

This year, the NIJZ and its partners will issue updated recommendations on responsible media reporting on suicide. "Reporting on suicide is a challenging task that requires a high degree of sensitivity and, above all, responsibility, as certain ways of reporting can have a negative impact," Roškar says.