Some ways in which suicide might impact upon a society, e.g. the economic costs & the effect of suicide on life-expectancy are identified. The possible impact of political suicides on the society is noted. Several issues concerning the effect of society on suicide are reviewed, e.g. is there a need for different theories to study the regional variation in suicide rates? 2 questions are asked: what is the social function of suicide for a society & is there a natural suicide rate for a society?