The suicide rates in the world have been growing in the past century [1] and the rates in the United States have rapidly increased by about 33%, from 10.5 per 100,000 population in 1999 to 14.0 in 2017 [2], regardless of prevention efforts with affluent funding [3]. On the other hand, the overall suicide rate in China has decreased from 23.0/100,000 in 1999 to 8.6/100,000 in 2017, marking a 63% drop over past two decades [4]. The most marked decrease has been observed in young women in rural areas under 35 years of age, whose suicide rate appears to have dropped by as much as 90% [4].
Compared to the US, far less funding has been provided in China for suicide research and prevention and for a much larger population. What have the Chinese been doing in the past three decades to have made its suicide rates dropped? What lessens can we learn from China in suicide prevention? Here is a short list of informed speculations for the rapid drop of the Chinese suicide rates that may be studied by suicidologists in the world.