Thailand’s Department of Health has released data that for 2024 the total number of suicides throughout the country was 5217, or about 8.2 per 100,000 of the population. This is the highest in south east Asia compared with the Philippines (3.5), Cambodia (4.5) or Vietnam (7.3) amongst others. But Russia and India are much worse and both in double figures.
So in real terms there are about two suicides per hour in Thailand throughout the year. The numbers do appear to have accelerated in recent years. For example, data from Pacific Prime and World Bank Open Data suggest a total of 4,400 for the calendar year 2020. The latter source claims the lack of accessible counselling services as a contributing factor.
It’s important to recognize that any published data will be soft. Most academic research is taken from the death certificates of the forensic registry system. Here, the information can occasionally be ambiguous or fail to specify the results of the autopsy. One death certificate simply stated, “his heart had stopped”.
Nor does the published data keep a separate tally for foreigners. Artificial intelligence research on media reports of deaths, plus comments from mortuary assistants (for example in Banglamung, Pattaya), suggest that foreigners amount to about 10 percent of the total in urban areas: so maybe 520 foreigner suicides a year. But they will likely be concentrated in cities such as Bangkok and Pattaya rather than in rural areas.
The statistics, such as they are, show that four out of five suicides are male. Amongst Thais, there is a concentration amongst younger men (20-29) who generally choose poisoning or shooting. The foreigners are mostly older men (50 plus) with jumping from high buildings being the most common method. No published research has studied the apparent dichotomy here or the reasons for self-killing.
Commenting on foreign suicides, police lieutenant colonel Preecha Natpadong said, “Most suicides are just that. Accidents and murders are unusual in these circumstances.” In Pattaya, for example, there is only one recorded example of a foreigner falling from a condo balcony being recorded as an accident: a drunk American at a party actually videoed in his tomfoolery.
Thai police are commonly accused of not properly investigating alleged suicides. There have certainly been some complaints from relatives to embassies over the years. But police lieutenant Preecha said that the key evidence was the autopsy report together with checks on the room, examination of any relevant video footage and questioning members of staff. “Most foreign cases are straightforward. If relatives want a second autopsy that’s their right as well.”
Pattaya in particular has a reputation for sordid deaths. Local social media hacks gleefully claim the dead as members of the Pattaya Flying Club, whilst tales abound of victims allegedly bound hand and foot with a tied plastic bag over their head managing to die without any third party assistance. At least three British newspapers now have dedicated Thailand web pages, at any rate partly dependent on Sin City horrors. Pattaya is continually under a media spotlight for commercial reasons.
The truth may be less sensational. A review of Pattaya media reports on the internet suggest there were 36 foreign suicides in the city in the first six months of 2024. A new internet report suggests 48 during the first half of 2025. However, the surge appears to have occurred amongst nationals of Russia, China and South Korea whose numbers have boomed post-covid. Foreigner or Thai suicides are clearly a serious concern, but the evidence is still too thin to reach firm conclusions.
