Higher final number of suicide cases in 2023 in line with fluctuation in earlier years: ICA

SINGAPORE - The spike in the final number of suicides in Singapore in 2023, released in July 2025, falls within the expected fluctuation in data, said the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) in a statement on July 28.

The final figure of 434 suicides in 2023 is 34.8 per cent higher than

the provisional figure of 322

, which was released by ICA in 2024.

This number is consistent with the trend seen between 2020 and 2022, when the number of actual suicide cases reported fluctuated between 378 and 476 cases, ICA said in response to media queries.

Some people involved in the mental healthcare space are concerned about the discrepancy between the provisional and actual figures.

Ms Elaine Lek, co-founder of PleaseStay Movement, a non-profit organisation for youth suicide prevention, said she was stunned when the initial figure of 322 for 2023 was reported as it came on the back of 2022’s all-time high of 476 suicide cases.

When the provisional figure for 2023 was released, it pointed towards the lowest number of suicide cases since 2000.

“It felt like a huge drop – almost too good to be true. And as someone who has been in this space for years, I knew the number didn’t reflect what we were still seeing on the ground,” she told The Straits Times.

Ms Lek said her concern with reporting provisional data is that it can mislead the public into thinking society has made major progress, when in fact, the situation may still be urgent.

“When provisional numbers are reported as if they are final, headlines get picked up, shared and remembered,” she added.

“The public forms an impression based on that initial report. By the time the actual figure is released months later, the media cycle has moved on. We lose the chance to respond with the urgency required.”

In 2024, ICA issued, for the first time, a provisional figure for death statistics, including suicides, in its Report on Registration of Births and Deaths. Provisional figures refer to those that are preliminary or estimated and have not yet been finalised.

ICA reviewed the reporting of death statistics and introduced provisional figures to take into account unknown causes of deaths where the verdict of a coroner’s inquiry has not concluded.

ST understands that the ICA report classified suicides under the category of “intentional self-harm”, even for cases of unnatural death that had yet to receive the coroner’s verdict. The shift to provisional figures will allow ICA to re-classify these cases of unknown cause of death in the following year’s report after the verdict is confirmed.

Instead of releasing a provisional figure for suicides, Ms Anthea Ong, a former nominated MP and mental health advocate, asked why the release of the reports cannot be delayed to ensure actual figures are reported, to avoid misleading the public.

A 35 per cent disparity between provisional and actual numbers means we cannot really trust the provisional numbers, she said.

“More importantly, these numbers are not merely a sample count in an election nor about how many phones were lost – these are lives we have lost in the most painful way. We must exercise more respect and care with when and how we release this information,” she told ST.

“Sharing this data is not simply another number or a checklist to check off for those of us who have lost loved ones and/or those who are still holding on.”

In her time in Parliament from 2018 to 2020, Ms Ong raised issues like the under-representation of Singapore’s suicide numbers as not all suicides finally get correctly classified.

A spokesman for Caring for Life, a suicide prevention charity, said it recognises the complexity involved in compiling and verifying suicide data, and that the shift to reporting provisional numbers is not necessarily counter-productive.

“More importantly, we must remember that suicide prevention goes far beyond tracking deaths. It involves understanding the full spectrum of mental health struggles, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, and building the support systems needed to address them,” he said.