1.
SOTIRIOS BARATSAS
MSc in Business Analytics
EXAMINING
SUICIDES IN GREECE
AND THE EUROPEAN UNION

2.
In the next parts of our analysis, we will attempt to
see if this trend really exists, whether Greece is a
part of it and what other characteristics we can
identify in the number of suicides.
In the last few years (2013-2015), the number of suicides in
the European Union has been on a steep decline. In 2013, the
number of suicides reached a local maximum and then started
decreasing in 2014 and subsequently in 2015.
However, since we are only working with data between 2011
and 2015, we are not sure if this is part of a larger trend.
Moreover, creating this graph, we do not take into account the
possible increases or decreases in the population size of the
different countries in the EU.
Total Suicides Trend
The total suicides all over Europe are in decline

3.
Between 2011 and 2015, Greece has around 5
suicides per 100k population, while the EU as a
whole has around 11.
By plotting the trendline for the number of Suicides (per 100k
population) in Greece vs. the EU as a whole, we can
immediately observe that Greece is well below the benchmark.
Suicide trend in Greece vs. abroad
We can also confirm that there is indeed a decreasing trend of
suicides in the EU, but not as steep as expected from the
previous graph. That is probably due to a matching decrease in
population, that influenced the number of suicides also.
As far as Greece is concerned, we can observe an increase in
suicides (per 100k) from 2011 until 2014, and just recently
(2015), a mild decrease has begun. Later in our analysis, we will
attempt to see if the increasing trend in the previous years was
influenced by the economic results of Greece, in terms of GDP.

4.
By plotting the number of suicides per 100k for all the
countries, we immediately see, that (for once) Greece is on
the right side of a chart. Lithuania, Hungary, Slovakia and
Latvia seem to be leading this negative trend, having the
largest number of suicides per 100k in the years 2011-2015.
On the other hand, Greece, along with Turkey, Cyprus, Malta
and Italy seem to be far below the average. The average
number of Suicides per 100k in the EU, seems to be around 11.
We can’t help but notice, that the bottom 5 countries are
located in the Mediterranean region,while a lot of the leaders
in suicides are located in Northern Europe. Perhaps a heatmap
could provide clearer insights to understand if the location of
a country has influenced the number of suicides.
Suicides per 100k population per Country
Greece is on the right side of this chart

5.
By creating a Heatmap of the number of suicides per 100k, we
can easily observe, that while the Mediterranean Region
(Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Italy, Malta, Spain) has very low
suicide rates, the Northern regions, especially the North-East
part, seems to be facing a problem. With Lithuania as an
extreme case, countries such as Latvia, Estonia and Finland,
which are located in the same region seem to be facing similar
suicide issues. The same is true for countries of the former
Yugoslavia, such as Croatia and Slovenia and their neighboring
countries (Hungary, Serbia, Poland).
Heat map of suicides per 100k in Europe
Northern Europe seems to be facing a problem
The bottom countries are known for their quality
of life, due to the Mediterranean climate, sea, sun
and more relaxed lifestyle. On the other hand, a
lot of the top countries are characterized by harsh
climates and a generally poorer way of living.

6.
The first mind-blowing insight of our analysis, comes when we
plot the number of suicides (per 100k), for the 2 genders. In
both Greece and the EU as a whole, men commit suicide 3.5x
more than women, between 2011-2015.
This is a paradox, since women are the ones who most
commonly report suffering from depression and anxiety and
they are also more under-represented in the various sectors of
the economy.
Perhaps the reason for this phenomenon, is that men are more
easily overwhelmed by the responsibilities of life.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9560163
Suicides per 100k population by Gender
Greece vs. EU as a whole
Men commit suicide
3.5x more than women

7.
Trying to discover if the over-representation of men in suicides
holds true only for some countries, we discover that in all
countries of the EU, the majority of suicide victims are men.
The percentage of women as suicide victims ranges from
around 15% in Poland, to around 25% in the Netherlands.
Percentage of suicides by Gender
in the European Union
The over-representation of men in
suicides is universal across the EU.

8.
Trying to understand whether age is an important factor, we
discover that in most of the EU, indeed, people of older age,
especially 75+ were over-represented in the suicides’ rate per
100k population.
The same hold true for Greece as well, even if the difference
between the 3 oldest age groups is not as evident as the EU as
a whole.
Also, in both cases, the likelihood of suicide increases when
advancing to an older age group, therefore we can claim that
the older someone is, the more likely they are to commit
suicide.
Suicides per 100k population by Age Group
Greece vs. EU as a whole
Does age play an important role?

9.
Creating a trellis-like plot (using the “facets” feature of
ggplot), for the different age groups over the years 2011-2015,
we can see that in all age groups who are older than 15, the
suicides rate is decreasing. Even if the rate is increasing in the
age group “5-14”, its absolute numbers are very low compared
to the other age groups.
Percentage of suicides by Gender
in the European Union
5-14 is the only age group with a
growing suicide rate, but the
absolute numbers are pretty small.

10.
How suicides vary by Gender and Age Group
in GREECE
By creating an animated box plot, we can see that there are
significant differences between the 2 genders, but also
between the different age groups.
More specifically, for femals the rates are fairly low in all age
groups, while for men, the sucide rates are higher, especially
in the 3 older age groups.
The suicide rate in Greece varies
significantly based on Gender
and the different Age Groups

11.
Creating a trellis-like plot (using the “facets” feature of
ggplot), for the different age groups over the years 2011-2015,
we can see that in all age groups who are older than 15, the
suicides rate is decreasing. Even if the rate is increasing in the
age group “5-14”, its absolute numbers are very low compared
to the other age groups.
Percentage of suicides by Gender
in the European Union
5-14 is the only age group with a
growing suicide rate, but the
absolute numbers are pretty small.

12.
Suicides per 100k by Generation
Greece vs. EU as a whole
The younger generations (Millennials and Generation Z) are
significantly under-represented in the sample. On the other
hand, the Silent generation, Baby Boomers and Generation X
have the majority of suicides.
Compared to Greece, in the EU as a whole there is a slight
over-representation of the Silent Generation.
In both Greece and the EU
as a whole, the distribution of
Generations is fairly similar.

13.
Using a scatterplot and a linear model, we can try to
understand whether there is a linear relationship between the
number of suicides per 100k of population and the GDP (per
capita) of each country.
However, the results seem to imply that it’s not that simple.
More specifically, we can see all kinds of variations from the
linear line, with Lithuania at the top being the most
prominent outlier.
Suicides per 100k vs. GDP (per capita)
in the European Union
There is not a linear relationship
between Suicides and GDP.

14.
Suicides per 100k vs. GDP per capita (Trend)
GREECE
If we plot the Suicides per 100k against the GDP per capita in
Greece for the years 2011 – 2015, we can see that a the
decrease in GDP per capita in the previous years, is
accompanied by an increase in suicides per 100k population.
These observations might be a manifestation of how the
economic crisis between 2009-2015 has had severe
consequences (other than financial) in the Greek society.
Economic slowdown in
Greece might relate to
an increase in suicides.

15.
Finally, we can see an animated version of the previous
scatter plot, that also incorporates the population of each
country as the size of each bubble.
From this plot, we can still not observe a significant
relationship between the suicides per 100k and the per capita
GDP of the countries.
What we can observe, is that about half the countries of the
EU have similar GDP per capita and similar Suicide rate per
100k of population.
Suicides per 100k vs. GDP (per capita) vs. Population
in the European Union

16.
Key Findings
Greece has lower suicides than the
EU as a whole.
Countries in the Mediterranean have low
suicides while Nothern Europe has high
suicide rates.
Men are significantly more likely to
commit suicide compared to women.
The over-representation of men is
universal across all countries in the EU.
The likelihood of suicide increases
with age.
While not true for the whole EU, in
Greece the economic slowdown might
relate to an increase in suicides.
1 4
2 5
3 6

17.
THANK YOU
for your attention
Sotiris Baratsas
MSc in Business Analytics
sotbaratsas[at]gmail[dot]com