Baghdad – In 2020, 644 suicide cases were recorded in Iraq and 276 of them were reportedly women. In 2020, 139 people committed suicide in the country’s capital Baghdad having the highest suicide rate in the country. The Iraqi authorities have underlined that the main reason for death by suicide is social life and individual freedoms even if they seem like economic reasons.

Suspicious deaths of women recorded as “suicide”

As the number of death by suicide has increased in Iraq, the number of suspicious deaths has also increased. The local sources reported that 12 women were killed under “honor killing” but their deaths were recorded as “suicide cases” in the official documents.

Suicide rate increased in 2020

A local NGO announced that Iraq had the highest suicide rate in 2020. The NGOs announced 644 suicides in Iraq; 139 suicide cases in Baghdad, 86 suicide cases in Basra, 80 suicide cases in Zi-Qar, and 69 suicide cases in Mosul.