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Table 1 Estimates and plausible ranges of pesticide suicides in each of WHO's six regions

From: The global distribution of fatal pesticide self-poisoning: Systematic review

Region

Stratum

Population (millions) (source: [1])

Total suicides (source: [1])

Pesticide suicides (% of all suicides)

Plausible range of pesticide suicides

Sources

Africa

D

311

15,000

4,950 (33%)

3,300 to 6, 900†

[22]

 

E

361

19,000

2,850 (15%)

1,900 to 15,010

[23] [24] [25]

   Sub-total (Africa)

  

   34,000

   7,800 (22.9%)

   5,200 to 21,910

 

The Americas

A

336

35,000

25 (0.07%)

14 to 35†

[26]

 

B

445

26,000

2,860 (11%)

1,820 to 8,060

[27] [33] [36]

 

D

74

2,000

220 (11%)

140 to 620

[27] [33] [36]

   Sub-total (the Americas)

  

   63,000

   3,105 (4.9%)

   1,974 to 8,715

 

Eastern Mediterranean

B

143

9,000

629 (7%)

501 to 772†

[38]

 

D

360

25,000

5,000 (20%)

4,000 to 6,250†

[41]

   Sub-total (E. Med.)

  

   34,000

   5,629 (16.5%)

   4,501 to 7,022

 

Europe

A

415

48,000

2,400 (5%)

14 to 4,800

[46] [47] [48] [50]

 

B

223

23,000

920 (4%)

18 to 1,610

[52] [53] [54] [55] [56]

 

C

240

92,000

2,760 (3%)

1,840 to 2,760†

[57]

   Sub-total (Europe)

  

   163,000

   6,080 (3.7%)

   1,872 to 9,170

 

South East Asia

B

298

37,000

9,250 (25%)

5,920 to 19,980

[62] [63]

 

D

1,293

209,000

41,800 (20%)

41,800 to 62,700

Table 2 and [58]

   Sub-total (SE Asia)

  

   246,000

   51,050 (20.7%)

47,720 to 82,680

 

Western Pacific

A

155

35,000

1,050 (3%)

1,050 to 1,050

[68]

 

B

1,562

296,000

183,520 (62%)

171,680 to 195,360

[70]

   Sub-total (W Pacific)

  

   331,000

184,570 (55.8%)

172,730 to 196,410

 

Overall Total

 

6,225

873,000

258,234 (30%)

233,997 (27%) to 325,907 (37%)

 

Total including more realistic estimate for total and pesticide suicides in SE Asia – D (n = 504,800)*

  

1,181,200

371,594 (31%)

347,357 (29%) to 439,267 (37%)

 
  1. *Assuming 30% of these are due to pesticides.
  2. †Plausible range based on 95% confidence intervals around the proportion of suicides due to pesticides in the country whose data were used for estimate in this stratum