Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month: A Silent Burden Carried By Many
Something that undeniably goes under the radar is the lack of awareness of men’s mental health, despite the availability of tools and options for seeking help should the tools be needed. Mental health is often stigmatized as a form of weakness, while ignoring the consequences of not obtaining help that is desperately needed. Oftentimes, the tools made for these situations are also highly underutilized, which leads to a rise in deaths by those taking their own lives.
If the topic of death or suicide may be disruptive and uncomfortable, please do not read further. This will be talking about suicide rates across countries but also tools that are available for those who need them.
The Burden of Men
For the ease of understanding why and how this ties to Men’s Mental Health Awareness, data was extracted from World Population Review (WPR), an open-source intelligence (OSINT) that tracks world trends regarding suicide and shares the data comparison of men’s suicide rates versus women’s. The earliest year available is 2019, and it will be used for comparison against 2023; this is to show that some progress has been made, but men’s mental health awareness still has a long way to go. The WPR table is not fully comprehensive because it does not include each country’s total population; that information must be obtained separately by checking population data for the corresponding year.
Some may have had more than one number recorded for population records; the numbers were added and then divided by the number of records to get the closest approximation.
| Country | Suicides per 100k in 2023 | Suicides per 100k in 2019 | Male suicides per 100k in 2023 and % from total Population | Male suicides per 100k in 2019 and % from total Population | Female suicides per 100k in 2023 and % from total Population | Female suicides per 100k in 2019 and % from total Population |
| Greenland | 75.57 (Population 56,865) | 80.60 (Population 56,000) | 108.21 (51.8%) | 113.62 (52.7%) | 39.10 (48.2%) | 43.70 (47.3%) |
| Suriname | 28.69 (Population 628,886) | 26.27 (Population 598,000) | 46.21 (49.99%) | 42.06 (50.1%) | 11.66 (50.01%) | 10.78 (49.9%) |
| South Korea | 28.13 (Population 51.75 M) | 26.76 (Population 51.76 M) | 39.93 (Unknown) | 38.08 (50%) | 16.26 (Unknown) | 15.33 (50%) |
| Guyana | 25.36 (Population 826,353) | 24.65 (Population 807, 665) | 42.69 (48.7%) | 40.82 (49.08%) | 8.34 (51.3%) | 8.67 (5-.92%) |
| Lithuania | 24.76 (Population 2,855,549) | 27.91 (Population 2,794,200) | 43.30 (47.33%) | 49.53 (46.4%) | 8.42 (52.67%) | 9.38 (53.6%) |
| Russia | 24.28 (Population approx 144 M) | 24.76 (Population approx 148 M) | 42.87 (46.43%) | 43.47 (46.44%) | 8.06 (53.57%) | 8.44 (53.56%) |
| Uruguay | 22.49 (Population 3,388,081) | 21.42 (Population 3, 494,776) | 38.58 (48.49%) | 36.10 (48.49%) | 7.74 (51.51%) | 7.91 (51.51%) |
| Japan | 21.46 (Population 124.352 M) | 18.04 (Population 126.16 M) | 30.13 (48.7%) | 25.93 (48.7%) | 13.27 (51.3%) | 10.58 (51.3%) |
| Ukraine | 21.28 (Population 37.732 M) | 22.13 (Population approx 41.7 M) | 37.66 (46.5%) | 39.43 (46.4%) | 7.33 (53.5%) | 7.23 (53.6%) |
| Cuba | 21.13 (Population 11,019,930) | 15.16 (Population 11,202,846) | 34.32 (49.36%) | 24.47 (49.51%) | 8.07 (50.64%) | 5.90 (50.49%) |
| Lesotho | 20.80 (Population 2,311,472) | 19.80 (Population 2,225,702) | 35.44 (48.7%) | 33.15 (49.33%) | 6.91 (51.3%) | 7.31 (50.67%) |
| Guam | 19.93 | 21.68 | 35.28 | 36.76 | 4.17 | 6.00 |
| Taiwan | 19.14 (Population 23,301,968) | 16.58 (Population 23,603,000) | 26.42 (49.4%) | 22.77 (50.1%) | 12.03 (50.6%) | 10.49 (49.9%) |
| Belarus | 18.32 (Population 9,178,000) | 19.86 (Population 9,408,350) | 32.18 (46.6%) | 34.58 (46.62%) | 6.40 (53.4%) | 7.15 (53.38%) |
| Slovenia | 18.29 (Population 2,123,103) | 17.93 (Population 2,092,585) | 29.23 (50.3%) | 29.04 (50.1%) | 7.24 (49.7%) | 6.86 (49.9%) |
- Guam does not have known datasets for population or gender-specific demographic breakdowns; the closest representation found was 2021 through the United States Census Bureau Island Areas: Population 168,801 (86,910 men [51.5%] to 81,891 women [48.5%])
Based on these totals from 14 countries, not counting Guam due to data limitations, the total average suicide rate from 2019 was 25.85, which rose to 27.84 in 2023. The average male suicide rate showed a minor decrease from 41.70 in 2019 to 41.44, while the average female suicide rate increased from 11.85 in 2019 to 11.99 in 2023.
Men’s suicide rates reveal a stark imbalance that often goes unrecognized: far more men die by suicide than women, even when population size is taken into account. Despite the average male population in 2019 being approximately 23.3 million compared to the average female population of approximately 24.8 million, and the average male population in 2023 being 22.5 million and the average female population being approximately 24.2 million across 13 countries, we excluded South Korea and Guam because clear, concrete details were not available. Despite being the smaller demographic group, men experience suicide at disproportionately higher levels, a trend unchanged by the male population drop from 2019 to 2023.
The Stigmas: Men’s Mental Health Crisis Findings
A 2022 scoping review published in the American Journal of Men’s Health, authored by Sarah K. McKenzie, John L. Oliffe, Alice Black, and Sunny Collings, with the expressed goal of assessing stigma regarding men’s mental illness. According to the abstract section of the analysis, stigma directly impacts seeking help from mental health services and utilizing the services provided. The research reviewed 21 different published articles from the past decade, identifying four major themes: societal perceptions of men with mental illness, stigma surrounding male-centric environments, systemic or structural biases surrounding mental-health services, and broader failure to de-stigmatize access to mental-health care for men.
Among the 21 studies examined, Canada accounted for eight, with contributions from Johnson et al., Oliffe et al., DeLenardo and Terrion, and Ferlatte’s team. Across these studies, a minimum of 132 unique men participated between 2011 and 2019, representing age ranges from young adults to older adulthood (20-79) and coming from diverse backgrounds, sexual orientations, and identities. The three most commonly reported issues were social and self-isolation driven by stigma, intersecting identities and double stigma for gay, bisexual, and transgender men, and fear of being seen as failing masculine expectations.
The United States represented the second‑largest cluster, contributing five studies from Hassouneh and Fornero, Mahalik and Dagirmanjian, Siegel and Sawyer, Samuel, and Ward and Besson. These studies involved approximately 120 participants between 2012 and 2020, ranging in age from 15 to 75. Across these participants, the top three reported issues included isolation and hiding symptoms to avoid shaming or backlash, fear of failing the masculine ideal: to provide, stoicism, being strong, and racial and demographic stigma creating mistrust in care.
Men Need Options: Mental Health Prosperity
The countries examined in this report, along with the psychological studies reviewed, represent only a fraction of a much larger global issue. Yet even within this limited sample, the pattern is unmistakable: men are consistently under‑supported, under‑treated, and disproportionately affected by suicide. Even as the demographic minority in many countries, men still face markedly higher suicide rates, with studies pointing to stigma, social disconnection, and gendered expectations as major barriers to accessing care.
Without real investment in mental‑health services and a sustained push to reduce stigma, the trajectory is unlikely to shift. The consequences won’t be limited to the men who are already at risk; they will be felt across households and communities. Expanding access, addressing stigma, and creating spaces where men can seek help without fear of judgment are not optional reforms. They are necessary if we want to prevent further loss and maintain the stability of future generations.
