* 11.3 per 100,000, or 30,575 Americans, completed suicide in 1998.
* More people die from suicide than from homicide. In 1998, there were 1.7 times as many suicides as homicides.
* Suicide is the eighth leading cause of death for all Americans.
* Males are four times more likely to die from suicide than females, but females are more likely to attempt suicide than males.
* In 1998, white males accounted for 73 percent of all suicides. Together, white males and white females accounted for more than 90 percent of all suicides.
* Between 1979 and 1992, suicide rates for Native Americans were 1.5 times the national average. Native American males ages 15 to 24 accounted for 64 percent of these suicides.
* Three out of five suicides were completed with a firearm in 1998.
* Suicide rates are highest among Americans aged 65 years and older. In 1998, men accounted for 83 percent of these suicides.
* In 1998, people younger than 25 accounted for 15 percent of all suicides.
* From 1952 to 1995, the suicide rate among adolescents and young adults nearly tripled.
* From 1980 to 1997, the suicide rate among those ages 15 to 19 increased by 11 percent, and among youngsters 10 to 14 by 109 percent.
* From 1980 to 1996, the suicide rate for African-American males ages 15 to 19 increased 105 percent.
* Suicide is the third leading cause of death for young people ages 15 to 24, after unintentional injury and homicide.
Source: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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