section_path: Methods
section_name: Methods
paragraph_text: Methods
  
  The leading method of suicide varies among countries. The leading methods in different regions include hanging, pesticide poisoning, and firearms. These differences are believed to be in part due to availability of the different methods. A review of 56 countries found that hanging was the most common method in most of the countries, accounting for 53% of male suicides and 39% of female suicides.
  
  Worldwide, 30% of suicides are estimated to occur from pesticide poisoning, most of which occur in the developing world. The use of this method varies markedly from 4% in Europe to more than 50% in the Pacific region. It is also common in Latin America due to the ease of access within the farming populations. In many countries, drug overdoses account for approximately 60% of suicides among women and 30% among men. Many are unplanned and occur during an acute period of ambivalence. The death rate varies by method: firearms 80–90%, drowning 65–80%, hanging 60–85%, jumping 35–60%, charcoal burning 40–50%, pesticides 60–75%, and medication overdose 1.5–4.0%. The most common attempted methods of suicide differ from the most common methods of completion; up to 85% of attempts are via drug overdose in the developed world.
  
  In China, the consumption of pesticides is the most common method. In Japan, self-disembowelment known as seppuku (harakiri) still occurs; however, hanging and jumping are the most common. Jumping to one's death is common in both Hong Kong and Singapore at 50% and 80% respectively. In Switzerland, firearms are the most frequent suicide method in young males, although this method has decreased since guns have become less common. In the United States, 50% of suicides involve the use of firearms, with this method being somewhat more common in men (56%) than women (31%). The next most common cause was hanging in males (28%) and self-poisoning in females (31%). Together, hanging and poisoning constituted about 42% of U.S. suicides (as of 2017).