Suicide No. 1 Killer of People Aged 20-30

Suicide last year was the number one killer of those in their 20s and 30s, a government report said yesterday.

The number of people who committed suicide last year reached 12,174, or a daily average of 33.4.

Last year also saw 4,701 people or 12.9 a day die of alcoholic gastritis, cirrhosis of the liver or alcohol dependence syndrome. Most of them were men.

The National Statistical Office report also said 244,874 people in the country died last year overall, or 671 per day.

Cancer was the leading cause of death at 27.6 percent, followed by cerebrovascular disease with 12 percent and heart disease with 8.8 percent.

Suicide accounted for five percent, diabetes 4.6 percent and traffic accidents 3.1 percent. Chronic lower respiratory disease took up 3.1 percent, liver disease three percent, hypertension 2.2 percent and pneumonia 1.9 percent.

By age, those younger than 19 were mostly likely to die in traffic accidents while suicide was the biggest cause of death for those in their 20s and 30s. Cancer was the major killer for people older than 40.

ceric@donga.com