Why are there so many suicides in rich, stable Uruguay?
Despite being South America’s happiest country, it has a high suicide rate
Uruguay is rich, stable and egalitarian. According to international rankings, it is South America’s happiest country. Yet its suicide rate—the annual number of suicides per 100,000 people—is more than double the average for Latin America and the Caribbean. Last year in the country of 3.4m, 823 people killed themselves, the highest number on record and an increase of nearly 50% since 2010. Why?
This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline “Deaths of despair”
From the November 11th 2023 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionDiscover more
Javier Milei, free-market revolutionary
Argentina’s president explains how he has overturned the old economic order
Is Uruguay too stable for its own good?
The new president must deal with serious problems with growth, education and crime
Bolsonaro’s bid to regain Brazil’s presidency may end in prison
Brazilian police have accused some of his backers of involvement not just in a coup, but in an assassination plot
The mafia’s latest bonanza: salmon heists
Fish farming is big business in Chile. Stealing fish is, too
Parlacen, a bizarre parliament, is a refuge for bent politicians
A seat in the Central American body offers immunity from prosecution
Brazil courts China as its Musk feud erupts again
Xi Jinping, China’s leader, spies a chance to draw Brazil closer