One in Four Middle and High School Students Experience 'Depression'... Suicide Remains the Leading Cause of Death for 9 Years

2021 Youth Statistics

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Seon-hee] Last year, one in four middle and high school students experienced feelings of depression. The number of youths dying from intentional self-harm (suicide) is also on the rise.

According to the '2021 Youth Statistics' released by Statistics Korea on the 25th, 25.2% of middle and high school students reported experiencing feelings of depression within the past year. Among them, 27.4% of high school students and 22.9% of middle school students experienced depression in the past year, with female students (30.7%) having a higher rate of depression experience than male students (20.1%). The percentage of those who reported feeling stress on a regular basis was also 34.2%.

The number of deaths among youths aged 9 to 24 was 1,953 in 2019, with about 60% being male. The leading cause of death among youths was 'intentional self-harm (suicide),' ranking first for nine consecutive years since 2011. This was followed by safety accidents and malignant neoplasms (cancer).

The number of youths who died by intentional suicide has been rapidly increasing every year since 2017. The number of youth deaths by intentional suicide was 722 in 2017, increased to 827 in 2018, and further rose to 876 in 2019, marking two consecutive years of increase. This is the highest number in eight years since 2011 (931 deaths).

Last year, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, the satisfaction rate with school life among youths was only 83%. This is a significant drop compared to 88.3% three years earlier in 2017.

Nearly half of the youths (48.4%) responded that their school life changed negatively due to COVID-19. On the other hand, family relationships showed more positive changes (22.1%) than negative changes (9.6%). Additionally, 46% of youths reported increased academic stress due to COVID-19.

Meanwhile, as of this year, the youth population (ages 9 to 24) is 8,306,000, accounting for 16.0% of the total population. The youth population, which was 14,209,000 in 1982, has been steadily declining, and Statistics Korea forecasts that by 2060, it will decrease to 4,458,000, representing 10.4% of the total population.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.