In Argentina, one person commits suicide every two hours and four minutes. This sobering statistic, extracted from the Ministry of Security’s National Crime Information System (SNIC) report to 2024, reveals an alarming reality. With 4,249 deaths registered, suicide is already the leading cause of violent death in our country. The number of deaths from traffic accidents clearly exceeds that of homicides, which ranks third.
This dramatic fact is not reflected in the public agenda. While the nation is preoccupied with incidents of unrest and conflict that continue to occupy the screens of news channels 24/7, the psychological discomfort that leads to self-harm remains in the shadows.
Every two hours, one person commits suicide and two people attempt suicide.
The crisis worsens when morbidity figures are observed. The Ministry of Health recently revealed through data from the National Health Surveillance System (SNVS) that on average: 22 people attempt suicide every day and registered with the health system. This means that for every two people who commit suicide, at least two others attempt suicide and somehow survive, underscoring the severity of the mental health crisis the country is experiencing.
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Clearly society hasn’t realized this yet. A silent epidemic that progresses rapidlyriding on an economic crisis and a toxic success model that is constantly delivered to your phone.
Trends in the total number of suicides in Argentina.
The suicide rate has been rising in recent years, and has shown a sustained increase, with the number increasing by 30% recently (since 2017), but in 2024 under Javier Mille’s government, the number of suicides reached a record high (4,249 people). Although the final audited figures for 2025 are not yet available, all indicators of social and economic risks and health system demands suggest that this trend will continue or worsen.
I feel like a failure in a world of success.
What is the reason behind this real tragedy? This phenomenon can be explained in two broad areas: the objective and the subjective.
Objective or structural factors include the accelerating deterioration of the living environment. Increase in layoffsrecession, high inflation, and decline wide range of income. Experts and organizations such as the Office of the Ombudsman agree that these factors act as powerful triggers of despair by severely limiting the growth potential of individuals and families and increasing the impact of budget cuts to prevention policies.
Among the subjective aspects essential to understanding the phenomenon is the role of consumption and culture. of Proliferation of models of a “successful” or “desirable” life“- Promoted by social networks (particularly Instagram) and advertisements that extol material well-being, eternal youth, and limitless performance, which end up creating extra psychological distress. This analysis is strongly supported by scientific research. Reports such as the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) have classified platforms such as Instagram as the most harmful to the mental health of young people, as they actively promote upward social comparison and feelings of inferiority and inferiority.”
A wake-up call for the mental health of children and adolescents
This tension between what “should be” (successful and demanding standards) and “what could be” (limited by economic realities) creates a gap of frustration, isolation, and helplessness, and sociology addresses this phenomenon with anomie theory. These areas of research also highlight the progressive breakdown of social support structures as a key factor in fatal outcomes.
Smartphones, selfies, and “likes” trigger mental discomfort.
Analysis introduced in the video “How to be happy” by Ofelia Fernandes A direct and alarming link has been established between digital culture and increased fatal outcomes for adolescents. A key finding is that the record increases in depression, self-harm, and suicide attempt rates among adolescents recorded since 2010 coincide chronologically with the popularization of smartphones and the addictive design of social networks. “Like”, front camera, infinite scroll). The central argument is that the design of these platforms acts as a “casino” or “panacea” by constantly overstimulating the brain’s reward pathways with dopamine.
This mechanism creates an “alienation of existence,” in which life becomes a constant search for validation (“like a constant selfie”), extinguishing the ability to tolerate boredom, doubt, and unproductive time. This hyper-connectivity and the resulting forced social comparisons (the “cyber-self”) exacerbate feelings of frustration and inadequacy, reinforce disintegration of social support structures and chronic anxiety, and significantly limit youth’s resilience in the face of despair and fatal outcomes.
While suicide rates are decreasing in other parts of the world, suicide rates are increasing in Argentina.
The suicide phenomenon in Argentina is alarming not only because of its record numbers (4,249 deaths in 2024), but also because it is developing against the main global trends. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports an overall decline in suicide rates in recent decades, led by high-income countries with strong prevention strategies, but a sustained upward trend in the Americas, particularly Argentina.
The increase in suicide rates among young people is alarming
This difference is no coincidence. This is the result of a deadly interplay between two crises that the country has failed to mitigate.
The first factor is the lack of a structural containment cushion. Countries that have successfully reduced their populations have made steady investments in mental health, have social welfare systems that serve as safety nets, and stable economies. When people are faced with a crisis, the welfare state cushions their depression and prevents them from feeling completely hopeless. Argentina, by contrast, faces chronic economic instability that destroys any horizon of certainty. As the Ombudsman’s report shows, this situation creates a “structural sense of hopelessness” that does not allow infections to return to low baseline levels after each economic downturn.
The second factor is an amplified resilience crisis. Digital accelerators (social networks, forced comparisons) are a global problem, but their impact is even greater in societies with weaker foundations. The marginalization of digital presence is hitting populations that also lack economic resources and strong state support networks due to budget cuts for prevention policies (mentioned in the SNIC report).
Essentially, while other countries around the world are investing in mitigating structural causes and providing psychological refuge, Argentina faces the problem of brutal economic conditions and a lack of preventive funding. The uninterrupted growth in numbers is the tragic result of this double vulnerability.
Deadly differences: World suicide rates and Argentina’s suicide rates
This graph, which combines data from Argentina and the WHO, shows that the reality at the beginning of this century was very different. The rest of the world far outperformed Argentina, thanks to much higher numbers in countries in Eastern Europe and Asia. Since that moment, thanks to prevention and mental health policies, most countries in the world have been able to reduce the number of cases, but the opposite has been true for Argentina. Therefore, in 2023-2024, Argentines became one of the world’s most at-risk populations for suicide.
This is explained by the fact that in Millay’s Argentina all the problems are together. The decline in living conditions accelerated, incomes fell even lower than in the previous regime, and power itself legitimized a discourse of individual success that did not reach the majority of society. All of these are defunding support and prevention programs that, on a deliberate level, have tremendous impact. This explosive cocktail means that from 2023 to 2024, we will experience the highest year-over-year increase in suicide deaths in our nation’s recent history.
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