Suicides reach 10-year high as mental health system plays catch-up

The Maldives recorded 35 suicides in 2025, the highest annual figure in at least a decade, according to statistics provided to the Maldives Independent by the Maldives Police Service.

The toll was the largest since the police began the count reflected in the data from 2016 to 2025. It was more than double the figures for the lowest years in the series and exceeded the previous high of 24 recorded in 2024.

The figures reinforce a body of evidence that the Maldives is in the grip of a youth mental health crisis. 

The trend appears to be continuing with at least four suspected cases last April. Police do not proactively share details but confirmed to media that several deaths in April were being treated as suicides.

Asked about April's cases, police said information concerning suicides or attempted suicides cases that involve no criminal suspicions will not be disclosed. In late April, after images relating to a suspected suicide circulated on social media, police urged the media to observe ethical standards, prioritise public safety and handle information and visual content responsibly.

"Publicising distressing images can have a negative impact, especially on the affected individuals, families, and the entire community. Furthermore, such news and visuals risk further exposing mentally vulnerable people to danger," police said.

Police say the reporting of suicides can drive further deaths, a phenomenon long studied internationally, where prominent coverage is associated with subsequent increases, particularly among young people. The evidence for media-related contagion is well established. But the extent to which any specific rise can be attributed to it is contested. 

The risks of how suicide is discussed publicly are well documented. In an article published this week, UNICEF Maldives pointed to the "Werther effect" – the long-studied finding that detailed, emotionally charged and widely shared accounts of suicide can measurably increase suicidal behaviour, particularly among young people who identify with the story. It argued the Maldives is especially exposed, given dense island social networks and near-universal social media use that allow details of a death to circulate within hours. The same reach could instead carry protective messaging, it said, referring to the "Papageno effect," in which stories of people who came through a crisis are associated with reduced risk.

Both suicide and attempted suicides in the past two years were at a record high within the 10-year period. The annual figure ranged from 14 to 20 before 2025. 

The trend is similar for suicide attempts. The figure has been rising since 2023.

Among the 35 suicides reported in 2025, most cases were reported in June. The vast majority of cases were in the Greater Malé Region.

Male suicides far outnumbered female suicides in each year. However, some of the records were not logged with the gender of the victim and the exact breakdown for each year were not accurate. 

Attempting suicide remains a class one misdemeanour under section 113 of the 2014 penal code, punishable with a minimum jail sentence of one month, six days and a maximum of one year. However, the penal code guidance by the Prosecutor General's office warns that "it is especially important in such a case to consider carefully the mental health of the person making such an attempt for any sign that he may not be responsible for his actions.”

The penal code provision aims to be a deterrence for attempting suicide rather than an instrument for punishment, PG's office spokesman Shafeeu Ahmed told the Maldives Independent.

Only one such case was prosecuted since the 2014 penal code came into force. It involved a detainee on trial for a drug offence. But the case was dismissed because he was facing a 25-year prison sentence on drug charges. No one has been convicted for attempting suicide since then under the new penal code. Under the previous penal code, several cases were prosecuted and some people were sentenced.

A nationwide study published in November by the Asia Foundation and the Maldivian Nurses Association found that among young people aged 13 to 15, about one in six had seriously considered suicide in the past year. One in seven had survived an attempt. About three in 10 Maldivians overall are estimated to experience mental health challenges.

Data obtained earlier by the Maldives Independent from the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital showed youth mental health consultations for patients aged 10 to 19 rose more than fivefold between 2015 and 2024, from 692 to 3,524.

By repeated accounts, the existing system in place to respond is overwhelmed. When the Maldives Independent checked the National Centre for Mental Health's appointment portal in April, a person seeking a first appointment was placed 1,300th on the waitlist. Private clinics report their own queues running into months.

On Tuesday, Health Minister Geela Ali told parliament that more than 70,000 people had sought psychiatric consultations between 2023 and 2025, of which 45,000 were in the Greater Malé area. A mental health helpline established in 2024 handled more than 10,000 calls in 2025 alone.

A 10,000 square foot plot has been allocated in Hulhumalé for a mental health hospital announced in April, the minister said, adding that the facility needed to be in the region with the most patients. The hospital – fast-tracked with government funds after the deaths in April – is about a year from completion, the president said at the time.

The health minister cited shortcomings in the current system as the justification for developing the hospital in the capital. 

“I want to highlight that there has not been an adequate mental healthcare service provided over the past years, because there was a low priority to provide mental healthcare and there was no dedicated hospital to provide the service," she said.

After the series of deaths in April 2026 drew sustained public attention, the response of the authorities became a story in itself. At a televised press conference, Homeland Security Minister Ali Ihusan read out a deceased 18-year-old's private messages. The act was condemned by 10 civil society organisations as a grave violation of privacy that would discourage people from seeking help. 

President Dr Mohamed Muizzu both defended and criticised the disclosure. He said he had instructed officials to release no such details in future. He pointed to insurance coverage for mental health treatment with effect on January 1 as progress. Since then, 10,953 patients have sought psychiatric consultation and psychological therapy as of April 24, he said.

Muizzu characterised mental health as "a big problem that has been growing in the country and one that has reached a point where it needs additional assistance." 

The President's Office said the decision to quickly proceed with a dedicated facility in the Greater Malé Region – without scrapping a separate mental health hospital project designated for Laamu Gan – "[underscores] the growing urgency of addressing mental health issues in the Maldives.”