There has been a “significant” rise in the overall number of people who have taken their own life in Britain in 2011, latest official statistics show.

According to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Tuesday, the proportion of deaths rose from 11.1 deaths per 100,000 population in 2010 to 11.8 in 2011 on average across both sexes.

A total of 6,045 suicides were recorded among people aged 15 or over in the UK in 2011, up by 437 to 6,045, indicating an increase of 7.2 percent when compared with the previous year.

For men, the figure rose at a rate of 18.2 per 100,000 population in 2011, the highest level since 2002. The rate was highest among males aged 30 to 44, at 23.5 per 100,000.

Female suicides also increased at a rate of 5.6 per 100,000 population. Among women, the highest number of suicides was among 45 to 59-year-olds, at 7.3 per 100,000.

In England, the suicide rate was 10.4 deaths per 100,000, the highest in the north-east, at 12.9, and lowest in London, at 8.9.

The figures come after the British government promised to invest a further £1.5million into research for suicide prevention among high-risk groups.

In September 2012, the Department of Health launched its Preventing Suicide in England strategy, aimed at reducing suicide rates and providing support for families affected by suicide.

Some analysts believe that the figures reveal a shocking hidden social cost of the Tor-led government’s vicious spending cuts and austerity.

The University of Reading’s Professor Shirley Reynolds, director of the Charlie Waller Institute of Evidence-Based Psychological Treatment, said, “The rise in suicide of men aged 30 to 45 is deeply worrying. Suicide may be linked to financial and work-related problems, as well as loss of employment and limited emotional, practical and social support from other people.”

SSM/MA/HE