Madrid, February 3 (RHC)-- Official figures show the number of suicides in Spain increased by 11.3 percent in 2012 from the previous year, reaching its highest level in the past years.  Figures from Spain's National Institute of Statistics showed 3,539 suicide (2,724 men and 815 women) cases in Spain during 2012, a rate of 7.6 per 100,000 inhabitants.  The figures were the highest since 2005.

According to official broadcaster RTVE, suicide was the second cause of death after cancer among men and women between the ages of 25 to 34, and the leading cause of death of men in the same age group.  The factors influencing changes in suicide rates over time remain poorly understood, but some studies suggest that economic reasons are a major influence.

An official report released on January 22 showed Spain’s unemployment rate has remained beyond 25 percent for the sixth quarter in a row, making the country home to a third of the unemployed population in the Eurozone.  It showed the younger generation of the country has been hit hardest by slow recovery over the past years with youth unemployment standing at nearly 58 percent.  The figure is the second highest in the Eurozone after Greece.

A fifth of Spain’s population lives under the threshold for poverty as defined by the European Union’s statistics agency, Eurostat.  The lack of jobs and the deepest austerity in more than 30 years have pushed average household income down 10 percent since 2008.