* Suicide accounted for 25 percent (n=350) of all male deaths and 17 percent (n=84) of all female deaths in this age group in 1995
* Admission to hospital because of intentional self-injury is about 10 times as common as death due to suicide for young adults in Australia, and is more common for females than males.
* The rate of suicide among males aged 15 to 24 in 1990 was about 3 times higher than the rate in 1960. The rate has not risen further since 1990.
* Suicide rates for young Aboriginal males are higher than for non-Aboriginal males
* Hanging and shooting are the commonest methods of suicide by young males; poisoning by solid or liquid substances and hanging are commonest for females.
* The rate of suicide by means of hanging has risen greatly; shooting suicide has declined.
* When countries for which suicide data are published by the World Health Organization are ranked according to rates for young males, Australia ranks in the highest third.
