The number of suicides recorded in Ireland rose to 525 in 2011, an increase of 7 per cent on the previous year, according to data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
A total of 439 men and 86 women were recorded to have taken their own lives last year, the majority of whom were aged between 15 and 44 years of age.
The figures are contained in the CSO Vital Statistics report for 2011, which collates the numbers of births, deaths and marriages registered in Ireland.
The figures also revealed that 74,650 births were registered in Ireland in 2011, a decrease of 326 on the previous year.
The average age for women giving birth in Ireland is now 31.8 years, an increase of 0.3 years since 2010 and 1.4 years higher than in 2002.
Two in five births were to first-time mothers, whose average age was 29.8 years. Of the 25,190 women who gave birth for the first time outside of marriage, the average age was 27 years.
The highest percentage of births outside marriage was in Limerick city at 49 per cent, while Galway County and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown had the lowest at 25 per cent. A total of 1,720 teenagers had babies, 40 of whom were under 16.
There were 28,995 deaths registered in 2011, 78 per cent of whom were over the age of 65. Circulatory disease was responsible for 33 per cent of deaths, followed by cancer at 30 per cent and lung disease at 12 per cent.
There were 1,695 deaths due to accidents, suicides or other external causes, 73 per cent of whom were male.
A total of 19,879 marriages were registered in 2011, and divorce was granted to 2,819 couples.
