Suicide is the leading cause of non-natural deaths in China. Female suicide rates are higher than male rates, and the rural suicide rate is 2.8 times higher than the urban rate. In 16,568 cases of suicide, the male to female ratios observed were 0.92 and 0.81 in urban and rural areas, respectively. The male to female ratio of the suicide rates in China is close to that of other Asian countries (1.2-1.5), but much lower than that in 26 European countries. In about two-thirds of all suicides, family disputes and love disappointments are the precipitants. The higher rate of suicide among women probably reflects the fact that Chinese women are of low social and economic position, and have few social resources to protect them, especially in remote areas.