Rising Trend of Child Suicide, Ages 11-17 Most Vulnerable
Jakarta — The government has highlighted rising trends in mental health disorders amongst children and adolescents in Indonesia. Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin disclosed that in recent years there has been an increase in the number of children thinking about and attempting to end their lives.
According to the Global School-Based Student Health Survey, the percentage of students considering suicide rose from 5.4% in 2015 to 8.5% in 2023, representing an increase of approximately 1.6 times. Meanwhile, the percentage of students attempting suicide rose more sharply, from 3.9% to 10.7% during the same period.
“Those thinking about suicide rose from 5.4% to 8.5%. Those actually attempting it rose even more dramatically from 3.9% to 10.7%,” Budi stated during a press conference on child mental health at the Ministry of Health in Jakarta on Monday, 9 March 2026.
He noted that the 11 to 17 age group represents the cohort with the highest number of cases related to suicidal ideation. According to Budi, throughout 2026 several child suicide cases had already occurred in various regions including East Nusa Tenggara, West Java, Central Java, and East Kalimantan. Victims’ ages ranged from 11 to 14 years. He emphasised that this phenomenon is not confined to low-income families.
“This is not just occurring in poor families. We also see it happening in middle-class families,” he said.
Data from the Indonesian Child Protection Commission also revealed 115 child suicide cases during the 2023-2025 period. The majority of victims were aged 11-17 years.
Almost 10% of Children Detected with Mental Health Disorder Symptoms
The Ministry of Health also presented preliminary results from its Free Health Check programme which includes mental health screening. Of approximately 7 million children who had undergone screening from a total target of 25 million children, nearly 10% were detected with mental health disorder symptoms.
The breakdown includes 4.4%, or approximately 338,000 children, experiencing anxiety disorder symptoms, and 4.8%, or approximately 363,000 children, experiencing depression disorder symptoms.
“This demonstrates that mental health problems are quite significant. Previously we were never able to detect them early,” Budi said.
Budi also identified several factors triggering children to consider ending their lives. Government data showed family conflict and poor parenting patterns as the leading cause, accounting for approximately 24% to 46%. Other factors include bullying at 14-18%, personal psychological problems at 8-26%, and academic pressure at 7-16%.
According to Budi, these findings demonstrate that a child’s immediate environment has a very significant influence on their mental health. “The primary influence is actually from the family. Second is the surrounding environment such as bullying and academic pressure,” he said.
To address these issues, the government has signed a Joint Ministerial Decree involving nine ministries and institutions. This collaboration includes the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Religious Affairs, Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection, and the National Police.
This cross-sectoral cooperation aims to strengthen prevention, early detection, and integrated child mental health treatment. “Child mental health is not solely a medical matter, but has become a responsibility across ministries and institutions,” Budi said.
Psychologists in Community Health Centres Remain Limited
Director General of Primary Health and Community Health at the Ministry of Health, Maria Endang Sumiwi, acknowledged that mental health service capacity at primary health facilities remains limited. She noted that currently mental health counselling services at community health centres are still largely handled by doctors, nurses, and midwives who have limited time and specialised psychological counselling competence.
“There are currently only about 203 clinical psychologists in community health centres, and most are based in Jakarta, Yogyakarta, and Surabaya,” Maria Endang said.
To address this shortage, the Ministry of Health has included clinical psychologists as standard personnel in community health centres in the latest regulations, allowing local governments to add such personnel according to need. Additionally, the government is collaborating with universities and professional colleges to accelerate clinical psychology education so mental health services in community health centres can be expanded.
The government is also promoting early detection of mental health problems through schools. Maria Endang explained that teachers, particularly guidance and counselling teachers, will have their role strengthened in detecting changes in children’s behaviour.
“Through cross-ministerial cooperation, healthcare personnel, guidance and counselling teachers, and parents can work together to support children showing symptoms of mental health problems,” she said.
Going forward, the government will expand mental health screening for children from 7 million to 14 million to 25 million children. Additionally, the Ministry of Health is providing crisis assistance services through the Sejiwa Hotline or Healing 119 for children and families needing support.
Budi stressed that prevention is the most important step in addressing child mental health problems. “It is better that we prevent it. Once it reaches the point of wanting to end one’s life, it is usually too late,” he said.