This footage was filmed and produced 12 April 2023.

Despite the fact that, according to international rankings, Uruguay is the happiest country in South America, its suicide rate - annual number of suicides per 100,000 inhabitants - is more than double the average for Latin America and the Caribbean. Last year, in this country of 3.4 million people, 823 people committed suicide, the highest number on record and an increase of almost 50% since 2010.

Worldwide, the people with the highest risk factors for suicide are older men living in rural areas. This group is especially under pressure in Uruguay. The country has one of the most aged populations in Latin America, with 15% of its inhabitants aged 65 or older. Younger people spend much less time caring for older relatives than elsewhere in the region, says Ana Machado of the University of the Republic in Montevideo, the capital. Many older people suffer from loneliness. Access to palliative care can also be unequal.

In addition, cultural taboos make Uruguayans reluctant to talk about mental health. Men, in particular, are expected to be stoic. They account for almost 80% of suicides in the country, with a disproportionate risk for those over 60. The suicide rate for Uruguayan men is three times the regional average.

This video illustrates various views of Montevideo, Uruguay on the 12th of April.