Suicide was the leading cause of death last year among South Koreans under 40, while cancer claimed the most lives among those 40 and older.

According to data from Statistics Korea released on Tuesday, an average of nearly 37 people ended their lives each day in 2021 as South Korea logged the highest suicide rate in the OECD.

Of the 317-thousand-680 deaths in the country last year, 26 percent of them were from cancer. Heart disease, pneumonia, cerebrovascular disease and death by suicide followed, rounding out the five most common causes of death in the nation.

Cancer accounted for 161 deaths per 100-thousand people, with lung and liver cancers taking up the largest portion. Suicide accounted for 26 deaths per 100-thousand people, with men outnumbering women by over two-fold.

An average 13-point-five deaths per day were alcohol-related, down four-point-four percent from the previous year, while the number of deaths from dementia also fell by two-point-seven percent last year.