Greece has historically had one of the lowest suicide rates in the world, peaking in 1993 and then following a downward trend until 2008. However, in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis it has increased markedly, with even a case of public suicide of a 77-year-old Greek pensioner shooting himself with a handgun in the head in front of Syntagma Square, one of the capital’s busiest main squares near the Greek Parliament.