INTRODUCTION:
Suicidal behavior is considered a major public health problem worldwide. World Health Organization (WHO) reported approximately 700,000 suicides in 2019, for a global incidence of 1 per 10,000 people, with people aged 15-29 being the most affected population. Frequency of suicide attempts is impacted by periods of serious social tension, such as economic recessions, wars, and major social catastrophes like pandemias.

OBJECTIVE:
Estimate the frequency of suicide attempts in adolescents and young people in Colombia before, during and after the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic.

METHODS:
exploratory ecological study on the Colombian population between 11 and 30 years old using suicide attempt data. suicide reported to the national Public Health Surveillance System between 2016 and 2022. The variables collected were: sex, age, department, mechanism, triggering and predisposing factors. Data analysis was done with Epi Info version 7.2. Incidence rates of suicide attempts were calculated by sex, age and department and compared across the periods of study.

RESULTS:
Compared to the pre-pandemic period, the overall suicide attempt rate increased much more (70%) during the post-pandemic period than during the pandemic (2%). People within the age range 16 to 20 years old had the highest rate of suicide attempts across all periods - 16.6 x 104 in the pre-pandemic, 17.8 in the pandemic and 24.6 in the post-pandemic - and it was higher in women than in men. There were important variations in trends at the territorial level as some departments decreased their rates of suicide attempts during the pandemic while others increased them.

CONCLUSIONS:
In Colombia, contrary to other countries, the national rate of suicide attempts remained relatively stable during the pandemic, but increased significantly in the post pandemic with differences by sex, age and between regions.