According to the Office for National Statistics, some 6,045 people committed suicide in 2011, up by 437 on the previous year.
An average of 11.8 people per 100,000 population ended their lives in 2011, more than 11.1 people in 2010.
Men between the ages of 30 and 44 were most likely to take their own life.
Figures from the ONS reveal that the rate of suicides among men in 2011 was the highest since 2002, with 4,552 men committing suicide.
The suicide rate among women was far lower, with 1,493 women killing themselves in 2011.
The average number of suicides among women fell across all age categories in the last three decades.
The 2010 and 2011 figures among men brought an end to more than 10 years of falling suicide rates.