A study by the Institute of Mental Health showed that the trend in the city state was reflected in Canada and the United States, as well as Asian nations such as Hong Kong, South Korea, Sri Lanka and India.

"Women in Singapore today are not only better educated but also better informed," Dr Yap Hwa Ling, a researcher who is now a senior consultant in psychological medicine at Changi General Hospital, told Reuters.

"If they should be depressed or encounter problems they know what to do and where to go for help."

The findings were limited to people of Chinese heritage, who make up about three-quarters of Singapore's population of four million and accounted for 85 percent of those committing suicide during the periods under review.

The study, published in the Singapore Medical Journal, showed the following suicide rates:

-- 1989: 215 males and 179 females

-- 1995: 244 males and 156 females

-- 1998: 221 males and 150 females

Researchers also found that the declining female numbers were most prominent among women aged 25-39. In 1998, for example, 38 women from that age group committed suicide compared with 71 men.

The research, based on government mortality statistics, was also conducted by Professor Gordon Parker who is now at the University of New South Wales in Australia.

Yap said suicidal behaviour was influenced by a variety of socio-cultural factors, with illness and depression as contributors.

"Barring a severe economic upheaval and massive unemployment, I do not expect the suicide rate to increase drastically (in Singapore) in the men or the women," she said.