Suicide in India

Suicide rates in India have been rising over the past five decades. Suicides during 2021 increased by 7.2% in comparison to 2020 with India reporting highest number of suicides in the world. India's contribution to global suicide deaths increased from 25.3% in 1990 to 36.6% in 2016 among women, and from 18.7% to 24.3% among men. In 2016, suicide was the most common cause of death in both the age groups of 15–29 years and 15–39 years. Between 1987 and 2007, the suicide rate increased from 7.9 to 10.3 per 100,000, with higher suicide rates in southern and eastern states of India. Daily wage earners registered 42,004 deaths by suicide in 2021, the biggest group in the suicide data.

About 800,000 people die by suicide worldwide every year. 164,033 Indians committed suicide in 2021 and the national suicide rate was 12 (calculated per hundred thousand or per lakh), which is the highest rate of deaths from suicides since 1967, which is the earliest recorded year for this data. According to The World Health Organization, in India, suicide is an emerging and serious public health issue.

In 2021, Maharashtra recorded highest number of deaths by suicide (22,207) followed by Tamil Nadu (18,925), Madhya Pradesh (14,965) West Bengal (13,500), and Karnataka (13,056). These five states together accounted for almost half of the total suicides recorded in India in that year.

The male-to-female suicide ratio in 2021 was 72.5 : 27.4.

Estimates for number of suicides in India vary. For example, a study published in The Lancet projected 187,000 suicides in India in 2010, while official data by the Government of India claims 134,600 suicides in the same year. Similarly, for 2019, while NCRB reported India's suicide rate to be 10.4, according to WHO data, the estimated age-standardized suicide rate in India for the same year is 12.9. They have estimated it to be 11.1 for women and 14.7 for men.