Suicide in India

Suicide
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Suicide is a major national public health issue in the India. 1.71 lakh suicides were recorded in 2022, registering a 4.2% increase over 2021 and a jump of 27% compared to 2018. The rate of suicide per one lakh population has increased to 12.4 in 2022 which is the highest year for this data.[1][2][3] Suicides during 2022 increased by 27% in comparison to 2018 with India reporting highest number of suicides in the world.[4] 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.[5] In 2016, suicide was the most common cause of death in both the age groups of 15–29 years and 15–39 years.[6] Daily wage earners accounted for 26% of suicide victims, the largest group in the suicide data.[7][8]

The male-to-female suicide ratio in 2021 was 72.5 : 27.4.[9]

Estimates for number of suicides in India vary. For example, a study published in The Lancet projected 187,000 suicides in India in 2010,[10] while official data by the Government of India claims 134,600 suicides in the same year.[11] 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.[12]

  1. ^ Jha, Abhishek (29 August 2022). "Deaths by suicide at their highest rate in 2021, shows NCRB data". The Hindustan Times. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  2. ^ "468 people took their lives every day in 2022: NCRB data". The Times of India. 5 December 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  3. ^ Swain, Prafulla Kumar; Tripathy, Manas Ranjan; Priyadarshini, Subhadra; Acharya, Subhendu Kumar (29 July 2021). "Forecasting suicide rates in India: An empirical exposition". PLOS ONE. 16 (7): e0255342. Bibcode:2021PLoSO..1655342S. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0255342. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 8321128. PMID 34324554.
  4. ^ Narayanan, Jayashree (30 August 2022). "NCRB report 2021: 7.2 per cent increase in death by suicide; experts say 'busting myths, stigma is crucial'". The Indian Express. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  5. ^ Dandona, Rakhi; Kumar, G. Anil; Dhaliwal, R. S.; Naghavi, Mohsen; Vos, Theo; Shukla, D. K.; Vijayakumar, Lakshmi; Gururaj, G.; Thakur, J. S.; Ambekar, Atul; Sagar, Rajesh (1 October 2018). "Gender differentials and state variations in suicide deaths in India: the Global Burden of Disease Study 1990–2016". The Lancet Public Health. 3 (10): e478–e489. doi:10.1016/S2468-2667(18)30138-5. ISSN 2468-2667. PMC 6178873. PMID 30219340.
  6. ^ "Gender differentials and state variations in suicide deaths in India: the Global Burden of Disease Study 1990–2016". Lancet. 1 October 2018. Retrieved 20 October 2018.
  7. ^ "'Daily wage earners' biggest group among death by suicides in 2021: NCRB". Business Standard. 30 August 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  8. ^ "468 people took their lives every day in 2022: NCRB data". The Times of India. 5 December 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  9. ^ "45,026 females committed suicide in 2021, over half were housewives". The Hindu. 30 August 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  10. ^ Patel, V.; Ramasundarahettige, C.; Vijayakumar, L.; Thakur, J. S.; Gajalakshmi, V.; Gururaj, G.; Suraweera, W.; Jha, P. (2012). "Suicide mortality in India: A nationally representative survey". The Lancet. 379 (9834): 2343–51. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60606-0. PMC 4247159. PMID 22726517.
  11. ^ Suicides in India Archived 13 May 2014 at the Wayback Machine The Registrar General of India, Government of India (2012)
  12. ^ "GHO | By category | Suicide rate estimates, age-standardized - Estimates by country". WHO. Retrieved 8 September 2021.