New Delhi: With each passing year, suicide among general masses in India is increasing at an alarming rate while the World Health Organizations has estimated the country with 41st highest suicide rate globally as of 2019.
According to Kashmir Media Service, high suicide mortality among adults in India has become a public health concern. The data released by India’s National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), 1.64 lakh people took their own lives in 2021.
Suicide rate had jumped to 11.3 in 2020 and turned record high 2021.
In 2021, the male-to-female ratio of suicide victims was 72.5 : 27.4, while (70.9 : 29.1) in 2020. The total number of male suicides was 1,18,979 and female suicides accounted for 45,026. A total of 28 transgender people died by suicide. The numbers and suicide rates could have gone up in 2022 as well.
NCRB recorded 1.5 lakh suicide deaths in 2020, against 1.39 lakh in 2019. Between 2020 and 2021 too there was a 7.1% increase. In 2015–2016, psychological disorders were reported to affect 13.7% of population aged 18 years and older in India.
India reported highest suicide rate in its history in 2021, with more than 50 suicides for every 100,000 people. Experts say the actual number may be far high.
Deaths by suicide were highest in developed states like Kerala and Telangana, at 27 suicides per 100,000 populations. 72.5% of those who committed suicide were men. Number of suicide deaths could be much higher as reporting pattern is under reporting these deaths.
There are three possible reasons for underreporting of suicides: lack of medical certification of deaths, stigma associated with mental health, and criminalization.
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