Suicide cases increase by 3.4% in India; Nagaland registers second lowest rate in the country

Our Reporter
Dimapur, Sep. 6 (EMN): Every year, more than 1 lakh people commit suicide in the country. There are various causes of suicides like professional/career problems, sense of isolation, abuse, violence, family problems, mental disorders, addiction to alcohol, financial loss, chronic pain etc., according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), which collects data on suicides from police recorded suicide cases.

As per the NCRB report updated on September 1, a total of 1,39,123 suicide cases were reported in the country during 2019 showing an increase of 3.4% in comparison to 2018; and the rate of suicide has increased by 0.2% during 2019 over 2018.

Majority of suicide cases were reported in Maharashtra (18,916) followed by 13,493 cases in Tamil Nadu and 12,665 cases in West Bengal.  Lakshadweep recorded zero suicide cases in 2019 and Nagaland recorded the second lowest suicide rate with 41 in 2019.

Gender and age group

The overall male-female ratio of suicide victims for the year 2019 was 70.2:29.8, against the ratio in 2018 (68.5:31.5).

The proportion of female victims were more in ‘marriage-related issues’ (specifically, in dowry-related issues), and ‘impotency/infertility’.

The age group of 18 -29 years and 30-45 years were the most vulnerable groups resorting to suicide. These age groups accounted for 35.1% and 31.8% suicides respectively. ‘Family problems’  (2,468), ‘failure in examination’ (1,577), ‘love affairs’ (1,297) and ‘illness’ (923) were the main causes of suicides among children (below 18 years of age), according to the data.

A total of 10,281 persons involved in the farming sector (consisting of 5,957 farmers/cultivators and 4,324 agricultural labourers) committed suicide during 2019, accounting for 7.4% of total suicide victims (1,39,123) in the country.

Out of 5,957 farmers/cultivators who committed suicide, a total of 5,563 were male and 394 were female. Out of 4,324 suicides committed by agricultural labourers during 2019, 3,749 were male and 575 were female.

Out of total 97,613 male suicide cases, maximum suicides were committed by daily wage earners (29,092) followed by self-employed persons (14,319) and unemployed persons (11,599).

A total of 41,493 females committed suicide during 2019 in the country. Among females who committed suicides, the highest number (21,359) was of house-wives followed by students (4,772) and daily wage earners (3,467). A total of 17 transgender committed suicide during the same period.