7% increase in suicide deaths in age group 18-30 years in 2021 from previous year: NCRB data reveals

Trigger warning: This article is about suicide. If you or someone you know needs help mail at icall@tiss.edu or dial 022-25521111 to reach iCall, a psychosocial helpline set up by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). You can also call +91-9820466726 to reach Aasra, a 24/7 helpline for emotional crisis situations, mental illness issues, and suicidal ideation..India witnessed a 7% increase in the suicides in 2021 from the year before, with daily wagers accounting for majority of the persons who died by suicide and persons between the age group of 18 and 30 constituting 34% of the total numbers with a 7% increase from 2020, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) statistics reveals..According to the data made available a few days ago, of the total 1,18,979 men who died by suicide, 37,751 were daily wage earners — comprising 32% of the total male figures and 23% of the total numbers of people who died by suicide, respectively.Besides, there were 45,026 women and 28 transpersons who died by suicide last year.The 2021 data, however, shows a 3% decline in suicide deaths compared to 2020, which witnessed a 10% rise in suicides from 2019..Age groups of victims.The age group between 18 and 30 years witnessed the highest suicides (56,543) comprising 37,941 men, 18,588 women and 14 transpersons. There were 52,054 persons in the age group above 30 and below 45 years who died by suicide. Also, there were 10,732 minors who died by suicide in 2021.In 2020, in the 18-30 age category, there were 52,701 suicides, indicating a 7% rise in suicides among the persons in this age group..States and UTs with highest suicide rates.Maharashtra, akin to 2020, witnessed highest suicides among all states with 22,207 deaths followed by Tamil Nadu with 18,925 such cases. There were 14,965 suicides in Madhya Pradesh whereas 13,500 suicides in West Bengal and 13,056 suicides in Karnataka. The five states together accounted for over 50% of the total suicides in the country..Among union territories, Delhi reported the highest numbers with 2,840 suicides followed by Puducherry with 504 suicide deaths. In 2020, Delhi reported 3,142 suicides and Puducherry had 408 cases. Both UTs have shown a decline in number of cases in 2021.Other mega cities such as Chennai had 2,699 suicides besides Bengaluru with 2,292 such instances and Mumbai with 1,436 persons. Delhi along with these three cities together accounted for 35.5% of the total suicides reported from 53 mega cities..Causes of suicides.Family issues and illnesses were stated to be the major causes of suicides in 2021, accounting for 33.2% and 18.6% of the total suicides, respectively. Others reasons were drug addiction or alcoholism, marriage-related issues, relationships, bankruptcy or indebtedness, unemployment among other reasons.In 2020, similarly, family problems and illnesses accounted for 33.6% and 18% of total suicides, respectively..Professional status and educational status of victims.After daily wagers, homemakers accounted for 51.5% of the total women victims — 23,179 out of 45,026 — constituting nearly 14.1% of total victims who died by suicide during 2021..Besides, a total of 10,881 people from the farming sector, comprising 5,318 farmers and 5,563 agricultural labourers, died by suicide in 2021. The numbers accounted for 6.6% of total suicides in the country.In 2020, 10,677 from the farming sector had died by suicide and a comparison shows 2% rise in suicides among people of this field in 2021.A total of 39,333 persons who had either passed their class X or higher secondary level were said to have died by suicide and 7,613 victims were either graduates or held higher degrees..Economic status of victims.A total of 1,05,242 persons, constituting 64.2% of the total people who died by suicide in 2021, had an annual income of less than ₹1 lakh whereas 51,812 people or 31.6% of the total suicide victims had an income between ₹1 lakh and ₹5 lakh per annum..[2021 Report]