The number of suicides reported in the country during the year 2020 increase by 10% compared to 2019 data, as per the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report on accidental deaths and suicides. According to the report, 1,53,052 suicides were reported during 2020 in the country. The number of suicides increased by 10% compared to 2019, as it went up from 1,39,123 in that year.
Maharashtra reported the highest number of suicides with 19,909, comprising 13% of the total suicides, while Tamil Nadu followed Maharashtra with 16,883 suicides and 11 % of the total number. Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka marked 9.5%,8.6% and 8.0% of the total suicides in 2020 respectively. The total of these five states accounts for 50.1% of the total number of suicidal deaths reported in the country.
Delhi reported the highest number of suicidal cases among the Union Territories (UTs) according to the report with 3142 suicides. Uttarakhand (82.8%), Mizoram (54.3%), Himachal Pradesh (46.7%), Arunachal Pradesh (42.9%), Assam (36.8%) and Jharkhand (30.5%) reported significant increases in the suicidal deaths in 2020 as compared to 2019.
Manipur (24.1%), Puducherry (17.2%), Uttar Pradesh (12.1%), Haryana (4.5%) and Chandigarh (2.3%) showed the highest percentage decrease in suicides from 2019 to 2020.
According to the report, during 2020, ‘Family Problems’ and ‘Illness’ were the major causes of suicides comprising 33.6% and 18.0% of total suicides respectively. Other causes of suicides listed in the report include ‘Drug Abuse/ Addiction’ (6.0%), ‘Marriage Related Issues’ (5.0%), ‘Love Affairs’ (4.4%), ‘Bankruptcy or Indebtedness’ (3.4%), ‘Unemployment’ (2.3%) ,‘Failure in Examination’ (1.4%), ‘Professional/Career Problem’ (1.2%) and ‘Poverty’ (1.2%).
The report further noted, “…A total of 10,677 persons involved in farming sector (consisting of 5,579 farmers/cultivators and 5,098 agricultural labourers) have committed suicides during 2020, accounting for 7.0% of total suicides victims (1,53,052) in the country. Out of 5,579 farmer/cultivator suicides, a total of 5,335 were male and 244 were female.Out of 5,098 suicides committed by agricultural labourers during 2020, 4,621 were male and 477 were female…”
The report also added, “Majority of victims engaged in farming sector were reported in Maharashtra (37.5%), Karnataka (18.9%), Andhra Pradesh (8.3%), Madhya Pradesh (6.9%) and Chhattisgarh (5.0%).”
