Nagpur/Mumbai: For the third consecutive year, Maharashtra topped the country in terms of the number of suicides reported in 2021, as per data revealed by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). Maharashtra recorded 22,207 suicides, followed by Tamil Nadu’s 18,925 and Madhya Pradesh’s 14,965.
However, the State does not find a place among the top ten with high suicide rates (suicide per lakh population) in India. In terms of the four mega metropolitan cities, Mumbai was fourth in terms of number of suicides in the past year.
Gold Rate
Thursday 09 Jan. 2025
As per the NCRB data, Maharashtra contributed 13.5 per cent to the total number of suicides registered across the country last year. Even in 2019 and 2020, the state had topped the list and had contributed 13.6 per cent and 13 per cent respectively. Tamil Nadu has been at the second number behind Maharashtra in terms of suicides since 2019.
According to NCRB data, professional or career-related problems, a sense of isolation, abuse, violence, family problems, mental disorders, addiction to alcohol, financial loss and chronic pain are the main reasons behind incidents of suicide in the country. A total of 1,64,033 suicides were reported in India in 2021.
In terms of the reasons that drove people to die by suicide, drug abuse and alcohol addiction were among the top reasons that claimed the lives of 2,818 persons across the State. Madhya Pradesh was a distant second with a total of 1,634 persons dying by suicide due to drug abuse and alcohol addiction.
Maharashtra also topped the country in terms of suicide due to bankruptcy or indebtedness with 1,535 deaths. This was followed by Telangana where 1,385 persons died by suicide for the reason.
In terms of suicide by unemployment, Maharashtra topped the country with 796 suicides followed by 422 due to the same reason in Tamil Nadu in the past year. Maharashtra also topped the states in terms of suicide with 469 persons dying by suicide due to poverty followed by 258 in Karnataka.
The state also topped the list when it came to suicide due to marriage-related issues with 441 such cases. As many as 262 persons committed suicide due to failure in examination — the highest number to so in the country because of this reason. Mumbai too ranked second when it came to suicide due to failure in examination with 46 such cases being reported. In Delhi, 57 persons committed suicide due to failure in examination.
