SUICIDES

Jan. 31, 2019

According to the data released by the India State-level Disease Burden Initiative, Suicide is the leading cause of death in the 15-39 years age group in India.

Key findings:

Suicide was the leading cause of death in India in 2016 for those aged 15-39 years; 2% of the suicide deaths among women and 57.7% among men were in this age group.
The suicide rate among the elderly has increased over the past quarter century.
Suicide Death Rate (SDR) in India is higher especially for women. India’s proportional contribution to global suicide deaths is high and increasing. 37% of such deaths among women globally occur in India.
The highest age-specific SDR among women in 2016 was for ages 15-29 years.
India’s contribution to global suicide deaths increased from 25.3% in 1990 to 36.6% in 2016 among women, and from 18.7% to 24.3% among men.
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, consistently had a higher SDR for both men and women.