NCRB Data Revelation: ‘Family Problem’ Main Cause Of Suicides In 2019

New Delhi: In a recently released National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data ‘Family Problems’ were the leading cause of suicide in 2019, accounting for 32.4 percent of all suicides in 2019.

A total of 1,39,123 suicides were recorded last year, which indicates that it is a growing problem as the data shows an increase of 3.4 percent in comparison to 2018.

The next major cause was ‘Illness’, which accounted for 17.1 percent. The data also revealed that the largest collective group of people who died by suicide were daily wage earners, accounting for 23.4 percent.

Drug Abuse/Addiction (5.6 percent), Marriage Related Issues (5.5 percent), Love Affairs (4.5 percent), Bankruptcy or Indebtedness (4.2 percent), Failure in Examination and Unemployment (2.0 percent each), Professional/Career Problem (1.2 percent) and Property Dispute (1.1 percent) were the other causes of suicide.

The national average rate for suicide stood at 10.4 percent with a majority of states and union territories ranking much higher than the national average. Sikkim leads with the highest rate of suicide at 33.1 percent.

According to a News18 report, the NCRB report divides suicides into nine categories – daily wagers, housewives, and persons engaged in the farming sector, while the deaths are listed under professionals/salaried persons, students, self-employed persons, retired persons, unemployed and other persons.

In 2019, the proportion of unemployed people in suicides was noted at 10.1 percent, reaching double digits for the first time in the 25 years that the NCRB has been keeping data since 1995, reported News18.

Rampant unemployment, alcohol abuse, economic hardship, domestic violence, and indebtedness, India is suffering from a massive mental health crisis. With the COVID-19 global pandemic, this mental health crisis is only expected to get reportedly worse.