Nagaland recorded a notable decrease in suicide cases in 2023, with 30 cases reported, reflecting a 26.5 per cent decline from 41 cases in 2022, according to the latest data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) on Monday, 29 September. This trend comes as India reported a total of 1,71,418 suicides during the year, marking a slight increase of 0.3 per cent over 2022. Family problems and illness remained the two leading causes of suicide across the country.
The majority of suicides were reported in Maharashtra (22,687), followed by Tamil Nadu (19,483), Madhya Pradesh (15,662), Karnataka (13,330), and West Bengal (12,819). These five states together accounted for nearly 49 per cent of the national total. Uttar Pradesh, despite being the most populous state with 17 per cent of the country’s population, reported only 5.3 per cent of total suicides.
Family problems and illness contributed to 31.9 per cent and 19 per cent of all suicides, respectively. Other causes included drug or alcohol addiction (7 per cent), marriage-related issues (5.3 per cent), love affairs (4.7 per cent), indebtedness (3.8 per cent), unemployment (1.8 per cent), failure in examinations (1.4 per cent), death of a loved one (1.3 per cent), professional or career issues (1.1 per cent), and property disputes (1 per cent).
Housewives represented 51.6 per cent of female victims, while government employees accounted for 1.1 per cent and private sector employees for 7.2 per cent of total victims. The most vulnerable age groups were 18 to below 30 years and 30 to below 45 years, accounting for 32.8 per cent and 32.5 per cent of suicides, respectively.
In urban areas, Delhi recorded the highest number of suicides among Union Territories with 3,131 cases, and 26,095 suicides were reported in 53 megacities nationwide. While some regions saw steep increases, states like Mizoram, Nagaland, and Arunachal Pradesh witnessed the largest declines in suicide rates.
The NCRB stated that the national suicide rate, measured per one lakh population, was 12.3 in 2023. Andaman and Nicobar Islands reported the highest rate at 49.6, followed by Sikkim (40.2), Kerala (30.6), Puducherry (28.0), and Telangana (27.7).
Record rise in student suicides in India
Student suicides in India reached a record high of 13,892 in 2023, marking a 6.5% increase from 13,044 in 2022, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). The figure also represents a 6.1% rise from 13,089 in 2021 and a 10.8% increase from 12,526 in 2020.
While overall suicides in India rose by 23.2% over five years to 1,71,418 in 2023, student suicides grew even more sharply, climbing 34.4% since 2019 when 10,335 cases were recorded and 64.9% over the decade from 8,423 cases in 2013. Between 2013 and 2023, a total of 1,17,849 students died by suicide.
Student suicides accounted for 8.1% of all suicides in 2023. Among the victims, 7,330 were male, 6,559 female, and three transgender. Maharashtra reported the highest proportion of student suicides at 14.7%, followed by Madhya Pradesh (10.5%), Uttar Pradesh (9.9%), and Tamil Nadu (9.6%).
In terms of education level, most student suicide victims were educated up to Class 10 or secondary level (24.6%), followed by Class 8 or middle level (18.6%), Class 12 or higher secondary (17.5%), Class 5 or primary level (14.8%), and illiterate individuals (11.8%). Graduates or higher education holders accounted for only 5.5% of victims. These figures underscore a worrying trend of rising student suicides across India over the past decade.
Over 10,700 farming-related suicides in 2023
More than 10,700 people involved in the farming sector died by suicide in 2023, with Maharashtra reporting the highest share at 38.5 per cent, followed by Karnataka at 22.5 per cent, according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
The total included 4,690 farmers or cultivators and 6,096 agricultural labourers, together accounting for 6.3 per cent of all suicides in the country. Of the farmers or cultivators, 4,553 were male and 137 were female, while among agricultural labourers, 5,433 were male and 663 were female.
Most suicides in the farming sector were reported in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. Certain states and union territories, including West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Chandigarh, Delhi, and Lakshadweep, recorded no suicides among farmers or agricultural labourers.
Economic status also played a major role, with 66.2 per cent of all suicide victims in 2023 earning less than Rs 1 lakh annually. Another 28.3 per cent belonged to the income group of Rs 1 lakh to less than Rs 5 lakh.
Kerala reported the highest proportion of suicides among unemployed persons, with 15.4 per cent of such deaths, followed by Maharashtra (14.5%), Tamil Nadu (11.2%), and Uttar Pradesh (9.1%). Suicides among persons engaged in business activities were highest in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh, NCRB data revealed.
(All statistics in this report were compiled and organized with the assistance of AI tools, based on the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report released on September 29, 2025.)
