At least 31 children died by suicide every day in 2020: Govt data

By Team Newsable | First Published Nov 1, 2021, 4:11 PM IST

According to the statistics, "family issues" were one of the leading reasons for these suicides, accounting for 4,006 fatalities, followed by "love affair" (1,337) and sickness (1,337).

The National Crime Records Bureau has revealed that an average of 31 children committed suicide in India each day in 2020, with specialists blaming the coronavirus epidemic for exacerbating the children's psychological anguish. The NCRB statistics state that as many as 11,396 youngsters died by suicide in 2020, an 18% increase from 9,613 such fatalities in 2019 and a 21% increase from 9,413 in 2018, media reports said.

According to the statistics, "family issues" were one of the leading reasons for these suicides, accounting for 4,006 fatalities, followed by "love affair" (1,337) and sickness (1,337). Other reasons for child suicide, as noted in the statistics, include ideological motives or hero-worship, unemployment, insolvency, impotence or infertility, and drug misuse.

Tap to resize

Latest Videos

Tap to resize

Also Read | West Bengal sees sharpest spike in crime against children in 3 years: NCRB

The most recent National Crime Records Bureau report noted that the country reported more than 1.53 lakh suicides last year, the most in the past ten years. According to data from the Union Health Ministry, coronavirus infection killed almost 1.49 lakh individuals in 2020. While sickness was the most commonly cited reason for suicide, daily wage employees accounted for the lion's share of total suicides, according to NCRB data. In 2020, 37,666 daily wage employees committed suicide, accounting for one-fourth of all suicides.

Illness was the most frequently cited cause, accounting for 18% (27,623) of all suicides. It is also worth noting that, while the reason for roughly 16,000 suicides remained unexplained, another 15,000 were classified as "other causes" in the study issued last week. According to NCRB statistics, at least 12,526 students committed suicide, accounting for more than 8% of all deaths, while 10,677 workers in the farming sector also committed themselves.

Also Read | Over 24,000 children committed suicide in last 3 years across India: NCRB report

For more reliable and latest news