Last year, 164,000 people died by suicide, an increase of 7.2 percent compared to 2020, when 153,000 persons had killed themselves.

The highest number of suicides was recorded in Maharashtra, where 22,207 persons killed themselves, followed by Tamil Nadu at 18,925 suicide cases, Madhya Pradesh at 14,965, West Bengal at 13,500, and Karnataka at 13,056.

Domestic problems and illnesses were reported as the major cause of death by suicide in India last year. They accounted for 33.2 percent and 18.6 percent, respectively, of total suicide cases.

In terms of profession, wage earners remained the largest group among suicide victims for the second consecutive year, with more than 42,000 cases, one in four in 2021.

In 2020 also, wage earners accounted for the highest share of deaths by suicide, with 37,666 out of 153,052, while thousands of workers lost their livelihoods during the first two years of the Covid-19 pandemic.

pgh/iff/acl/abm