#DataViz: The Rise Of Mental Health-Linked Suicides

In this five-year period, the pandemic years saw the highest increase, with the year 2020 seeing 25% more suicides related to mental health compared to 2019. By 2022, the numbers rose 6% further.

Vrushali Raut, a mental health expert in Pune, told IndiaSpend, “The rise in mental illness-related suicides post 2019 is not surprising. COVID caused a collective trauma, loss of loved ones, job loss, and isolation. It wasn’t just grief, it was PTSD [post-traumatic stress disorder] on a national scale.” Raut is an organisational psychologist with around eight years of experience in workplace mental health and counselling.

India’s Mental Healthcare Act, 2017 guarantees access to mental healthcare and treatment without discrimination. The law states that services must be affordable, of good quality, geographically accessible, and available without bias based on gender, caste, religion, class, disability, or sexual orientation.

In October 2022, IndiaSpend reported on the limitations of how suicide data are collected and classified in India, also highlighting the underreporting of suicide cases due to stigma. Suicides by women are likely being undercounted, we had reported.

Men account for most mental health-related suicides

In 2022, across age-groups, 10,365 men died by suicide accounting for nearly 72% of suicides attributed to mental health. That same year, 4,234 women (28%) died by suicide. This trend persisted throughout this period, with male suicides forming around 71% of all such cases.

In our October 2022 report mentioned earlier, IndiaSpend noted that suicides among women may be underreported, particularly when deaths are misclassified as accidents or natural causes. In 2021, more than half of the women who died by suicide were housewives, and 26% died by poisoning. Legal and social pressures, including the fear of dowry-related charges, may discourage families from reporting these deaths as suicides, experts had told us.

Over 1.8 million calls to Tele-MANAS

In October 2022, the Union government announced the National Tele Mental Health Programme (NTMHP), branded as Tele-MANAS (Tele Mental Health Assistance and Networking Across States), in October 2022 to provide 24x7 mental health counselling.

Tele-MANAS services are available in 36 States/UTs through 53 centres. The toll-free helpline handled over 1.8 million calls, and services are available in 20 languages, the government told Lok Sabha in February 2025. In the last three years, the government allocated about Rs 363 crore for the NTMHP to support its expansion and operations.

“We need more than helplines, we need awareness in every language, every region,” said Raut. “Campaigns must speak in people’s mother tongues, simplify psychology, and normalise seeking help. Mental health support shouldn’t be a privilege, it should be accessible to all.”

Community-led mental health interventions have shown promise in improving access to care, especially for women and marginalised populations, as IndiaSpend reported in November 2022. Such models help reduce barriers like cost and stigma, we had reported.

Most suicides among the youth

In 2022, the 18- to 30-year age group reported the highest number of suicides (59,108) across all causes, followed by the 30-45 group (54,351). Together, they accounted for two in every three suicides in the country that year.

“The 18-30 age group is under immense stress such as academic pressure, job instability, sleep deprivation,” said Raut, the mental health expert. “It’s very easy for young people to slip into depression without even realising it.”

The Economic Survey of India 2024-25 underlines the urgency of addressing mental health, stating that “putting mental wellbeing at the centre of the economic agenda is prudent”. With India’s demographic dividend hinging on the skills, education, physical and mental health of its youth, the survey warned that ignoring the mental well-being of young people could undercut broader development goals.

According to a 2024 study, the age groups 20-24, 25-29, and 30-34 years together accounted for 53.05% of the total suicide-related economic burden, amounting to over $8.8 billion in estimated productivity losses.

Overall, in 2022, the country reported 170,924 suicides, up from 134,516 in 2018, a 27% increase. Alongside the rise in numbers, India’s suicide rate per 100,000 population has also grown. From 10.2 in 2018, the rate increased to 12.4 in 2022, the highest recorded in over a decade.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 720,000 people die by suicide every year worldwide. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among 15-29 year olds, and 73% of global suicides occur in low and middle income countries, including India. The reasons for suicide are complex and influenced by a combination of social, cultural, psychological, biological, and environmental factors that build up across a person’s life.

If you are feeling suicidal or have suicidal thoughts, help is at hand. You can reach out to helplines near you (find them here).

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