India’s Suicide Death Rate Drops Over 30% Since 1990: Lancet Study

New Delhi, 20th Feb. India has witnessed a significant reduction of over 30% in its suicide death rate from 1990 to 2021, according to a study published in The Lancet Public Health on Thursday. The study, based on data from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021, highlights the progress made in mental health intervention strategies.

The analysis revealed that India’s suicide death rate stood at 18.9 per lakh population in 1990, which declined to 13.1 per lakh in 2019 and further to 13 per lakh in 2021. This marks an overall reduction of 31.5% in the country’s suicide mortality rate over the past three decades.

Greater Decline Among Women
The study also found that the decline in suicide rates was more pronounced among women. In 1990, the suicide death rate for females was 16.8 per lakh population, which dropped to 10.3 per lakh in 2021. Meanwhile, the rate for males decreased from 20.9 per lakh in 1990 to 15.7 per lakh in 2021.

“In 2020, in India, the highest suicide death rates were among educated women, with family problems being the most commonly cited contributing factor,” researchers from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, US, stated.

Global Suicide Trends
The study also provided a global perspective, revealing that around 740,000 suicides are reported annually, meaning one person dies by suicide every 43 seconds on average. However, the global suicide mortality rate has declined by nearly 40% over the past three decades, from 15 deaths per lakh in 1990 to 9 deaths per lakh in 2021.

The decline has been steeper for women, at over 50%, compared to nearly 34% for men. In 2021, the global suicide mortality rate stood at 12.8 per lakh for men and 5.4 per lakh for women.

Need for Continued Mental Health Support
Despite the progress, experts caution that suicide continues to impact vulnerable populations disproportionately. “While the progress made in declining suicide rates is encouraging, it is clear that suicide continues to impact some countries and populations more than others. Removing suicide stigma and barriers to accessing mental health support systems remain critical measures, particularly among people with mental and substance use disorders,” said senior author Dr. Mohsen Naghavi of IHME.