South India: Suicide Capitol of the World

When I recently came across an article about the high suicide rate of Asian Americans, I wondered if there is also a high suicide rate in Asia itself, particularly India and China. What I found as I did my research was troubling. This article will cover what I learned about suicide in India; a separate article will cover what I learned about suicide in China.

First of all, it should be noted that while this article is titled "South India: Suicide Capitol of the World," my research has led me to conclude that the rest of India also has a similar suicide rate as South India, but South India has better systems for reporting and tracking suicide than the rest of India. Therefore, information related to suicide in South India very likely reflects what is happening in the rest of India as well.

SUICIDE IN INDIA: SOME STARTLING STATISTICS

1. According to Dr Anuradha Bose, associate professor in pediatrics who also works for the CMC's department of community health, suicide is the largest single cause of death among Indian youth between the ages of 15-19. One in three cases of suicide in India is committed by people between the ages of 15 and 29.

2. A suicide is reported in India every 15 minutes, and it is believed that many suicides are not reported, so the actual number is likely much higher.

3. Kerala, the state with the highest literacy rate in all of India also has the highest suicide rate.

4. The average suicide rate in India is 103 per 100,000 people compared with the worldwide average of 14.5 suicides per 100,000 people.

5. In the Southern India state of Tamil Nadu, suicide accounts for 50% to 75 of all deaths of young women and 25% of the deaths of young men.

SUICIDE IN INDIA: FEMALES ARE AT GREATER RISK THAN MALES