New Delhi\Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala has climbed to the third spot in the national list of states and union territories with the highest suicide rates. As per the National Crime Record Bureau’s (NCRB) annual data for 2023, the suicide rate in Kerala was 30.6, while the national average was a mere 12.3.

Suicide rate is calculated as the number of people who take their own lives for every one lakh population of the state. Andaman and Nicobar Islands topped the list with a suicide rate of 49.6, followed by Sikkim with 40.2. After Kerala, which came third, Pondicherry with 28 and Telangana with 27.7 completed the top five positions.

Over the years, the suicide rate in Kerala has consistently remained higher than the national average. The state was ranked fifth nationally in 2021 with a rate of 26.9, compared to the national figure of 12. In 2022, Kerala ranked fourth in the country, with the state’s rate increasing to 28.5, while the national average was 12.4. The following year, the state took the third spot with a rate of 30.6, when the countrywide figure fell to 12.3.

According to the NCRB data, a total of 1,71,418 people died by suicide across the country in 2023. By actual numbers, Kerala was placed sixth with 10,972 suicides (6.4 per cent). The top five states on this list were: Maharashtra (13.2 per cent), Tamil Nadu (11.4 per cent), Madhya Pradesh (9.1 per cent), Karnataka (7.8 per cent) and Bengal (7.5 per cent).

The proportion of people ending their lives due to health problems in Kerala (21.9 per cent) was also higher than the national average (19 per cent). In 2023, health issues led 2,405 people to commit suicide in the state. Family problems were cited as the reason for 4,724 suicides in Kerala, which was 43.1 per cent of the total number of suicides in the state. This figure was also higher than the national average of 31.9 per cent.

State tops list of suicides by unemployed youth
The NCRB data also revealed that Kerala, with 2,191 people, headed the list for the number of unemployed youths who committed suicide. Maharashtra was placed second on this list with 2,070 people. Similarly, Kerala came second in the number of cases related to mass suicides. While 17 such cases were registered in Kerala, Tamil Nadu took the top position with 58 cases followed by Rajasthan with 12 incidents.