More unemployed and self-employed people committed suicide than farmers in 2018, show NCRB data

Students and un-employed victims accounted for 7.6% (10,159) and 9.6% (12,936) of total suicides respectively.

At least 35 unemployed and 36 self-employed people on an average ended their lives every day in 2018, with the two categories together accounting for 26,085 suicide deaths during the year, according to official data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).

Unemployed persons (12,936) were slightly behind those self-employed (13,149) who took their own lives, while both categories outnumbered the suicide figures of those working in the farming sector — 10,349 — in 2018.

Overall, 1,34,516 suicides were reported in the country during 2018, showing an increase of 3.6% in comparison to 2017. The rate of suicides, which means deaths per one lakh population, also increased by 0.3% during 2018 over 2017, the NCRB stated.