Chennai: Nearly 20,000 lives were lost to suicide in Tamil Nadu in 2024, highlighting a persistent public health crisis in a state that continues to bear one of the heaviest suicide burdens in India. The state reported 19,965 suicides in 2024, the second-highest in the country after Maharashtra, according to the National Crime Records Bureau's Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India report.
Consistent contributor to national suicide numbers
Tamil Nadu has consistently been the second-largest contributor to suicides nationally, accounting for 11.7% of all suicides in 2024 compared with 11.4% in 2023 and 11.6% in 2022. Deaths rose 2.5% from 19,483 in 2023, even as national numbers dipped slightly to 1,70,746 in 2024 from 1,71,418 in 2023 and 1,70,924 in 2022.
Expert calls for preventive measures
Senior psychiatrist Dr Lakshmi Vijayakumar, who runs the suicide prevention NGO Sneha, described the numbers as stubborn. She emphasized the need for the state to focus on reducing access to drugs and alcohol, particularly among the youth. Policy for prevention must include creating awareness among school students, teaching them to deal with family problems and bullying on social media. She stressed recognizing suicide as a public health menace and creating infrastructure at primary health centres to identify and prevent it.
Stark suicide rate comparison
Tamil Nadu's suicide rate remained starkly higher at 25.9 per lakh population, more than double the national average of 12.2. The all-India rate stood at 12.3 in 2023 and 12.4 in 2022. Men accounted for the majority of deaths at 14,770, compared with 5,171 women and 24 transgender persons. Married individuals formed the largest group, with 14,842 deaths, while 4,859 were among the unmarried.
Urban patterns
Urban patterns mirror the broader trend. Chennai recorded 1,525 suicides in 2024, a marginal decline from 1,529 in 2023. The city accounted for 5.8% of suicides across 53 mega cities, about 7.6% of Tamil Nadu's figure, and was among the four metropolitan cities with the highest number of suicides, alongside Delhi (11.1%), Bengaluru (9.2%) and Mumbai (5.4%).
Social and economic stressors
The data also reveal the social and economic stressors behind the numbers. Tamil Nadu recorded the highest number of mass or family suicide cases in the country, with 32 incidents involving 79 deaths. The state reported the most suicides among housewives (2,821) and government servants (324). While suicides by fire or self-immolation declined in India, Tamil Nadu alone accounted for about 24.4% of all self-immolation suicides nationwide, with 505 such deaths in 2024 — 255 men and 250 women.
Love failure and other causes
There were 478 suicides linked to love failures in the state, including 350 men, 124 women and 4 transgender persons, accounting for roughly 6% of the national total. In Chennai, family problems were linked to 545 deaths, followed by illness (308) and drug abuse or alcohol addiction (220). Other causes included bankruptcy or indebtedness (101), love affairs (54), death of a dear person (49), marriage-related issues (46) and failure in examinations (9). The city also reported two mass or family suicide cases, resulting in six deaths.
