Parivaar, Shaadi aur Pyaar: Nearly 50% of India's youth are dying by suicides due to family, love and marriage

Relationship problems, ranging from family disputes to love affairs and marriage-related stress, contributed to nearly half of all suicide deaths among young Indians aged 18–30, according to the latest government data. Suicide, along with road accidents, remains one of the top two causes of death in the 15–29 age group for nearly two decades, as per a TOI report.

The Registrar General of India’s cause of death report for 2020–22 shows that suicides made up 17.1% of all deaths among youth aged 15–29. While this age group accounts for just 5% of all deaths in the country, the causes in this group are largely behavioural and preventable.

Relationship issues drive most suicide deaths in youth

Data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows that almost 48% of all suicide cases among young adults are caused by three types of relationship-related distress:

• Family problems (32.4%)
• Love affairs (8%)
• Marriage-related issues (7.5%)
• Dowry-related issues alone made up 28% of marriage-related suicides, and 93% of those who died by suicide in such cases were women.

Suicide tops the list of deaths in the 15–29 age group

Among all causes of death for young people, suicide consistently ranks highest. In 2020–22, suicide led the chart, followed by motor vehicle accidents. Cardiovascular diseases have also moved up the list, accounting for 9.8% of youth deaths, while unintentional injuries such as falls and drowning stood at 8.7%.

This trend has been seen in earlier data too. For example, in 2004–06, suicide made up 15.8% of youth deaths, followed by unintentional injuries and motor accidents.

Gender gap narrows but still persists

The share of suicides among young women (18.2%) remains slightly higher than among young men (16.3%), though the gap has narrowed over time. In 2010–13, 21.8% of all deaths among young women were suicides compared to 15% among men.

India's youth suicide deaths six times of China

India recorded over 60,700 deaths due to suicide in the 15–29 age group, the highest in the world. While India has a large youth population—about 345 million compared to China’s 260 million—the suicide toll is nearly six times that of China, which reported about 10,700 youth suicides.

India also ranks tenth among countries with the highest suicide rate, with a crude suicide rate of 15.7 per 100,000 population, higher than all neighbouring countries. Uruguay, South Africa, and Russia rank at the top of this list.

(Disclaimer: If you or someone you know is having thoughts of self-harm, please seek help immediately. You can find resources in India here.)