Bengaluru has recorded the country’s highest suicide rate among major metros

According to the National Crime Records Bureau’s Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India (ADSI) reports, Bengaluru recorded over 2,313 suicides in 2022, 2370 in 2023 and 2430 in 2024, with the city’s suicide rate remaining close to 20 per lakh population through the three-year period.

Delhi reported higher absolute suicide numbers, crossing 3,204 cases in 2024, but its suicide rate remained far lower — 9.8 — because of its much larger population base.

Mumbai’s suicide rate stayed below 7 per lakh population, with 1447 suicidal deaths, while Chennai had 1562 and Hyderabad had 1311 deaths in 2024, with suicide rates of 12.8 and 11.6, respectively.

The Karnataka picture is equally worrying. The State’s overall suicide count continued to rise between 2022 and 2024, with Bengaluru alone accounting for a disproportionately large share of deaths.

Mental health experts have repeatedly linked urban suicides to isolation, work pressure, migration stress, rising living costs and weakening social support systems — all increasingly associated with Bengaluru’s rapid urban expansion.

(If you are in distress or having suicidal tendencies, please reach out to these 24/7 helplines: KIRAN at 1800-599-0019 or Arogya Sahayavani at 104 for help.)