Story in numbers: India has suicide rate higher than the global average

India had the highest suicide rate in the Southeast Asia region in 2016, a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO) has revealed. India’s own official statistics, which map the number and causes of suicides in the country, have not been made public for the last three years, hindering suicide prevention strategies and efforts to implement the WHO's recommendations in this regard.

India’s suicide rate stood at 16.5  per 100,000 people in 2016, according to the WHO report. This was higher than the global suicide rate of 10.5.

The report presented suicide rates for countries and regions