TL;DR: More than 63,000 children (below the age of 18) died by suicide in India between 2019 and 2024. During the same period, over 12,500 suicides of people below the age of 30 were attributed to examination failure. While examination-failure suicides declined during the pandemic years, they rose again after schools and colleges reopened, highlighting the disproportionate burden of academic pressure on India’s youth.

Context

Every year, millions of Indian students sit for examinations that can shape the course of their education, careers, and future opportunities. For many families, these tests represent years of sacrifice, financial investment, and aspirations for a better life. Whether it is a board examination, a recruitment test like UPSC, or an entrance examination such as NEET or JEE, success is often celebrated as life-changing. Failure, however, can be experienced as something far more devastating.

While the recent NEET controversy has renewed attention on examination-related stress and the pressures associated with high-stakes tests, NCRB data suggests that suicides where examination failure was reported as the cause are a recurring concern that extends beyond any single examination or year.

Who Compiles This Data?
The data comes from the NCRB’s Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India (ADSI) report, compiled annually using police reports from across states and districts. The NCRB records a single reported cause for each suicide based on police investigations. However, suicides are often influenced by multiple social, economic, psychological, and personal factors simultaneously. As a result, categories such as “Failure in Examination” should be interpreted as the reported cause in official records rather than as the sole reason behind a death.

Where can I download Clean & Structured Data about Student Suicides in India?

Clean, standardised, structured, and ready-to-use datasets related to deaths by suicide based on age, profession and gender can be downloaded from Dataful.

Key Insights

Suicides Remain Persistently High in the below 18-year-old age category

The number of suicides among people below 18 years has remained above 10,000 every year since 2020. After rising sharply from 9,613 in 2019 to 11,396 in 2020, the figures fluctuated over the following years before reaching 11,184 in 2024. Between 2019 and 2024, suicides among children increased by nearly 16%, indicating that distress among children and adolescents continues to be a significant concern despite growing awareness around mental health.

More Than 12,500 Young People Died Due to Examination Failure in Six Years

Between 2019 and 2024, India recorded 12,598 suicides where examination failure was reported as the cause among people below 30 years of age. After declining from 2,668 deaths in 2019 to 1,578 in 2021, the numbers rose again, reaching 2,369 in 2023 before falling to 1,955 in 2024.

As expected, the data also show that examination-related suicides are overwhelmingly a youth issue. In 2024, 1,955 of the 2,032 suicides attributed to examination failure involved people below 30 years, while only 77 deaths were recorded among those aged 30 and above.

The data also reflects the high stakes associated with board examinations, college admissions, competitive entrance tests, and recruitment examinations. Even in 2024, more than five young people died every day due to examination failure.

Examination Failure Is Not the Only Challenge Facing Young People

Among people below 18 years in 2024, family problems were the leading reported cause of suicide, accounting for 3,101 deaths.

Other major causes included:

• Other Causes – 1,975 deaths

• Love Affairs – 1,671 deaths

• Causes Not Known – 1,395 deaths

• Illness – 1,347 deaths

• Failure in Examination – 1,071 deaths

The data indicate that while examination failure is a major contributor to suicides among children and adolescents, it exists alongside broader social, familial, and psychological challenges.

Why Does It Matter? 

Between 2019 and 2024, more than 12,500 suicides among people below the age of 30 were attributed to examination failure. The data also show that nearly all such deaths occurred among children, adolescents, and young adults.

At the same time, examination failure was not the leading reported cause of suicide among children. Family problems, illness, relationship issues, and several other factors were associated with a larger number of deaths.

Taken together, the findings suggest that examination-related stress remains a significant concern among young people, even as it intersects with a broader set of social, familial, and psychological challenges.

Key Numbers

Child Suicides (2019–2024)

• Total Child Suicides (Below 18 Years): 63,915

• Highest Recorded: 11,396 (2020)

• Lowest Recorded: 9,613 (2019)

• Latest Figure: 11,184

Examination-Failure Suicides Among People Below 30 Years (2019–2024)

• Total (2019–2024): 12,598

• Highest Recorded: 2,668 (2019)

• Lowest Recorded: 1,578 (2021)

• Latest Figure: 1,955

Leading Causes of Suicide Among People Below 18 Years (2024)

• Family Problems: 3,101

• Other Causes: 1,975

• Love Affairs: 1,671

• Causes Not Known: 1,395

• Illness: 1,347

• Failure in Examination: 1,071