The Numbers Were Clear. The Response Wasn’t!

Suicide Is Not Just a Mental Health Issue, but it’s a mirror of society’s well-being, and the suicide numbers in Nepal paint a grim picture, which is often less talked about. Mental health, systemic neglect, and social stigma are converging in deadly ways. In the past year (2023-24) alone, 7,221 people died by suicide, a figure that demands urgent reckoning, not quiet resignation. Among the suicidal deaths, 56% were men, 33% were women, 8% were girls, and 4% were boys, clearly showing the age demographics within the suicide deaths. The disproportionate impact on men and the alarming numbers among women and children reveal the intersection of emotional isolation, economic pressure, and systemic failure to provide adequate mental health support.

A Look at the Means

Worse news is, the suicide method remains horrifyingly consistent. Over 85% of suicides were by hanging, followed by poison, drowning, electric shock, self-immolation, and, in fewer but no less disturbing numbers, weapons and jumping from heights.

The brutal consistency of these methods highlights more than just personal despair; it underscores a systemic void.  These numbers highlight the urgent need for mental health services that are accessible, fairly distributed nationwide as a means of intervention. Suicide prevention, in practice, should go beyond papers and crisis hotlines with limited reach, which means prioritization of the planning and implementation around a strategy to understand and mitigate the suicide problems on the rise.

No Signs of Decline: Suicide Rates Remain Stubbornly High

For the past few years, we have been seeing consistent suicide numbers in Nepal. 2023–24 marked the 7,223 highest ever recorded suicide cases, averaging ~20 suicides per day.  Though on paper, mental health services have become more accessible in recent years, the results of the suicide cases tell another story. Are we not taking any action despite the warnings shown by the numbers?

The Strategy That Never Reached the People

The government pledged to bring mental health care closer to the people. But in villages, towns, and even cities, those struggling with despair are still left alone. The numbers speak clearly. A plan was made. A mental health strategy promised community care, trained staff, and proper budgeting. But four years in, suicide rates are the highest ever recorded. According to a January 2024 report in The Kathmandu Post, Nepal’s suicide rate rose to 24 per 100,000 in 2022 and 25 per 100,000 by 2023-24, despite the government’s earlier commitment to reduce it to 9.7 per 100,000 under the SDGs.

What was meant to decentralize support never reached the people who needed it most. Policy without implementation isn’t a solution. It’s a betrayal.

This Is Not Just Data: This Is Us

This data story isn’t meant to sit in digital archives or be skimmed without thought. It’s meant to awaken. To confront. To stir the conscience of those who can still make a difference, those with power, voice, and responsibility. These are not just numbers. They represent children lost too soon, women silenced by stigma, LGBTQI+ individuals neglected, and citizens who sought help but found none. If these stories do not move our institutions to act, if they do not stir urgency in our leaders, then we must ask ourselves: what will? Nepal cannot afford to wait. We don’t need delayed responses or symbolic gestures; we need decisive, compassionate action. Now.

About This Analysis

This analysis is based on aggregated datasets sourced from Open Data Nepal (ODN). The primary sources of information include the Annual Factsheet on Suicide & Cyber Crime for the Fiscal Year 2080/81, published by the Police Headquarters, Crime Investigation Department, Naxal, Kathmandu, and the National Mental Health Strategy and Action Plan 2077 (2020), developed by the Ministry of Health and Population (MoHP), Government of Nepal. Together, these sources offer crucial insights into the state of mental health and suicide trends in the country, highlighting areas that require immediate attention and action.