403 students die by suicide in a year

A total of 403 students died by suicide in Bangladesh in 2025, with the highest number recorded among school students. The number of female students who died by suicide was higher than that of male students.

The findings were revealed in a study conducted by Aachol Foundation, an organisation working on suicide prevention and mental health awareness. Presenting the results of the study titled “Student suicides: a growing crisis” at a press conference in the capital on Saturday, the organisation said the figure represents not just a statistic, but also reflects limitations in family structures, social relationships and mental health support systems.

As in previous years, Aachol Foundation analysed the 2025 suicide data by reviewing reports published in 165 local and national media outlets on the mental health situation of students.

In 2025, it identified 403 cases of suicide among school, college, university and madrasa students across the country. The figure was 310 in 2024.

Analysis of the reported cases shows that nearly 28 per cent were attributed to depression, while 23 per cent were linked to emotional distress or hurt feelings. Among female students, 55 per cent died by suicide due to depression and about 62 per cent due to emotional distress.

Among male students, around 45 per cent died by suicide due to depression and 38 per cent due to emotional distress.

Additionally, 13 per cent of the cases were linked to relationship issues, nearly 8 per cent to family conflicts, 6 per cent to mental instability and more than 3 per cent to sexual harassment.

Of the 403 students, the highest number of suicides occurred at the school level. A total of 190 school students died by suicide, accounting for 47.40 per cent of the total cases.

According to Aachol, this is particularly alarming, as school-going students are typically at the early stages of adolescence, a period marked by heightened emotional and psychological vulnerability.

At the college level, 92 students (22.8 per cent) died by suicide; at the university level, 77 students (19.10 per cent); and at madrasas, 44 students (10.72 per cent).

Among the 77 university students, 44 were from public universities, 17 from private universities, six from medical colleges and 10 from the National University and its affiliated colleges.

According to Aachol Foundation’s data, 101 students died by suicide in 2021, 532 in 2022, 513 in 2023 and 310 in 2024. At public universities, the suicide rate among male students (59 per cent) was higher than that among female students.

Gender-based analysis shows that in 2025, 249 of the students who died by suicide (61.8 per cent) were female, while 154 (38.2 per cent) were male.

At the school level, 139 female students and 51 male students died by suicide. At the college level, 50 female and 42 male students died by suicide.

However, at the university level, male students slightly outnumbered females, with 41 male students compared to 36 female students. At madrasas, 24 female and 20 male students died by suicide.

The analysis suggests that adolescent girls may be more vulnerable to social and family pressures, relationship conflicts and emotional crises. At the higher education level, uncertainty about the future, employment concerns and identity-related challenges appear to have played a significant role in suicides among male students.

The report also mentioned one case in which a female student died by suicide due to cyberbullying, highlighting emerging concerns around digital safety and online violence.

Division-wise analysis shows that the highest number of student suicides occurred in Dhaka division. In 2025, 118 students — 29.24 per cent of the total — were from this division. Aachol Foundation believes that population density, urbanisation, a competitive education system and family isolation may have contributed to the higher rate.

Among other divisions, 63 students (15.63 per cent) were from Chattogram division, 57 (14.4 per cent) from Barishal division and 50 (12 per cent) from Rajshahi division.

The press conference was attended by Anis Ahmed, consultant forensic psychiatrist at the UK’s National Health Service; psychiatrist Syed Mahfuzul Alam; Maruf Ahmed Khan, assistant director of Tangail Medical College; Aachol Foundation president Tansen Rose; and programme coordinator Sohel Mamun.

To address the growing crisis, Aachol Foundation proposed several measures: bringing all educational institutions under mental health support and screening programmes; training teachers and peers to identify signs of stress, depression and anxiety among students; conducting campaigns through news media, posters and social media to reduce stigma around suicide and mental health issues; providing psychosocial training for primary school teachers; and organising regular mental health awareness programmes in educational institutions to strengthen communication between students and parents.