People reporting illness
13.1%of persons in India reported as ailing during the last 15-day period
Female: 14.4% | Male: 11.8%
STATE OF HEALTH
Morbidity is high in India
One in eight persons in India is ill. People in urban India are more sick than those in rural areas, and women report higher sickness rates than men in general.
Highlights
Private hospital care
60.3%
of hospitalised cases in India sought care in private hospitals.
Suicides linked to illness
30,617
deaths in 2024; mental illness accounted for the largest share.
Explore the data
Urban India is sicker
Proportion of persons responding as ailing during the last 15-day period (PPRA, in %).
India person13.1%
Urban person14.9%
Rural person12.2%
Illness by age and gender
Choose an age group to compare male, female and all-person illness rates in urban and rural India.
Female / urbanMale / rural comparison
India's health burden doubles in 30 years
Share of people reporting illness in NSS rounds, urban and rural (%).
UrbanRural
Heart disease is India's biggest health burden
Cardio-vascular ailments account for 25.6% of all ailments, followed closely by endocrine, metabolic and nutritional diseases at 24.2%.
Percentage distribution of ailments
Health concerns shifting, 2017-18 to 2025
Number of ailments experienced per 100,000 persons: All India.
NSS 75th round, 2017-18NSS 80th round, 2025
Illness: a gendered diagnosis
Females report 26% higher ailments overall: 17,006 per 100,000 persons compared with 13,504 for males.
MaleFemale
Hospitalisation
About 60% of people seek care in private hospitals. Private hospitals cost substantially more than public facilities.
Urban cases / 1,00032
Rural cases / 1,00027
India cases / 1,00029
Choice: private v public - India
Public 36.7%Trust/NGO 3.0%Private 60.3%
State/UT hospital cost and choice
Average medical expenditure per hospitalisation case and percentage distribution by type of medical institution.
Economic burden of hospitalisation
Select an ailment to compare average expenditure in urban and rural hospitals by facility type.
Mental illness is emerging as a leading cause of suicide
In 2024, India recorded 30,617 suicides linked to illness. Mental illness accounted for the largest share, with 14,305 deaths.
Total due to illness - 202332,503
Total due to illness - 202430,617
AIDS/STDCancer
ParalysisMental illness
Other prolonged illness
State/UT cause profile, 2024
Percentage distribution of suicides due to illness, with total deaths shown for the selected state or UT.