As of October 15, women made up 61 per cent (11,917) of the 19,682 people reported missing in Delhi, while men accounted for 39 per cent (7,765).
Among the missing children, girls formed 72 per cent (3,509) of the total, with teenage girls (12–18 years) emerging as the most vulnerable group.
The decade-long trend shows little change, with over 2.5 lakh people missing between 2015–2025 — 56 per cent of them women — underscoring Delhi’s persistent gender imbalance in missing persons cases.
Delhi Police figures reveal women make up 61 per cent (11,917) of the 19,682 persons reported missing as of October 15.
Additionally, the data demonstrates that the percentage of missing women stayed high over time, perpetuating the city's long-standing gender imbalance tendency.
It revealed that 39 percent (7,765) of the missing were men. It also stated that 55 percent (10,780) of the total were traced, with 39 percent (4,239) men and 61 percent (6,541) women.
Of those who went missing, adults made up 75 per cent (14,828) and children made up 25 percent (4,854). Of those traced, 31 per cent (3,337) were minors and 69 per cent (7,443) were adults, the report said.
The data underlined that women and girls together form the most affected category among missing persons. Among the 4,854 missing children, 72 per cent (3,509) were girls and 28 per cent (1,345) boys, while in adults, 57 per cent (8,408) were women and 43 per cent (6,420) men.
Of the 304 missing children aged between 0 and 8 years, 41 per cent (124) were girls and 59 per cent (180) boys. Police traced 60 per cent (75) of the girls and 51 per cent (92) of the boys, the data showed.
In the 8 to 12 age group, 383 children went missing – 33 per cent (127) girls and 67 per cent (256) boys. Among these, 72 per cent (92) of the girls and 76 per cent (194) of the boys were found.
Teenagers formed the largest and most vulnerable section, with 4,167 children aged between 12 and 18 years going missing – 78 per cent (3,258) girls and 22 per cent (909) boys. Police traced 68 per cent (2,231) of the missing girls and 72 per cent (653) of the boys, it added.
According to the research, adolescent girls are disproportionately at danger, both in terms of numbers and proportion.
Of the 24,893 people who were reported missing in the city last year, women and girls made up 59 percent (14,752) of the total. Sixty-one percent (15,260) of these were tracked down.
According to a decadal analysis conducted between 2015 and 2025, around 2.51 lakh people—56 percent (1,42,037) women and 44 percent (1,09,737) men—went missing in the nation's capital during the previous ten years.
Over the years, the tendency has not changed. Women made up 58 per cent of the 24,481 missing in 2023 compared to 58 per cent of the 23,818 reported missing in 2022, indicating a continuing gender disparity in missing persons instances.
