Definition: the proportion of the population aged 15 and over with mental disorders. A person is considered to be in such a situation when at least four symptoms are highlighted on the basis of the following twelve questions: Have you been able to concentrate on whatever you're doing?; Have you had lost much sleep due to worry?; Have you felt like you were being useful in life?; Have you felt capable of making decisions?; Have you felt constantly tense or stressed?; Have you felt like you couldn't cope with your difficulties?; Have you been able to enjoy (gain satisfaction from) your day-to-day activities?; Have you been able to cope with your problems?; Have you been unhappy and depressed?; Have you lost confidence in yourself?; Have you considered yourself to be worthless?; Have you been feeling reasonably happy, all things considered?

These twelve questions came from the General Health Questionnaire or GHQ-12. They assess the respondents' perceived psychological state in the weeks prior to the interview by comparing it with what they consider to be their usual state (Sciensano, 2020).

The (raw) data comes from the National Health Surveys carried out by the Scientific Institute of Public Health/Sciensano.

Since these data are based on surveys, a margin of uncertainty should be taken into account. This margin of uncertainty increases as the indicator is calculated on smaller sub-populations. The confidence intervals for these data are available on the Sciensano website.

The following breakdowns are available for this indicator: region, sex, income and age.

Goal: the proportion of the population aged 15 and over with mental disorders must be reduced.

The Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs adopted by the UN in 2015 include target 3.4: "By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being."

UN indicator: the selected indicator does not correspond to any monitoring indicator for the SDGs but is related to goal 3 since psychological distress is a measure of the overall health and well-being of the population.

Sources

• Sciensano (2020), Gisle L, Drieskens S, Demarest S, Van der Heyden J., Santé mentale. Enquête de santé 2018, Brussels, Belgium, Numéro de rapport: D/2020/14.440/3, https://www.sciensano.be/sites/default/files/1-mental_health_report_2018_fr2.pdf (consulted on 3/11/2025).