Definition: the crude suicide mortality rate equals to the number of deaths due to suicide per 100,000 inhabitants.

The Walloon (for Wallonia) and Flemish (for Flanders and Brussels) administration are information using the 10th WHO International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) to attribute a cause of death based on the information provided in the death certificate. This is filled out by a doctor and the municipality office. Suicide is categorized as a death due to intentional self-poisoning or self-harm (codes X60 till X84), for example, intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to carbon monoxide and other gases and vapours (X67) or intentional self-harm by handgun discharge (X72). Since 2010, Statistics Belgium couples this cause of death with population registers of Belgium to exclude nonresident deaths in Belgium and include residents’ deaths occurring abroad.

The population used in the denominator of the indicator covers residents: people registered in the National Population Register, in the register of foreigners, and in the register of European officials.

The data on suicide mortality rates of Belgium come from Sciensano and are age-adjusted which means that it is a weighted average of age-specific mortality rates, thus allowing a comparison of mortality rates over time and between subpopulations. This adjustment is done by Sciensano using the European Standard Population.

The EU27-data come from Eurostat and are crude suicide rates. The Belgian age-adjusted suicide rate from Sciensano and the Belgian crude suicide rate made available by Eurostat differ very slightly, without affecting the general trend. For Belgium, the Sciensano-data are used because a longer time series can be constructed.

Comparisons of suicide data can be seriously impeded by stigma, societal and legal considerations in the reporting, and by the time needed to determine the cause of death and process related data. It is also likely that suicide statistics underestimate the phenomenon, simply because the intention of an event leading to death cannot always be determined. For Belgian residents dying abroad, the cause of death remains unknown as there is no death certificate available for them.

Goal: the age-adjusted suicide mortality rate must decrease.

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.". In line with the second part of that target, the suicide mortality rate in Belgium must decrease.

International comparison: considering the previously mentioned methodological issues, the crude suicide mortality rate of the EU27 declined from 13.7 in 2002 to 10.7 in 2017. The crude mortality rate of Belgium for 2017 corresponds to 15.3. When 26 EU Member States in 2019 are divided into three groups, Belgium is, with 15,1, part of the group with the poorest performance. That year Malta, with 4.2, and Lithuania, with 23.4, have respectively the lowest and highest score.

UN Indicator: the selected indicator corresponds to indicator 3.4.2 – Suicide mortality rate. The Belgian suicide mortality rate is age-standardized, whereas the UN proposed indicator refers to crude rates. The difference between both rates in Belgium is very small.

Sources

• General

  • SDGs, Sustainable Development Goals: United Nations (2015), Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 25 September 2015, document A/RES/70/1.

  • Indicators: United Nations (2017), Work of the Statistical Commission pertaining to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 6 July 2017, document A/RES/71/313.

  • UN Sustainable Development: https://sdgs.un.org/ (consulted on 18/01/2023).

  • UN Sustainable Development Goal indicators website: https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/ (consulted on 18/01/2023).

• Specific

  • Sciensano (2021), Suicide, https://www.healthybelgium.be/en/health-status/mental-health/suicidal-behaviour (consulted on 05/10/2021).

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