Number of suicides in Belgium 2006-2020

In 2016, Belgium was in the top five European countries for its number of suicide casualties. That year, the country held the fifth position behind Lithuania, Latvia, Slovenia, and Hungary. From 2006 to 2020, the number of committed suicides was relatively stable, fluctuating between 1,700 to 2,000 per year. The number of deaths reached a peak in 2011 with 2.084 casualties.

Gender and regional differences

Globally, suicide rates are significantly higher in the male population. Belgium is no exception, from 2006 to 2016, more than double the amount of men committed suicide compared to women. A suicide paradox is often referred to when talking about gender differences. While women have generally more suicidal thoughts than men, men tend to commit suicide more frequently.

From a regional perspective, there were more casualties in the Flemish region than in the Walloon region in 2016. However, the region of Brussels registered the least casualties. That being said, the number of inhabitants of Belgium’s regions put these figures into perspective. In 2019, the Flemish region had more inhabitants than Wallonia and even more than the Brussels-Capital Region.

Euthanasia and assisted suicide in Europe

In Europe, Belgium is one of the fewer countries where euthanasia is legal under certain circumstances. Other European countries who practiced euthanasia in 2016 were Luxembourg and the Netherlands. Euthanasia differs from assisted suicide which is legal in Switzerland, Germany, and the Netherlands. The main difference relies on who does the act, in the case of assisted suicide, it is the patient. Nonetheless, suicide hotlines and help websites are available for people in distress 24/7.