Maltese among the least suicidal in Europe

The Maltese are among the least suicidal in Europe according to recently released figures by the EU's statistical office.

The news reinforces the notion, suggested by previous surveys, that the Maltese are fundamentally happy.

The same cannot be said of some of our counterparts, where suicide is almost on a par with deaths resulting from traffic accidents, especially in the male 20-44 category.

The main killers in the EU25 are heart attacks, strokes and other diseases of the circulatory system, accounting for 41 per cent of all deaths, and 52 per cent of deaths among the over-85s.

In the 65-84 bracket, Malta stands well above the EU25 average in this respect with 1,215 men and 752 women out of every 100,000 people dying of this cause each year. The EU25 average stands at 788 men and 450 women.

Cancer, on the other hand, is responsible for a quarter of all deaths and is the largest single cause of death among the middle-aged (41 per cent of deaths of those aged 45-64).

In this category, for instance, Maltese women score at a single point under the EU25 average, which stands at 48 women out of 100,000 per year.

When it comes to cancer in the respiratory organs, the Maltese in the same age category fare relatively well, substantially below the EU average. In Malta 64 men and 13 women die from such causes while the EU average stands at 105 men and 29 women.

The so-called "external causes" of death, which include transport accidents and suicide, are most common among younger people, even though there are significant differences among the member states.

Malta, with other southern Mediterranean countries, generally stands among the lowest suicide rates. Men, especially, the younger ones are the category most at risk. On average, men are found to be four times more likely than women to commit suicide.

Out of every 100,000 people in the 20-44 years of age group, 13 men and three women commit suicide every year in Portugal, 12 men and three women in Spain and 11 men and three women in Malta. Italy follows with 10 and an equal amount of women. Greece comes in last with five men and one woman for every 100,000 people.

The situation is starkly different in northern countries. Some 90 men out of every 100,000 men aged 20-44 commit suicide in Lithuania, Estonia (55), Latvia (54) and Finland (43). Lithuania also had the highest rate of suicide among women of this age group (12), followed by Finland and the Flanders region of Belgium (both 11) and France (9).

Malta scores relatively low with regard to deaths caused by traffic accidents in the under-20 category with eight male deaths and one female death out of every 100,000 people; below the EU25 average of nine males and three females. Nonetheless, the rate is still higher than that in larger countries such as Sweden, the Netherlands, the UK, Hungary, Ireland and Finland.

Here too, females score consistently lower than males. The highest male death rates were found in Slovakia (19 deaths per 100 000), Lithuania (16), Latvia (15), Portugal and Greece (both 14), and the lowest in Sweden (5).

In general, cancer was found to be responsible for the deaths of two out of every five middle-aged people.

This report was made possible courtesy of Forum Malta fl-Ewropa.