Luxembourg records between 70 and 80 suicides per year on average, with the number rising to 85 probable suicides in 2014, according to the government. Nearly one in 50 deaths in the country is caused by suicide. Meanwhile, suicide affects more men than women with the sex ratio of 3:1 (in 2014).

The magnitude of the problem is even greater when one considers that the rate of suicide attempts is 10 to 20 times higher than the number of people who end their lives.

While Luxembourg’s suicide rate remains below the EU average (8.7 per 100,000 as opposed to 12 per 100,000), the country’s leaders are not resting on their laurels.

In 2015, health minister Lydia Mutsch rolled out a national plan for suicide prevention to cover the years 2015-2019. The plan sets out for the first time steps to educate children and young people, provide a framework for treating people with mental disorders and established stronger fail safe measures for the detection of people at risk of suicide.

Mutsch said in 2015 that the plan set out to “break a taboo, talking about it in schools too because younger people are also affected. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death among young people aged between 25 and 29”.