This study identified time trends & demographic differences in the occurrence of nonfatal suicide attempts versus suicides in Amsterdam. Registrations of forensic physicians & ambulance services were used to study 1,004 suicides & 6,166 nonfatal attempts over the period 1996-2005. The number of nonfatal attempts declined from 1996 to 2005, but the number of suicides remained relatively stable. Although case fatality was strongly associated with method used, higher case fatalities were also found for men & older people independent of method. Case fatality results suggest differences in motive among different demographic groups which could have implications for the success of preventive measures. (23 refs.)