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Demographics of Belgium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Demographic features of the population of Belgium include ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects. All figures are from the National Institute for Statistics unless otherwise indicated.[3]

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Population
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As of January 1, 2024, Belgium had a population of 11,763,650 and is the 81st most populous country in the world. The population of Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels on January 1, 2024 was 6,821,770 (58.0% of Belgium), 3,692,283 (31.4% of Belgium) and 1,249,597 (10.6% of Belgium), respectively. The population density of Belgium is 383/km2 (990/sq mi) as of January 1, 2024, making it the 38th most densely populated country in the world, and the 7th most densely populated country in Europe. The most densely populated province is Antwerp, the least densely populated province is Luxembourg.[6]
As of January 1, 2020, Belgium had a population of 11,492,641, as compared to 2010 (10,839,905 people) an increase of about 653,000. 2010 compared to 2000 (10,239,085 people), an increase of about 601,000 people. 2000 compared to 1990 (9,947,782 people), an increase of about 291,000 people.
The following demographic statistics are from the World Population Review in 2019.[7]

- One birth every 4 minutes
- One death every 5 minutes
- One net migrant every 12 minutes
- Net gain of one person every 9 minutes
![]() | This graph was using the legacy Graph extension, which is no longer supported. It needs to be converted to the new Chart extension. |
![]() | This graph was using the legacy Graph extension, which is no longer supported. It needs to be converted to the new Chart extension. |
![]() | This graph was using the legacy Graph extension, which is no longer supported. It needs to be converted to the new Chart extension. |
Fertility
The total fertility rate (TFR) gradually increased during the last decade from 1.60 in 1997, 1.65 in 2002 and 1.82 in 2007. The rates in Brussels are higher than the national average (1.79 in 1997, 1.93 in 2002 and 2.09 in 2007), while they are below the average in Flanders (1.54 in 1997, 1.56 in 2002 and 1.77 in 2007), due to the higher percentage of non-European immigrants with higher birth rates in Brussels.[9]
The total fertility rate is the number of children born per woman. It is based on fairly good data for the entire period. Sources: Our World In Data and Gapminder Foundation.[10]
Total fertility rate; 1.71 children born/woman (2021 est.) Country comparison to the world: 160st
Birth rate; 11.03 births/1,000 population (2021 est.) Country comparison to the world: 175st
Mother's mean age at first birth; 29 years (2018 est.)
Life expectancy
According to estimation of the Statistics Belgium (Statbel), life expectancy at birth in Belgium in 2023 was 82.28 years (80.18 years for male and 84.30 years for female).[11][12]
According to alternative estimation of the World Bank Group, in 2023 life expectancy in Belgium was 82.4 years (80.3 for male, 84.6 for female).[13]
Estimation of the United Nations for 2023: 82.11 years total (79.86 for male, 84.33 for female).[14]
Estimation of Eurostat for 2023: 82.5 years total (80.4 for male, 84.5 for female).[15][16]
According to estimation of the WHO for 2019, at that year life expectancy in Belgium was 81.4 years (79.3 years for male and 83.5 years for female). And healthy life expectancy was 70.6 years (69.8 years for male and 71.3 years for female).[17]
In 2021-2023 period, the difference in life expectancy between the most prosperous and disadvantaged provinces was 4.09 years. In 2020-2022, this difference was 4.23 years.[11][12]
Statistics by province
Belgium is administratively divided into 3 regions: Flemish Region, Walloon Region and a separate Brussels Capital Region. In turn, Flemish and Walloon regions are divided into five provinces each. The table below contains average values for 3-year periods. The values are rounded, all calculations were done on raw data. The sorting of provinces by total life expectancy for both periods is the same.
Data source: Statistics Belgium[11][12]

Statistics by region
Data source: Statistics Belgium[11][12]
Historical data


Sources: Our World In Data and the United Nations.
1841–1950
1950–2015
Age structure

- 0–14 years: 17.22% (male 1,033,383/female 984,624)
- 15–24 years: 11.2% (male 670,724/female 642,145)
- 25–54 years: 39.23% (male 2,319,777/female 2,278,450)
- 55–64 years: 13.14% (male 764,902/female 775,454)
- 65 years and over: 19.21% (male 988,148/female 1,263,109)
Median age in 2020 (estimation); total: 41.6 years.
- male: 40.4 years
- female: 42.8 years
Density
Urbanization; urban population: 98.1% of total population (2020)
- rate of urbanization: 0.62% annual rate of change (2015–20 est.)
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Vital statistics
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Note: Territorial changes in East-Belgium occurred in 1925, 1940 and 1944.
Current vital statistics
Total fertility rates by province
Structure of the population
Population by Sex and Age Group (Census 01.I.2011): [24]
Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.I.2019): [24]
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Immigration
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Since the relaxation of the Belgian nationality law, more than 1.3 million migrants have acquired Belgian citizenship and are now considered new Belgians. 89.2% of inhabitants of Turkish origin have been naturalized, as have 88.4% of people of Moroccan background, 75.4% of Italians, 56.2% of the French and 47.8% of Dutch people.[25][dubious – discuss]
In 2007, there were 1.38 million foreign-born residents in Belgium, corresponding to 12.9% of the total population. Of these, 685 000 (6.4%) were born outside the EU and 695 000 (6.5%) were born in another EU Member State.
Net migration rate; 4.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Belgium migration data
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Employment and income
Unemployment, youth ages 15–24; total: 15.8%.
- male: 16.2%
- female: 15.3% (2018 est.)
Education
Literacy; Definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2003 est.)
- Total population: 99%
- Male: 99%
- Female: 99%
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education); total: 20 years
- male: 19 years
- female: 21 years (2018)
Origin groups
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Belgium does not collect data on ethnicity or race, but does collect data on the country of origin of citizens.[29]
The largest group of immigrants and their descendants in Belgium are Italian Belgians, with more than 450,000[30] people, which is well over 4% of Belgium's total population. The Moroccan Belgians are the third-largest group, and the largest Muslim ethnic group, numbering 340,359.[30][31] According to Michèle Tribalat in the beginning of 2020, people of foreign background and their descendants were estimated to have formed 32.1% of the total population.[32] According to Statbel, 65.5% of the Belgian population was Belgian with a Belgian background in 2024. The Belgian background by age group was 51.8% among those under 18, 62.1% among 18-64-year-olds and 85.5% among those aged 65 and over.[33]
Of these 'New Belgians', 55.1% are of non-Belgian European ancestry and 44.9% are from non-Western countries.
The rest consists mostly of French-speaking people from Brussels, Turks, Kurds,[34] Dutch, French, Portuguese, Spaniards, Greeks, Bosniaks, Algerians, Congolese, Vietnamese, Poles, Indians, and Guineans (around 23% of Belgium's population is of non-Belgian origin).[35] Approximately 30,000 Roma live in Belgium.[36]
The exact number of French-speakers in Brussels is hard to determine, but it is estimated that 85% of the people living in Brussels use French and 10% use Dutch in their households, as the sole language or secondary language, while Arabic is also largely spoken. See the Brussels article for more details.[37]
In the table are the top 30 countries by origin of the population of Belgium in 2020[citation needed]
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Naturalisation
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Foreign nationals can only apply for Belgian nationality after 5 years of legal residence in Belgium. The requirements for Belgium nationality are You have been legally resident in Belgium for at least 5 years, You have a right to remain indefinitely, You are integrated in Belgium, for example you have a certificate of integration, You speak and write 1 of the 3 national languages, and You have already worked at least 468 days. [40] Since the year 2000 there has been 910,067 naturalised persons.
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Languages
Belgium's three official languages are Dutch, spoken by about 60% of the population, French, spoken by about 40%, and German, spoken by less than 1%. The vast majority of Belgium's population, 99%, is literate as defined by the Belgian government, i.e. capable of reading and writing in an official language by the time a citizen has reached the age of 15. English is the official (meetings) language of the European Commission, 10% of the job market in Brussels.
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Religion
As of 2012, 58% of Belgians identify as Catholic. Other Christians comprise 7% of the population. Muslims comprise 5%. 27% of Belgians are agnostics, atheists or otherwise irreligious.[42]
See also
Notes
- In fertility rates, 2.1 and above is a stable population and has been marked blue, 2 and below leads to an aging population and the result is that the population decreases.
- The number includes Belgian nationals who either previously were foreign nationals themselves or at least one of their parents was a foreign national.
- This category includes;
- Germany;
- France;
- Luxembourg;
- the Netherlands;
- the United Kingdom;
- This category includes;
- Germany;
- France;
- Luxembourg;
- the Netherlands;
- the United Kingdom;
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References
Notes
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