A statistical overview of the Belgian population

On 1 January 2010, the population of Belgium was 10,839,905. That number is fairly evenly distributed between the sexes, although women outnumber men by approximately 200,000. The population density is 349 people per km², although the north of the country is much more densely populated than the south.

The 18-64 age group, i.e. largely the working population, numbers 6,765,590 and accounts for the bulk of the population. 1,860,159 Belgian residents are aged over 64. Within this group, 1,559 people are 100 or older. The number of people aged 18 or under is 2,214,156. The age pyramid (French - Dutch) clearly indicates an ageing population.

In 2009, the life expectancy was 77 for men and 82 for women. In 2005, the number of deaths was 103,278. Most of these were natural deaths (96,474). Cardiovascular disease was the second biggest cause of mortality (34,600). Cancer was responsible for 27,210 deaths, while respiratory diseases claimed the lives of 12,153 people. 

In 2005, there were also 118,002 births. The fertility rate was 1.85 children per woman in 2008. The fertility rate of non-Belgian women living in Belgium is significantly higher than that of Belgian women. 

As regards marital status, 4,442,512 of Belgium’s inhabitants are married. 710,927 people have lost their partner and 899,425 people are divorced. At the end of 2010, approximately 180,000 people were living together under a cohabitation contract (legal cohabitation). This group also includes siblings who have entered into a cohabitation agreement. Between 2003 and the end of 2010, some 17,000 men and women entered into a same-sex marriage. In 2008, there were 4,575,950 households in Belgium, of which 1,534,317 were single-person households. 

There are 2,800,983 family nuclei, of which 983,136 are couples without children. Couples with one or two children number just over 900,000 (2008 figures).

The distribution of Belgium’s residents by region is as follows: 6,251,983 live in the Flemish Region, 3,498,384 live in the Walloon Region (including 75,222 from the German-speaking Community) and 1,089,538 reside in the Brussels-Capital Region.

1,057,666 inhabitants are of a different nationality (i.e. not Belgian). In 2010, Italians were the largest group of non-Belgian nationality, numbering 165,052, followed by French and Dutch nationals, who numbered 140,227 and 133,536 respectively. Moroccans were in fourth position, with 81,943, followed by Poles (43,085). In 2007, 146,409 people immigrated to Belgium and 91,052 Belgians emigrated to another country.

The working (active) population (both self-employed persons and employees) aged between 15 and 64 numbers 4,450,589. The total population in this age group is 7,176,835.

Young people in education total around 2,844,700 (Eurostat 2008).

The figures in this text are based on statistics from the Directorate-General Statistics and Economic Information. Unless indicated otherwise in the relevant sentence, the figures date from January 2010. On the website, you will find a wealth of detailed statistics about the Belgian population. Data are available for the country as a whole and for each region. In most cases, the latest data are presented alongside data from previous years, to give a clear idea of the trend. Some statistics also include links to more specific statistics on the same subject. As well as the topics addressed above, you will also find statistics on:

• the most popular boys’ and girls’ names
• the most common surnames
• the municipalities with the largest populations
• population projections
• the average age of the population
• the trend in average age at marriage
• etc.

Demographic statistics from the Directorate-General Statistics and Economic Information (French – Dutch)