Belgium Population

Quick facts about the population of Belgium

Current population (as of Monday, March 08, 2021)

11,655,512

Population rank

82 (0.15% of world population)

Total area

30,528 km2 (11,787 mi2)

Population density

381.8 per km2 (988.9 people/mi2)

Sex ratio

0.96 (5,714,480 men to 5,941,073 women)

Median age

41.3 years

Life expectancy

79.5 years (76.4 - men, 82.8 - women)

(Population figures are estimates by Countrymeters based on the latest United Nations data)

Belgium population 2021

During 2021 Belgium population is projected to increase by 77,416 people and reach 11,718,929 in the beginning of 2022. The natural increase is expected to be positive, as the number of births will exceed the number of deaths by 20,838. If external migration will remain on the previous year level, the population will be increased by 56,578 due to the migration reasons. It means that the number of people who move into Belgium (to which they are not native) in order to settle there as permanent residents (immigrants) will prevail over the number of people who leave the country to settle permanently in another country (emigrants).

Population change rates in 2021

According to our estimations, daily change rates of Belgium population in 2021 will be the following:

• 370 live births average per day (15.40 in an hour)
• 313 deaths average per day (13.02 in an hour)
• 155 immigrants average per day (6.46 in an hour)

The population of Belgium will be increasing by 212 persons daily in 2021.

Demographics of Belgium 2020

As of 1 January 2021, the population of Belgium was estimated to be 11,641,513 people. This is an increase of 0.67 % (76,905 people) compared to population of 11,564,608 the year before. In 2020 the natural increase was positive, as the number of births exceeded the number of deaths by 20,701. Due to external migration, the population increased by 56,204. The sex ratio of the total population was 0.962 (962 males per 1,000 females) which is lower than global sex ratio. The global sex ratio in the world was approximately 1,016 males to 1,000 females as of 2020.

Below are the key figures for Belgium population in 2020:

• 134,034 live births
• 113,333 deaths
• Natural increase: 20,701 people
• Net migration: 56,204 people
• 5,701,966 males as of 31 December 2020
• 5,939,547 females as of 31 December 2020

Belgium population density

Belgium population density is 381.3 people per square kilometer (987.7/mi²) as of March 2021. Density of population is calculated as permanently settled population of Belgium divided by total area of the country. Total area is the sum of land and water areas within international boundaries and coastlines of Belgium. The total area of Belgium is 30,528 km² (11,787 mi²) according to the United Nations Statistics Division .

Religion in Belgium

Religion	Number of followers	Percentage of total population
Christianity	7,494,494	64.3 %
Religiously Unaffiliated	3,380,098	29.0 %
Islam	699,331	6.0 %
Judaism	34,967	0.3 %
Hinduism	23,311	0.2 %
Buddhism	23,311	0.2 %

Source: Pew Research Center. The Global Religious Landscape .

Number of followers estimated by Countrymeters (Monday, March 08 2021).

Belgium age structure

As of the beginning of 2021 according to our estimates Belgium had the following population age distribution:

15.9

66.1

18

	- percentage of population under 15
	- percentage of population between 15 and 64 years old
	- percentage of population 65+

In absolute figures (estimate):

• 1,851,699 young people under 15 years old ( 944,942 males / 906,757 females)
• 7,690,849 persons between 15 and 64 years old ( 3,878,603 males / 3,812,363 females)
• 2,098,965 persons above 64 years old ( 874,860 males / 1,224,222 females)

We prepared a simplified model of the population distribution pyramid which is broken down into 3 main age groups. The groups are the same as we used above: population under 15, between 15 and 64 and population which is over 65 year old.

65+

15-64

0-14

male

female

Note: The pyramid provided is not corresponding to data given above because the age groups have different number of years.

As we can see the Belgium population pyramid has a contracting type. This type of pyramid is more common for highly developed countries with low birth and death rates. Usually countries with such kind of population age distribution model have long life expectancy, high level of education and good health care.

Source: The estimation data for section "Belgium age structure" is based on the latest demographic and social statistics by United Nations Statistics Division .

Age dependency ratio

Dependency ratio of population is a ratio of people who are generally not in the labor force (the dependents) to workforce of a country (the productive part of population). The dependent part includes the population under 15 years old and people aged 65 and over. The productive part of population accordingly consists of population between 15 and 64 years.

This ratio shows the pressure on productive population produced by the dependent part of population.

The total dependency ratio of population in Belgium is 51.4 %.

What does this value mean? It shows that the dependent part of population is more than a half of the working part. It means that the working population (labor force) in Belgium must provide goods for itself and cover expenditure on children and aged persons (this population is more than a half of working population). The value of more than 50% shows that the pressure on productive population in Belgium is relatively high.

Child dependency ratio

Child dependency ratio is a ratio of people below working age (under 15) to workforce of a country.

Child dependency ratio in Belgium is 24.1 %.

Aged dependency ratio

Aged dependency ratio is a ratio of people above working age (65+) to workforce of a country.

Aged dependency ratio in Belgium is 27.3 %.

Source: The estimation data for section "Belgium age dependency ratio" is based on the latest demographic and social statistics by United Nations Statistics Division .

Life expectancy

Life expectancy at birth is one of the most important demographic indicator. It shows the number of years a newborn infant would live assuming that birth and death rates will remain at the same level during the whole lifetime.

Total life expectancy (both sexes) at birth for Belgium is 79.5 years.
This is above the average life expectancy at birth of the global population which is about 71 years (according to Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations).

Male life expectancy at birth is 76.4 years.
Female life expectancy at birth is 82.8 years.