Population
In 2019, 39,660 persons lost their spouse and were widowed: 68.4% women and 31,6% men. The number of widowhoods went down slightly: -1.6% compared to 2018, according to the new figures of Statbel, the Belgian statistical office.
The duration of marriages ending with the death of one of the spouses hardly changed at 48.7 years. More than half of widow(er)s (55.8%) are older than 75. This is particularly the case in Flanders (59.1%). Also in Wallonia (50.1%) and in the Brussels-Capital Region (52.8%), one widow(er) out of two is older than 75.
Men widowed on average at 76.8 years, women at 74.2 years.
Just over one in two marriages ended with the death of one of the spouses.