Life expectancy at birth was 82.4 years in Belgium in 2024
In 2024, life expectancy at birth in Belgium was 82.4 years for the total population. Life expectancy at birth is 84.4 years for women and 80.3 years for men.
The life expectancy at birth for men and women together has hardly increased compared to 2023 (+28 days, or +0.08 years).
This is what emerged from an analysis of the general mortality figures carried out by Statbel, the Belgian statistical office.
Gap between men and women
Life expectancy shows a minimal increase for both men and women compared to 2023, by 0.08 years (28 days) and 0.09 years (34 days), respectively.
The difference in life expectancy between men and women has been decreasing over time. The difference was 6.42 years at the beginning of the series in 1997. That difference was 4.14 years in 2024.
The data by region and province are currently being recalculated and will be available again shortly
Evolution of life expectancy at birth in years, Belgium (1996-2024)
| Year | 1996 | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 77.23 | 77.79 | 79.05 | 80.05 | 80.90 | 80.79 | 81.65 | 81.69 | 82.28 | 82.35 |
| Men | 73.86 | 74.58 | 76.14 | 77.36 | 78.55 | 78.52 | 79.24 | 79.55 | 80.18 | 80.26 |
| Women | 80.53 | 80.92 | 81.86 | 82.64 | 83.16 | 83.05 | 84.03 | 83.78 | 84.30 | 84.40 |
| Difference between men's and women's life expectancy at birth | +6.67 | +6.34 | +5.72 | +5.28 | +4.61 | +4.53 | +4.78 | +4.23 | +4.12 | +4.14 |
According to the annual life tables; age in completed years Calculations based on the National Register figures. |
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Evolution of life expectancy at birth in years, Brussels-Capital Region (1996-2024)
| Year | 1996 | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 77.46 | 77.94 | 79.04 | 79.97 | 80.86 | 79.61 | 81.28 | 81.58 | 82.18 | 82.15 |
| Men | 73.96 | 74.62 | 75.99 | 76.92 | 78.11 | 76.93 | 78.62 | 79.04 | 79.73 | 79.78 |
| Women | 80.54 | 80.89 | 81.76 | 82.73 | 83.36 | 82.19 | 83.72 | 83.91 | 84.41 | 84.32 |
| Difference between men's and women's life expectancy at birth | +6.58 | +6.27 | +5.77 | +5.81 | +5.25 | +5.26 | +5.10 | +4.87 | +4.68 | +4.54 |
According to the annual life tables; age in completed years Calculations based on the National Register figures. |
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Evolution of life expectancy at birth in years, Flemish Region (1996-2024)
| Year | 1996 | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 77.92 | 78.49 | 79.88 | 80.89 | 81.79 | 82.00 | 82.68 | 82.62 | 83.17 | 84.05 |
| Men | 74.75 | 75.51 | 77.22 | 78.45 | 79.61 | 79.95 | 80.42 | 80.67 | 81.26 | 82.17 |
| Women | 81.06 | 81.43 | 82.46 | 83.27 | 83.93 | 84.04 | 84.93 | 84.53 | 85.03 | 85.89 |
| Difference between men's and women's life expectancy at birth | +6.31 | +5.92 | +5.24 | +4.82 | +4.32 | +4.08 | +4.51 | +3.86 | +3.77 | +3.72 |
According to the annual life tables; age in completed years Calculations based on the National Register figures. |
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Evolution of life expectancy at birth in years, Walloon Region (1996-2024)
| Year | 1996 | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 75.93 | 76.50 | 77.57 | 78.52 | 79.26 | 78.94 | 79.87 | 80.02 | 80.64 | 80.70 |
| Men | 72.23 | 72.91 | 74.23 | 75.45 | 76.71 | 76.34 | 77.19 | 77.59 | 78.25 | 78.33 |
| Women | 79.58 | 80.03 | 80.82 | 81.48 | 81.70 | 81.55 | 82.51 | 82.37 | 82.94 | 82.98 |
| Difference between men's and women's life expectancy at birth | +7.35 | +7.12 | +6.59 | +6.03 | +4.99 | +5.21 | +5.32 | +4.79 | +4.69 | +4.65 |
According to the annual life tables; age in completed years Calculations based on the National Register figures. |
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Purpose and brief description
The life tables (as instantaneous tables) calculated by Statbel indicate how a generation would die out if, throughout its existence, it were exposed to the same mortality conditions per age as in the specified year. In these tables, a distinction is made between the two genders in view of the strong differences observed between men and women with regard to the aforementioned mortality conditions. From the deaths and from the number of individuals per age, which are shown in the tables for each gender separately and for both genders together, the probabilities of deaths can be calculated. The life tables also provide several other functions: the survivors, the deaths (from the table) and the life expectancies. Life expectancy at age x is the arithmetic mean of the ages at death (in the table), taking into account the age x already reached. The key concept of a life table is life expectancy at birth, which corresponds to the average lifetime of a person if, in the course of his life, the generation to which he belongs is exposed to the same mortality conditions as in the table, i.e. if the mortality conditions shown in the table remain constant throughout the life of that person.
Statbel calculates two series of tables: the tables based on ages in elapsed years (or projective tables), whose functions are based on the ages determined on 1 January of the considered year, and the tables based on exact ages, whose functions are calculated at each birthday.
Population
A fictitious generation
Periodicity
Annually.
Release calendar
Results available 9 months after the reference period
Definitions
Age: Age is measured in completed years on 1 January.
Nationality (Belgian/foreign): Population covered by the table
Region: Region covered by the table
Probability of death: Ratio between the deaths observed at a given age and the population of that age on 1 January of the considered year.