With 113,593 births in 2022 and 110,198 births in 2023 the number of births continues its downward trend with a decrease of 3%. Since its peak in 2010 and except a rebound in 2021 – a partial catch-up for births postponed because of the health crisis – the number of births continues its decline and falls below the 2002 low of 11,484 births, reaching its lowest level since 1942.

Birth rate decline confirmed

This decline is particularly pronounced in Brussels (-5.1%) and in Wallonia (-4.8%).  In Flanders, it amounts to only 1.5% compared to 2022. While at the national level the decline was visible only for mothers of Belgian nationality, in 2023 a decline in the birth rate is observed among both Belgian mothers (-3.2%) and foreign mothers (-2.3%), with a more pronounced trend in Brussels and Wallonia.

The crude birth rate (i.e., the ratio between the number of live births and the mean of the Belgian population of the year) is 9.4 ‰ (or 9.4 live births per 1,000 inhabitants) in 2023 and is below the 10‰ mark for the second year in a row. 10 years ago, in 2013, it was 11.2‰. In 10 years, Belgium's birth rate has declined by almost 12%.

Fertility rates vary according to region and nationality

The total fertility rate (TFR)^[1] also shows a downward trend. It stood at 1.53 in 2022 according to the final data and at 1.47 children per woman according to the provisional data of 2023 (1.37 for Belgian women and 1.91 for non-Belgian women). Only mothers with foreign nationality in the Flemish Region still have a TFR of more than 2.1 children per woman. The TFR of mothers with foreign nationality in the Walloon Region fell below the threshold of generation renewal^[2] this year. This rate is the lowest in the Brussels region (1.36 all nationalities taken into account), and particularly among Belgian women, with 1.26 children per woman in 2023. Wallonia and Flanders are close to the national values, with a TFR of 1.48 and 1.50 children per woman respectively. The mean age of women at childbirth in Belgium is 31.1 years in 2023, just like in 2022. This age was 30.1 in 2013, increasing by one year in 10 years.

By combining our two main data sources – demoBEL data based on the National Register of Natural Persons, on the one hand, and data from birth certificates first processed by the regional institutions^[3], on the other hand, – we have a wealth of information on births and fertility at our disposal. This information allows Statbel, the Belgian statistical office, to bring out the features of the birth rate and fertility ^[4] in Belgium and to contextualise them. 

Later and more diverse parenthood

In the vast majority of cases, a mother was living with her partner when she had a child in 2022: 86.4% of cases. Births within a married couple (formerly known as ‘legitimate’ births) now account for only 45% of births. These births constituted the majority 10 years ago (52.1%). A shift took place in 2015. At that time, the distribution was almost balanced (49.4% of births within marriage versus 50.6% outside marriage).

The mother's average age at the birth of her first child remains unchanged at 29.6 years. Only in Wallonia does this age rise to 29.3 years. This year again, new mothers in Flanders are 29.6 years old. They are 30.8 years old in Brussels and so barely younger than they were in 2021. For several years now, the Brussels-Capital Region and the Walloon Region have been neck and neck for first place. In 2022, the province of Walloon Brabant is where women last become mothers: 31.1 years. This occurs earliest in the arrondissement of Charleroi, which is the only one to remain below the 28-year mark. There is a slight rejuvenation of the co-parent, whose average age was 34 over the past 5 years. In 2022, the co-parent was 33.9 years old.

Where, how and when did births take place in 2022?

Most births took place in a hospital. In 2022, this concerns 97.8% of the births. The other birth locations included private homes, birthing centres and any other place where delivery takes place. 942 newborn children came into the world in a private home - some of them at home - or 0.8% of cases. This share is the same as in 2021 but is slightly higher than in 2012 (0.7% of cases).

The percentage of births by caesarean section has increased slightly over the past 3 years. In 2022, it amounted to 22.2%. The rate was 20.5% in 2012 and then seemed to stabilise around 21.2% for a few years. Since 2020, it has been gradually increasing more strongly. Births via assisted or instrumental deliveries (caesarean section, forceps, vacuum extraction) follow a similar trend. They account for 31.2% of cases. 

Fun fact

In 2022, 16% of newborn children came into the world at night! The greatest number of births take place in the afternoon. More than a third of newborn children chose this time of the day.

^[1] The total fertility rate is the number of children that would be born to a woman if she were to live to the end of her childbearing years and bear children in accordance with age-specific fertility rates of the specified year.
^[2] Threshold of generation renewal = 2.1 children per woman.
^[3] In alphabetical order : Agence pour une Vie de Qualité (AVIQ), Departement Zorg (Vlaams overheid), Observatoire de la santé et du social de Bruxelles-Capitale.
^[4] The birth rate analyses live births in relation to a given whole population (Belgium in this case). The fertility rate also looks at births but only in relation to women of childbearing age (women aged between 15 and 49).