Country or area · Western Europe · Europe · UN WPP 2024

Belgium population

Belgium population now

11,778,213

A projection read at this second, not a count: the UN's totals for 1 January 2026 and 2027, joined by a straight line. 95% range for 31 December 2026: 11.1–12.4 million.

Mid-2023, UN estimate: 11,712,893

Year: 2026; projection · medium
Population, mid-2026: 11.7746 million; 95% range, 31 Dec: 11.1–12.4 million
Median age: 43.1
Aged 65+: 21.4%

Move through time, 1950–2100

2023 | 2024 peak 2044

male female projection · one cell = 2,000 people

How to read this: one row for each age, newborns at the bottom; men on the left, women on the right.

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries

BEL · 1950–2100 · in brief

Belgium in numbers

11,712,893 people lived in Belgium in mid-2023: 0.14% of the world's people, and the 81st-largest population of the 236 countries and areas the UN reports. That is 1.4 times its 1950 population of 8.6 million.

The UN's medium projection has it peaking in 2044 at 11.9 million, then falling to 11.1 million by 2100. The projection is uncertain: on 1 January 2100 the UN's 95% range runs from 6.4 million to 17.6 million.

Deaths have outnumbered births every year since 2022, and do so in every projected year to 2100. Deaths also outnumbered births in 1975 and 2020. The population still grows until 2044, because more people arrive than leave.

The median age was 35.5 in 1950 and 42.4 in 2023; the projection has 50.0 in 2100. 20.1% of people were 65 or older in 2023, against 32.5% projected for 2100. The working-age population (15–64) is projected to peak in 2024 at 7.4 million.

By size it is the 81st country in 2023; the projection puts it 92nd in 2050 and 97th in 2100. In the medium projection it overtakes Taiwan in 2091, Tunisia in 2093 and Romania in 2096. It is overtaken by Haiti in 2024, South Sudan in 2024 and Jordan in 2027.

Population, mid-2023: 11,712,893
Rank by population, 2023: 81 of 236
Share of the world, 2023: 0.14%
Change in a year, mid-2022 to mid-2023: +0.61% · +71,073 people
People per km² of land, 2023: 384
Land area, 2023: 30,494 km²
Births, 2023: 101,686
Deaths, 2023: 113,791
Net migration, 2023: +41,679
Children per woman, 2023: 1.38
Median age, 2023: 42.4 years
Life expectancy at birth, 2023: 82.1 years
In a city, 2025: 31 of every 100
Population, mid-1950: 8,617,441
Projected, mid-2050: 11,870,906
Projected, mid-2100: 11,060,848

BEL · 1950–2100 · total population

Population, 1950–2100

peak 2044estimates | projections05 m10 m15 m20 m1950197520002025205020752100

estimate projection, up to the bottom of the 95% range 95% range medium projection. Each column is the population on 1 January of one year; the paper rules cut it into equal cells.

Show the numbers: Belgium, 1950–2100

Belgium: population on 1 January, births, deaths, fertility and life expectancy, 1950–2100
Year	Kind	Population, 1 Jan	95% range	Births	Deaths	Children per woman	Life expectancy
1950	estimate	8,597,144		143,917	108,029	2.35	66.3
1951	estimate	8,637,738		141,161	109,738	2.29	66.8
1952	estimate	8,673,778		144,300	104,162	2.33	68.0
1953	estimate	8,719,500		145,260	105,744	2.33	68.4
1954	estimate	8,764,214		147,320	104,988	2.36	68.6
1955	estimate	8,812,550		148,095	108,638	2.38	68.5
1956	estimate	8,858,436		149,662	108,739	2.41	68.8
1957	estimate	8,905,887		152,133	107,672	2.45	69.2
1958	estimate	8,957,833		154,302	106,022	2.50	69.9
1959	estimate	9,014,412		157,117	103,875	2.56	70.3
1960	estimate	9,077,067		154,221	113,905	2.53	69.6
1961	estimate	9,127,275		158,198	106,893	2.62	70.5
1962	estimate	9,189,147		154,956	112,737	2.60	70.2
1963	estimate	9,246,191		158,499	116,850	2.68	70.0
1964	estimate	9,304,202		159,381	110,101	2.70	70.7
1965	estimate	9,371,167		154,171	115,032	2.61	70.6
1966	estimate	9,428,548		149,504	115,573	2.52	70.6
1967	estimate	9,481,457		144,487	115,059	2.41	70.9
1968	estimate	9,530,382		140,520	121,697	2.31	70.6
1969	estimate	9,569,017		140,653	120,386	2.28	70.7
1970	estimate	9,609,358		141,574	118,669	2.25	70.9
1971	estimate	9,651,651		141,117	119,351	2.21	71.1
1972	estimate	9,681,411		135,749	117,245	2.09	71.4
1973	estimate	9,708,295		128,825	118,028	1.95	71.6
1974	estimate	9,727,775		123,102	115,974	1.84	72.0
1975	estimate	9,743,837		118,943	119,307	1.75	72.0
1976	estimate	9,753,115		119,927	118,723	1.74	72.1
1977	estimate	9,764,687		120,723	112,531	1.73	72.8
1978	estimate	9,783,341		121,484	115,350	1.71	72.7
1979	estimate	9,800,293		122,830	111,966	1.71	73.2
1980	estimate	9,822,438		123,463	113,638	1.69	73.2
1981	estimate	9,843,747		123,261	112,239	1.67	73.7
1982	estimate	9,857,591		120,269	111,902	1.61	73.9
1983	estimate	9,867,064		117,417	114,530	1.56	73.9
1984	estimate	9,871,200		115,845	110,773	1.53	74.4
1985	estimate	9,877,973		114,361	111,793	1.50	74.5
1986	estimate	9,882,702		117,279	111,681	1.54	74.7
1987	estimate	9,891,265		117,669	105,434	1.54	75.3
1988	estimate	9,907,028		119,935	104,777	1.57	75.6
1989	estimate	9,926,101		121,130	107,494	1.58	75.7
1990	estimate	9,947,045		123,812	104,263	1.63	76.1
1991	estimate	9,974,891		125,388	104,292	1.66	76.2
1992	estimate	10,023,031		124,375	104,406	1.65	76.4
1993	estimate	10,068,943		120,508	107,071	1.61	76.4
1994	estimate	10,100,918		116,456	103,916	1.56	76.7
1995	estimate	10,131,093		115,566	105,160	1.56	76.8
1996	estimate	10,143,437		116,157	104,779	1.59	77.2
1997	estimate	10,170,502		115,789	104,126	1.60	77.4
1998	estimate	10,192,426		113,847	104,851	1.59	77.5
1999	estimate	10,213,937		113,769	105,131	1.61	77.7
2000	estimate	10,239,426		115,875	105,242	1.66	77.8
2001	estimate	10,264,008		114,774	103,712	1.67	78.1
2002	estimate	10,310,001		112,478	105,937	1.65	78.2
2003	estimate	10,355,945		113,291	107,128	1.67	78.3
2004	estimate	10,396,575		116,438	102,142	1.72	79.0
2005	estimate	10,446,009		118,499	103,317	1.75	79.0
2006	estimate	10,511,762		121,383	101,605	1.79	79.4
2007	estimate	10,585,123		123,022	102,198	1.81	79.5
2008	estimate	10,665,862		125,935	104,708	1.85	79.6
2009	estimate	10,753,553		126,154	104,561	1.83	79.8
2010	estimate	10,872,318		128,632	105,256	1.85	80.0
2011	estimate	11,000,933		127,165	104,232	1.80	80.4
2012	estimate	11,076,330		126,462	109,091	1.78	80.3
2013	estimate	11,138,706		124,540	109,459	1.75	80.5
2014	estimate	11,181,846		123,865	104,795	1.73	81.1
2015	estimate	11,238,392		121,172	110,820	1.69	80.9
2016	estimate	11,312,277		120,896	108,142	1.68	81.3
2017	estimate	11,353,124		118,711	109,775	1.64	81.4
2018	estimate	11,400,037		117,308	110,783	1.62	81.5
2019	estimate	11,457,173		117,399	108,977	1.61	81.8
2020	estimate	11,524,063		115,567	127,251	1.57	80.8
2021	estimate	11,556,151		117,668	112,310	1.60	81.7
2022	estimate	11,585,536		113,797	119,832	1.55	81.2
2023	estimate	11,698,104		101,686	113,791	1.38	82.1
2024	estimate	11,727,682		101,368	115,445	1.38	82.3
2025	projection	11,749,845	11.2–12.3 million	101,192	115,668	1.39	82.4
2026	projection	11,767,361	11.1–12.4 million	100,860	115,904	1.40	82.6
2027	projection	11,781,924	11.1–12.4 million	100,434	116,244	1.40	82.7
2028	projection	11,795,355	11.1–12.5 million	100,141	116,499	1.41	82.9
2029	projection	11,807,889	11.1–12.5 million	100,156	116,981	1.41	83.1
2030	projection	11,819,429	11.1–12.6 million	100,152	117,488	1.42	83.2
2031	projection	11,828,853	11.1–12.6 million	100,438	118,193	1.43	83.4
2032	projection	11,837,152	11.0–12.7 million	100,829	119,018	1.43	83.5
2033	projection	11,845,096	11.0–12.8 million	101,458	120,049	1.43	83.7
2034	projection	11,853,399	10.9–12.9 million	102,284	121,263	1.44	83.8
2035	projection	11,860,352	10.9–12.9 million	103,213	122,491	1.44	83.9
2036	projection	11,866,817	10.9–13.0 million	104,243	123,799	1.44	84.0
2037	projection	11,873,099	10.8–13.0 million	105,321	125,012	1.45	84.2
2038	projection	11,879,958	10.8–13.1 million	106,495	126,520	1.45	84.3
2039	projection	11,885,854	10.7–13.2 million	107,369	127,976	1.46	84.5
2040	projection	11,890,380	10.7–13.2 million	108,085	129,484	1.46	84.6
2041	projection	11,894,029	10.7–13.3 million	108,713	130,896	1.46	84.7
2042	projection	11,897,886	10.6–13.4 million	109,025	132,421	1.47	84.9
2043	projection	11,900,056	10.6–13.4 million	108,981	133,713	1.47	85.0
2044	projection	11,901,251	10.5–13.5 million	108,739	135,010	1.47	85.1
2045	projection	11,901,846	10.5–13.6 million	108,243	136,146	1.47	85.3
2046	projection	11,900,122	10.4–13.6 million	107,665	137,472	1.48	85.4
2047	projection	11,896,997	10.4–13.6 million	107,053	138,556	1.48	85.5
2048	projection	11,892,116	10.3–13.7 million	106,172	139,629	1.48	85.6
2049	projection	11,885,132	10.2–13.7 million	105,215	140,446	1.49	85.7
2050	projection	11,876,181	10.2–13.7 million	104,206	141,184	1.49	85.9
2051	projection	11,865,631	10.1–13.8 million	102,982	142,080	1.49	86.0
2052	projection	11,852,374	10.0–13.9 million	101,694	142,696	1.50	86.1
2053	projection	11,836,255	9.9–14.0 million	100,469	143,157	1.50	86.2
2054	projection	11,818,208	9.8–14.0 million	99,328	143,576	1.50	86.3
2055	projection	11,799,861	9.8–14.1 million	98,123	143,763	1.50	86.5
2056	projection	11,780,385	9.7–14.1 million	97,071	143,881	1.50	86.6
2057	projection	11,759,187	9.6–14.1 million	96,187	143,853	1.51	86.7
2058	projection	11,736,424	9.5–14.2 million	95,484	143,617	1.51	86.8
2059	projection	11,716,533	9.4–14.2 million	95,084	143,246	1.51	86.9
2060	projection	11,695,234	9.3–14.3 million	94,654	142,695	1.51	87.1
2061	projection	11,674,092	9.3–14.4 million	94,405	142,402	1.51	87.2
2062	projection	11,650,743	9.2–14.4 million	94,261	141,796	1.51	87.3
2063	projection	11,628,913	9.1–14.5 million	94,443	141,160	1.51	87.4
2064	projection	11,607,373	9.0–14.5 million	94,480	140,672	1.51	87.5
2065	projection	11,586,760	9.0–14.6 million	94,817	140,037	1.51	87.6
2066	projection	11,567,280	8.9–14.6 million	95,198	139,447	1.52	87.7
2067	projection	11,548,977	8.8–14.7 million	95,520	138,970	1.52	87.8
2068	projection	11,531,921	8.7–14.8 million	95,948	138,459	1.52	87.9
2069	projection	11,514,746	8.7–14.8 million	96,326	138,006	1.52	88.1
2070	projection	11,498,708	8.6–14.9 million	96,844	137,621	1.52	88.2
2071	projection	11,482,884	8.5–15.0 million	97,064	137,080	1.52	88.3
2072	projection	11,469,559	8.5–15.0 million	97,515	136,923	1.52	88.4
2073	projection	11,456,491	8.4–15.1 million	97,846	136,726	1.53	88.5
2074	projection	11,443,410	8.3–15.2 million	97,959	136,789	1.53	88.6
2075	projection	11,430,544	8.2–15.2 million	97,855	136,491	1.53	88.7
2076	projection	11,418,783	8.2–15.3 million	97,889	136,338	1.53	88.8
2077	projection	11,407,466	8.1–15.4 million	97,816	136,178	1.53	88.9
2078	projection	11,394,845	8.0–15.5 million	97,493	136,000	1.53	89.0
2079	projection	11,380,750	7.9–15.6 million	97,187	135,652	1.53	89.2
2080	projection	11,367,949	7.9–15.6 million	96,805	135,410	1.54	89.3
2081	projection	11,354,160	7.8–15.7 million	96,284	134,998	1.54	89.4
2082	projection	11,342,203	7.8–15.8 million	95,839	134,684	1.54	89.5
2083	projection	11,328,010	7.7–15.8 million	95,206	134,195	1.54	89.6
2084	projection	11,314,873	7.7–15.9 million	94,514	133,673	1.54	89.7
2085	projection	11,301,139	7.6–16.1 million	93,897	132,962	1.54	89.8
2086	projection	11,287,715	7.5–16.1 million	93,470	132,384	1.54	89.9
2087	projection	11,273,583	7.4–16.2 million	92,916	131,909	1.54	90.0
2088	projection	11,258,331	7.3–16.4 million	92,480	131,290	1.55	90.1
2089	projection	11,243,229	7.3–16.5 million	92,003	130,688	1.55	90.3
2090	projection	11,228,944	7.2–16.7 million	91,488	130,136	1.54	90.4
2091	projection	11,214,687	7.1–16.7 million	91,201	129,795	1.55	90.5
2092	projection	11,200,458	7.0–16.7 million	90,964	129,436	1.55	90.6
2093	projection	11,184,557	6.9–16.8 million	90,756	129,107	1.55	90.7
2094	projection	11,169,241	6.9–16.9 million	90,775	129,069	1.55	90.8
2095	projection	11,153,001	6.8–17.0 million	90,841	128,932	1.55	90.9
2096	projection	11,137,300	6.7–17.1 million	90,784	129,249	1.55	91.0
2097	projection	11,122,014	6.7–17.3 million	90,838	129,565	1.56	91.1
2098	projection	11,106,015	6.6–17.4 million	90,906	130,321	1.56	91.2
2099	projection	11,088,121	6.5–17.5 million	90,864	130,936	1.55	91.3
2100	projection	11,070,031	6.4–17.6 million	90,877	131,483	1.55	91.4

Show the numbers: Belgium, mid-2026, by single year of age

Belgium: population by single year of age, mid-2026
Age	Male	Female
0	52,000	49,549
1	52,482	50,031
2	52,837	50,393
3	56,308	53,732
4	60,752	58,043
5	61,098	58,389
6	61,158	58,698
7	62,492	60,108
8	63,495	60,819
9	64,775	61,890
10	65,874	62,963
11	67,187	64,033
12	68,282	64,945
13	69,031	66,032
14	70,153	67,230
15	71,224	68,134
16	71,796	68,540
17	72,268	68,667
18	72,306	68,947
19	71,970	69,218
20	71,910	68,884
21	71,551	68,050
22	70,707	67,432
23	69,822	66,666
24	69,823	66,821
25	70,624	67,774
26	70,610	67,978
27	70,080	68,017
28	70,624	69,163
29	71,310	70,452
30	71,750	70,939
31	72,465	71,304
32	73,930	73,209
33	76,140	75,956
34	77,890	77,620
35	78,229	78,244
36	77,586	77,755
37	76,984	77,282
38	76,196	76,737
39	75,552	75,948
40	74,814	75,243
41	74,270	74,910
42	74,643	75,059
43	75,540	75,791
44	76,815	76,836
45	77,568	77,757
46	77,497	77,334
47	76,440	75,914
48	75,227	75,066
49	74,367	73,799
50	73,398	72,458
51	73,866	72,624
52	75,677	73,988
53	77,225	75,824
54	78,614	77,756
55	79,670	78,454
56	79,479	77,931
57	78,412	77,272
58	78,056	76,830
59	78,756	77,431
60	79,885	79,030
61	80,967	80,709
62	80,291	80,718
63	77,896	78,626
64	75,877	77,402
65	74,209	76,354
66	72,548	75,367
67	70,336	73,915
68	67,664	71,356
69	64,850	69,254
70	62,096	67,582
71	59,655	65,658
72	57,102	63,262
73	54,829	61,178
74	51,963	58,793
75	49,387	57,076
76	47,874	56,046
77	46,237	55,070
78	44,272	54,018
79	42,224	52,366
80	36,978	47,226
81	31,968	42,018
82	29,300	39,241
83	24,977	34,552
84	20,652	29,648
85	18,937	28,442
86	18,622	29,402
87	17,362	28,532
88	15,164	25,637
89	12,591	22,374
90	10,292	19,524
91	8,456	16,964
92	6,794	14,462
93	5,273	12,158
94	4,012	9,902
95	2,952	7,726
96	1,991	5,672
97	1,272	3,951
98	810	2,696
99	494	1,794
100+	648	2,761

BEL · 1950–2100 · every age, every year

Belgium, every age in every year

Each column is a year and each row an age; the denser the ink in a cell, the more people. Everyone born in the same year climbs one 45° diagonal, so famines, baby booms and migration show up as streaks. Select a cell to follow its generation.

BEL · ages 15–64

Who does the work in Belgium

On the UN's projection, Belgium will have the most working-age people it ever has in 2024: 7,447,750 people aged 15–64. In 2023 it had 7,445,180.

100 aged 15–64

26 children

32 aged 65+

aged 15–64 children under 15 aged 65 and over

How to read this: the orange squares are 100 people aged 15–64 in 2023, and the rows below are how many children (teal) and how many people aged 65 or older (violet) lived alongside them.

Fewer than 50 dependants live alongside every 100 people aged 15–64 in 14 years: 1950–1954 and 1983–1991.

fewer than 50 dependants per 100 the same, projected 50 or more

How to read this: 1950 on the left, 2100 on the right; coloured in the years with fewer than 50 dependants per 100 working-age people, grey in the rest, hatched where that is a projection.

How every country compares

BEL · arrivals minus departures

Who arrives in Belgium, and who leaves

In 2020–2025 Belgium gains 51,689 people a year: everyone who arrives, minus everyone who leaves. The age at which that happens most is 20–24, at 8,902 a year more arriving than leaving.

one square = 1,000 people a year

020406080+

more arrive than leave more leave than arrive

How to read this: left to right is age, from babies to 100. Blue squares above the line are ages at which more people arrive than leave; orange squares below it, ages at which more leave than arrive. These are the UN's projection for 2020–2025. There is no record of migration by age before 2020.

In the years that were counted, 1950–2023, the most it gained in one year was 118,615 (2022) and the most it lost was 1,100 (1982).

In 2024, 2,349,032 people living in Belgium had been born in another country, 20 of every 100 people there, against 10 in 1990.

How migration works everywhere

BEL · births by the mother's age · 1950–2100

Who has the babies in Belgium

Of every 100 babies born in Belgium in 2023, 1 had a mother under 20, 78 a mother aged 20 to 34 and 21 a mother aged 35 or older. In 1950 it was 5 under 20 and 17 aged 35 or older.

1950
5 · 78 · 17

2023
1 · 78 · 21

2050 · projected
1 · 74 · 25

The mother's age: under 20 20 to 34 35 or older projected

How to read this: each block is 100 babies born in that year, one square each, coloured by how old the mother was. The numbers under a block are the three groups, youngest mothers first.

Babies born, 2023: 101,686
Average age when women have a baby: 31.0 years; 28.8 in 1950
Babies a year per 1,000 girls aged 15–19: 4; 23 in 1950

Babies by the mother's age, 1950–2100

Babies born in Belgium by the mother's age
Mother's age	1950	1975	2000	2023	2050 projected	2100 projected
10–14	13	33	20	14	9	8
15–19	6,970	10,411	3,494	1,195	832	793
20–24	39,379	42,932	19,162	8,745	7,444	7,472
25–29	48,346	41,993	44,511	30,706	28,793	26,750
30–34	24,206	15,714	34,322	39,669	40,626	34,663
35–39	18,263	6,047	12,320	17,030	20,671	16,501
40–44	6,312	1,610	1,939	3,923	5,233	4,143
45–49	416	165	86	387	584	534
50–54	12	38	21	17	14	13
All babies	143,917	118,943	115,875	101,686	104,206	90,877

The UN's births for each year, split by the mother's age in the UN's own proportions.

BEL · healthy years · 2021

Years in good health in Belgium

Of the 81.5 years a baby born in Belgium in 2021 could expect, about 69.8 would be lived in full health (95% range 69.0–70.7). The years in less than full health come to 11.7, above the world's 9.5.

Women

70.3 in full health, 13.4 not: 83.7 years

Men

69.3 in full health, 10.0 not: 79.3 years

a year in full health a year in less than full health

How to read this: each square is a year of life, each row ten years; filled squares are years in full health, rounded to whole years.

Women: 70.3 healthy years of 83.7. Men: 69.3 of 79.3.

BEL · forced from home · end of 2025

Displacement in Belgium

At the end of 2025, Belgium was hosting 245,118 people who had crossed a border into it, about 21 of every 1,000 people living there.

hosted from abroad245,118
Belgium nationals abroad182

stayed inside their own country crossed a border

How to read this: each square is 5,000 people, so the rows can be compared with one another. The last row is people from Belgium living in another country, wherever they are. An outlined square means fewer people than one square stands for.

In 2025, 27,551 people asked for asylum in Belgium for the first time; 23 people from Belgium asked for asylum in another country. Who asks for asylum, and who is given it

How the world's displacement is counted

BEL · of every 100 people

How people live in Belgium

Of every 100 people in Belgium in 2025, 31 lived in a city, 48 in a town or suburb and 21 in the countryside.

cities towns and suburbs rural areas

Nearly everyone has electricity at home (2024). 4.2 of every 100 do not use the internet (2024).

How to read this: 100 squares, one for every 100th person, coloured by where they live, as the key says. The same rule is used in every country.

How the world's people live

BEL · adults 25 and over · 2020

How far people in Belgium went in school

Of every 100 adults in Belgium in 2020, 3 never went to school and 66 finished upper secondary or went further.

3 never went to school 11 finished primary 20 finished lower secondary 36 finished upper secondary 30 studied after school

Compare two generations. Aged 60–64, 2.7 of every 100 women and 3 of every 100 men never went to school; aged 25–29, 0 and 0.

The middle projection has its working-age people most numerous in 2025; those among them who finished upper secondary are most numerous later, in 2070.

How to read this: the row is the adults (25 and over) shrunk to 100 people, coloured by how far each went in school, least schooling on the left. The Wittgenstein Centre's count, 2020.

How far the world's people went in school

BEL · cities · 2025

Cities in Belgium

Belgium had 16 cities in 2025, home to 3.6 million people. The largest, Brussels, holds 12 of every 100 people in Belgium.

Brussels1,406,499
Antwerp652,506
Liège375,138
Ghent230,642
Charleroi227,157
La Louvière87,478
Ostend78,089
Kortrijk77,442
Leuven77,085
Saint-Ghislain74,518

How to read this: the 10 largest cities in 2025, bars on one scale. A city is the whole built-up area on the UN's rule, not the city's own boundary.

All the world's cities

Apparatus

Sources and method

Every figure on this page comes from the UN's World Population Prospects 2024: the annual country tables (estimates to 2023, projections with 95% intervals from 2024), and the population by single year of age and sex for the pyramid.

The censuses, surveys and registers behind the UN's estimates for Belgium are listed, source by source, on the UN's own data sources page.

Sources: UN WPP 2024 · World Bank · UNHCR · country code lists · UN WUP 2025 · Wittgenstein Centre · WHO GHO · flag-icons · Natural Earth. Every source, its licence and how to cite it →

Checked before it was drawn

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries The pyramid for every year was checked against the published total. What that stamp counts, and what every page here has to pass before it can be built: how this site checks its figures.