Life expectancy at birth in Belgium
Belgium: Life expectancy at birth was 82.11 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
82.11 years
Change on year
up 1.2%
World rank
35th
of 236 countries
All-time high
82.11 years
in 2023
All-time low
66.31 years
in 1950
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Life expectancy at birth in Belgium, 1950–2023
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
Belgium recorded 82.11 years for life expectancy at birth in 2023. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.2% on the previous year and up 2.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy at birth in Belgium peaked at 82.11 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 66.31 years, in 1950.
That places Belgium 35th out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.
Life expectancy at birth in Belgium, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 66.31 years | — |
| 1951 | 66.75 years | +0.7% |
| 1952 | 67.97 years | +1.8% |
| 1953 | 68.36 years | +0.6% |
| 1954 | 68.59 years | +0.3% |
| 1955 | 68.55 years | -0.1% |
| 1956 | 68.84 years | +0.4% |
| 1957 | 69.2 years | +0.5% |
| 1958 | 69.91 years | +1.0% |
| 1959 | 70.31 years | +0.6% |
| 1960 | 69.62 years | -1.0% |
| 1961 | 70.5 years | +1.3% |
| 1962 | 70.23 years | -0.4% |
| 1963 | 70.04 years | -0.3% |
| 1964 | 70.71 years | +0.9% |
| 1965 | 70.56 years | -0.2% |
| 1966 | 70.63 years | +0.1% |
| 1967 | 70.91 years | +0.4% |
| 1968 | 70.61 years | -0.4% |
| 1969 | 70.67 years | +0.1% |
| 1970 | 70.94 years | +0.4% |
| 1971 | 71.09 years | +0.2% |
| 1972 | 71.41 years | +0.5% |
| 1973 | 71.64 years | +0.3% |
| 1974 | 71.97 years | +0.5% |
| 1975 | 71.97 years | -0.0% |
| 1976 | 72.1 years | +0.2% |
| 1977 | 72.76 years | +0.9% |
| 1978 | 72.71 years | -0.1% |
| 1979 | 73.2 years | +0.7% |
| 1980 | 73.24 years | +0.1% |
| 1981 | 73.65 years | +0.6% |
| 1982 | 73.88 years | +0.3% |
| 1983 | 73.88 years | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 74.37 years | +0.7% |
| 1985 | 74.47 years | +0.1% |
| 1986 | 74.67 years | +0.3% |
| 1987 | 75.29 years | +0.8% |
| 1988 | 75.59 years | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 75.65 years | +0.1% |
| 1990 | 76.06 years | +0.5% |
| 1991 | 76.2 years | +0.2% |
| 1992 | 76.36 years | +0.2% |
| 1993 | 76.36 years | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 76.72 years | +0.5% |
| 1995 | 76.84 years | +0.2% |
| 1996 | 77.19 years | +0.4% |
| 1997 | 77.4 years | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 77.48 years | +0.1% |
| 1999 | 77.65 years | +0.2% |
| 2000 | 77.77 years | +0.2% |
| 2001 | 78.08 years | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 78.17 years | +0.1% |
| 2003 | 78.32 years | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 78.96 years | +0.8% |
| 2005 | 79.05 years | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 79.39 years | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 79.53 years | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 79.58 years | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 79.85 years | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 80.04 years | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 80.37 years | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 80.26 years | -0.1% |
| 2013 | 80.47 years | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 81.08 years | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 80.89 years | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 81.27 years | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 81.36 years | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 81.48 years | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 81.83 years | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 80.8 years | -1.3% |
| 2021 | 81.66 years | +1.1% |
| 2022 | 81.16 years | -0.6% |
| 2023 | 82.11 years | +1.2% |
Belgium compared with similar countries
- Belgium's 82.11 years is above the median for high income countries, which is 81 years, 1.0× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Belgium's 82.11 years is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 79.72 years, 1.0× the median. (56 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 68.48 years | 66.31 years | 70.31 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 70.45 years | 69.62 years | 70.91 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 71.98 years | 70.94 years | 73.2 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 74.47 years | 73.24 years | 75.65 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 76.82 years | 76.06 years | 77.65 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 78.87 years | 77.77 years | 79.85 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 80.9 years | 80.04 years | 81.83 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 81.43 years | 80.8 years | 82.11 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Belgium
- 32 Bermuda 82.31 years compare
- 33 Luxembourg 82.23 years compare
- 34 Netherlands 82.16 years compare
- 36 New Zealand 82.09 years compare
- 37 Guadeloupe 82.05 years compare
- 38 Austria 81.96 years compare
More health data for Belgium
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -3.28 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.2923 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,160 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 59 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -2.11 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0229 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -1.96 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy at birth in Belgium?
- Life expectancy at birth in Belgium was 82.11 years in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest life expectancy at birth recorded in Belgium?
- The highest recorded value was 82.11 years in 2023.
- What is the lowest life expectancy at birth recorded in Belgium?
- The lowest recorded value was 66.31 years in 1950.
- How does Belgium rank for life expectancy at birth?
- Belgium ranks 35th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is life expectancy at birth rising or falling in Belgium?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Belgium data come from?
- The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy at birth. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Period life expectancy at birth.