Life expectancy

Life expectancy (open definition) at birth in the Flemish Region for the entire legally resident population (open definition) stood at 83.2 years in 2023. Life expectancy at birth was 81.3 years for men and 85 years for women. Life expectancy at birth was thus 3.8 years higher in women than in men. For both men and women, life expectancy in 2023 was higher than in 2022.

Between 2000 and 2019, life expectancy at birth has increased gradually: from 78.5 years in 2000 to 82.7 years in 2019 (+4.2 years) for the total population. This increase is higher for men (+5.1 years) than for women (+3.3 years).

In 2020, for the first time in 20 years, a clear decline in life expectancy was observed. This was a result of the high number of deaths in that year due to the corona pandemic. By 2021, life expectancy has recovered to about 2019 levels.

Even at older ages, women maintain a higher life expectancy than men: at the age of 65, women have a surplus of +2.8 years; at the age of 85, the surplus equals +1.2 years.

Life expectancy at birth varied between 79.5 and 81.4 years for men in the 22 Flemish districts in the 2021-2023 period. This is a difference of 1.9 years.

Life expectancy at birth for men is highest in the districts of Leuven and Maaseik, and lowest in the districts of Diksmuide and Aalst.

Life expectancy at birth varied between 83.5 and 85.7 years for women in the 22 Flemish districts in the 2021-2023 period. This corresponds to a 2.2-year difference between the districts.

Life expectancy at birth for women is highest in the districts of Tielt and Leuven, and lowest in the districts of Diksmuide and Veurne.

In 2022, within Belgium, life expectancy at birth for the usually resident population (open definition) was highest in the Flemish Region (80.8 years for men, 84.7 years for women). Life expectancy for Flemish men was 3.2 years higher than for men from the Walloon Region and 1.7 years higher than for men from the Brussels-Capital Region. Women have an extra life expectancy of 2.3 years and 0.8 years respectively.

Within the European Union (EU27), Belgium ranks 8^th in terms of life expectancy at birth. Life expectancy varies widely between EU member states: among men, there is a 12-year difference in life expectancy between Sweden (81.4 years) and Latvia (69.4 years); among women, it is almost 8 years between Spain (85.9 years) and Bulgaria (77.9 years). Overall, Spain, Sweden, Luxembourg and Italy top the rankings and Bulgaria, Latvia and Romania are at the bottom.