Births

In 2024, there were nearly 61,800 births (open definition) (open definition) to women living in the Flemish Region (in the legal population (open definition) (open definition)). This amounts to approximately 31,600 boys and 30,200 girls. Nearly 600 fewer children were born in 2024 than in 2023 and nearly 4,000 fewer than in 2021. Compared to the peak year of 2010, nearly 8,300 fewer children were born in 2024 (-12%).

In 2024, there were again fewer births than deaths in the Flemish Region. Rounded off, this amounted to 61,800 births and 65,500 deaths. This resulted in a negative natural balance (open definition) (open definition) of almost -3,700. Since 2020, the number of deaths has exceeded the number of births. Only in 2021 were there more births than deaths. Between 2000 and 2019, there were consistently more births than deaths in the Flemish Region. This consistently resulted in a positive natural balance.

Nearly 1 in 7 newborns in the Flemish Region had foreign (non-Belgian) nationality in 2024 (14%). This share was higher in the Brussels-Capital Region (35%), and lower in the Walloon Region (9%).

In the Brussels-Capital Region, there were a relatively high number of newborns with the nationality of a country outside the European Union (26%). This share was much lower in the Flemish and Walloon Regions (7% and 6%, respectively).

More than 60% of municipalities had a crude birth rate (open definition) (open definition) lower than the average for the Flemish Region for the period 2022-2024 (9 births per 1,000 inhabitants). Most Flemish city centres had a higher crude birth rate than the Flemish average, with Antwerp (12.6) as an outlier. In Vilvoorde, the figure was also higher than 12.

In 2024, the number of births per 1,000 inhabitants in the Flemish Region was 9.0. This crude birth rate was slightly lower in the Walloon Region (8.8 per 1,000 inhabitants) and significantly higher in the Brussels-Capital Region (11.0 per 1,000 inhabitants).

Since 2010, the crude birth rate in all three regions has been on a downward trend.

The 2023 crude birth rate for the Flemish Region (9.2 births per 1,000 inhabitants) was above the average of 8.2 births per 1,000 inhabitants for the European Union (EU27).

High values ​​were found in Cyprus (10.7), Ireland (10.3), and France (9.9). Low values ​​were mainly found in the southern Member States, with Italy at the bottom (6.4).

The figures for the EU countries and the Belgian regions refer to the usually resident population (open definition) (open definition). Data are not yet available for the 2024 observation year.