Belgians are divided linguistically into Dutch speakers, called Flemings, and French speakers, called Walloons, with a nominally bilingual population in Brussels. Some 67,000 German speakers live in the east. Approximately 900,000 foreigners reside in Belgium as well. Population density is the second highest in Europe, after the Netherlands.
1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2016 | |
Population, total (millions) | 9.97 | 10.25 | 10.9 | 11.33 |
Population growth (annual %) | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 0.5 |
Surface area (sq. km) (thousands) | .. | 30.5 | 30.5 | 30.5 |
Population density (people per sq. km of land area) | .. | 338.5 | 359.8 | 374.2 |
Income share held by lowest 20% | .. | 8.6 | 8.6 | 8.6 |
Life expectancy at birth, total (years) | 76 | 78 | 80 | 81 |
Fertility rate, total (births per woman) | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 1.7 |
Adolescent fertility rate (births per 1,000 women ages 15-19) | 11 | 11 | 8 | 5 |
Contraceptive prevalence, any methods (% of women ages 15-49) | 78 | 76 | 70 | 67 |
Births attended by skilled health staff (% of total) | 100 | 99 | .. | .. |
Mortality rate, under-5 (per 1,000 live births) | 10 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
Prevalence of underweight, weight for age (% of children under 5) | .. | .. | .. | .. |
Immunization, measles (% of children ages 12-23 months) | 85 | 82 | 95 | 96 |
Primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group) | 79 | .. | .. | .. |
School enrollment, primary (% gross) | 101.1 | 104.8 | 101.9 | 103.2 |
School enrollment, secondary (% gross) | 101 | 145 | 157 | 164 |
School enrollment, primary and secondary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Prevalence of HIV, total (% of population ages 15-49) | .. | .. | .. | .. |
Environment | ||||
Forest area (sq. km) (thousands) | 6.7 | 6.7 | 6.8 | 6.8 |
Terrestrial and marine protected areas (% of total territorial area) | .. | .. | .. | 24.6 |
Annual freshwater withdrawals, total (% of internal resources) | .. | 56.1 | 50 | .. |
Urban population growth (annual %) | 0.4 | 0.3 | 1 | 0.5 |
Energy use (kg of oil equivalent per capita) | 4,810 | 5,669 | 5,539 | 4,688 |
CO2 emissions (metric tons per capita) | 10.64 | 11.23 | 10.17 | 8.33 |
Electric power consumption (kWh per capita) | 6,380 | 8,248 | 8,394 | 7,709 |