The average life expectancy for Belgians was 81.07 years in 2014, a 6 month increase (218 days) compared to 2013. These figures were released by the general management of the Economy SPF Statistics department in a press release on Tuesday. Life expectancy for Belgians has increased by an average of 0.2 years (72 days) a year over the last 20 years. The only other increase as big as 2014 was in 2004, the year after a big heatwave.
The difference in life expectancy between men (78.56 years, up 228 days) and women (83.50 years, up 215 days) continues to fall slightly. Life expectancy was higher in Flanders (81.97 years, up 244 days) than in Brussels (80.92 years, up 181 days) and Wallonia (79.48 days, up 187 days).
This high increase is mainly due to a fall in deaths (down 4.2%) and the continual slow increase in the county’s population (up 0.5%), the Economy SPF says. “The next time we analyse causes of death we will be able to identify the most common causes and the time of year these increases occur”.
(Source: Belga)
