By 2060, half of Belgian households will comprise a single person, per Federal Planning Bureau figures. This is reported today (Tuesday) by Het Nieuwsblad and De Standaard. Le Soir considers the issue of the Belgian population being close on 13 million people by this time.
Last year (2016), one in three households were made up of a single person. “This increase may be attributed to two particular groups,” per Dimitri Mortelmans, a sociologist at Antwerp University (UAntwerpen).
He goes on, “There is an ageing population. As many single individuals as widows and widowers wish to stay independent for longer at home.”
Alongside this age group, there is the ‘Sex and the City’ generation. Mortelmans says, “These are single people happy to live in large vibrant cities.”
The Federal Planning Bureau also evokes a third group: that of single men between 30 and 50 who, as a general trend, have a divorce behind them.
Philippe Donnay of the Federal Planning Bureau says, “These results invite us to reflect upon the situation.” He goes on, “Regarding transport and accommodation policies, we should take account of these predictions.”
Le Soir mentions another prediction from the Federal Planning Bureau. The average increase of 40,000 inhabitants per year in Belgium, means that the population is likely to reach 13 million by 2060.
The Brussels Times
