Number of births in Belgium drops for the 7th year in a row

Number of births in Belgium drops for the 7th year in a row

The number of births in Belgium has dropped for the seventh year in a row, according to Statbel, the Belgian statistical office.

In 2017, there were 119,102 births, which puts Belgium just above the European average. 

In 2010 there were 129,173 births in Belgium, in 2016 there were 121,161. That same year, women had an average of 1.68 children, a year later that was 1.64. On average, that still puts Belgian fertility just over the European average of 1.59 children per woman. Also above that average are France (1.9), Sweden (1.78), Ireland (1.78), Denmark (1.75) and the United Kingdom (1.74).

The average age of mothers in Belgium at the birth of their child continues to rise. The average age at which women became a mother for the first time in 2016 was 30.6 years old, in 1998 it was at 27.3.

Maïthé Chini
The Brussels Times


Copyright © 2024 The Brussels Times. All Rights Reserved.