What is life expectancy in Belgium?

Life expectancy in Belgium was 82.11 years in 2023, according to Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.

What is the highest life expectancy recorded in Belgium?

The highest recorded value was 82.11 years in 2023.

What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Belgium?

The lowest recorded value was 32.47 years in 1866.

How does Belgium rank for life expectancy?

Belgium ranks 35th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.

Is life expectancy rising or falling in Belgium?

Over the last ten years it is up 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this Belgium data come from?

The figures come from Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Life expectancy in Belgium

Name: Life expectancy in Belgium
Creator: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Belgium: Life expectancy was 82.11 years in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)

82.11 years

Change on year

up 1.2%

World rank

35th

of 236 countries

All-time high

82.11 years

in 2023

All-time low

32.47 years

in 1866

Years of data

178

1841–2023

Life expectancy in Belgium, 1841–2023

Source: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.

Analysis

In 2023, life expectancy in Belgium stood at 82.11 years. That is the highest value across all 178 years on record.

That represents a change of up 1.2% on the previous year and up 2.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, life expectancy in Belgium peaked at 82.11 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 32.47 years, in 1866.

That places Belgium 35th out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 178 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1840s	38.66 years	34.51 years	41.91 years	9
1850s	40.52 years	37.46 years	42.3 years	10
1860s	40.89 years	32.47 years	45.1 years	10
1870s	42.19 years	34.36 years	44.68 years	10
1880s	44.64 years	42.49 years	46.05 years	10
1890s	45.94 years	43.16 years	48.84 years	10
1900s	49.49 years	46.69 years	51.07 years	10
1910s	50.91 years	49.24 years	52.45 years	5
1920s	56.15 years	53.99 years	57.46 years	10
1930s	59.3 years	57.1 years	60.31 years	10
1940s	60.5 years	55.96 years	65.43 years	10
1950s	68.48 years	66.31 years	70.31 years	10
1960s	70.45 years	69.62 years	70.91 years	10
1970s	71.98 years	70.94 years	73.2 years	10
1980s	74.47 years	73.24 years	75.65 years	10
1990s	76.82 years	76.06 years	77.65 years	10
2000s	78.87 years	77.77 years	79.85 years	10
2010s	80.9 years	80.04 years	81.84 years	10
2020s	81.43 years	80.8 years	82.11 years	4

Countries ranked near Belgium

32 Bermuda 82.31 years compare
33 Luxembourg 82.23 years compare
34 Netherlands 82.16 years compare
36 New Zealand 82.09 years compare
37 Guadeloupe 82.05 years compare
38 Austria 81.96 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More health data for Belgium

Age population, age 14, male, interpolated 71,068 (2025)
Population ages 15-64, total 7.56 million (2025)
Population ages 15-64, male 64.6% (2025)
Population ages 15-64, male 3.81 million (2025)
Population ages 15-64, female 62.1% (2025)
Age population, age 15, male, interpolated 71,504 (2025)
Age population, age 15, female, interpolated 68,255 (2025)
Age population, age 13, male, interpolated 70,029 (2025)
Age population, age 12, male, interpolated 68,902 (2025)
Age population, age 13, female, interpolated 67,114 (2025)

All data for Belgium →

Frequently asked questions

What is life expectancy in Belgium?: Life expectancy in Belgium was 82.11 years in 2023, according to Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest life expectancy recorded in Belgium?: The highest recorded value was 82.11 years in 2023.
What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Belgium?: The lowest recorded value was 32.47 years in 1866.
How does Belgium rank for life expectancy?: Belgium ranks 35th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is life expectancy rising or falling in Belgium?: Over the last ten years it is up 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Belgium data come from?: The figures come from Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 178 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator: Life expectancy
Unit: years
Source: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 236 places, 19,452 data points, 1543–2023
Last refreshed: 06 August 2026

Period life expectancy is the number of years the average person born in a certain year would live if they experienced the same chances of dying at each age as people did that year.