Mortality and Causes of Death

This chapter presents an overview of general (all ages), premature (below 75 years old), and infant (below one year old) mortality in Belgium. All-cause and cause-specific mortality are analyzed for general and premature mortality.

General mortality

In 2024, 112,029 deaths were observed in Belgium. In 2024, age-adjusted mortality rates continued to decrease. The age-adjusted mortality rate in 2024 was 1.4 times higher in men than in women. Geographical disparities were observed, with lower age-standardized mortality rates in the Flemish region for both men and women.

Causes of death 

In 2022, tumours and cardiovascular diseases remained the main groups of causes of death. There was an increase in mortality from respiratory, mental and neurological diseases. The main specific cause of death was cerebrovascular diseases, except in the Flemish Region, where it was dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

Premature mortality

In 2024, the age-adjusted premature mortality rate was 312 per 100,000 inhabitants in Belgium, a decrease compared to previous years. The decrease between 2010 and 2024 was more pronounced among men (-23%) than among women (-15%). Over time, the age-adjusted premature mortality rate is much higher in men than in women. Over time, large regional and district disparities in age-adjusted premature mortality rates are present in Belgium. Belgium scored poorly in terms of premature mortality rates among EU-15 countries in 2018.

Causes of premature mortality

In 2022, the causes of premature death (before age 75) responsible for the greatest number of years of life lost are suicide, lung cancer and ischaemic heart disease in men, and breast cancer, suicide and lung cancer in women. For most causes, premature mortality rates declined between 2012 and 2022, except for lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in women, which increased. In 2022, lung cancer was the leading specific cause of premature mortality in all three regions of the country, for both men and women. It thus surpasses COVID-19, which has been the leading cause of premature death in 2020 and 2021, particularly in the Brussels-Capital Region and the Walloon Region.

Infant mortality

In 2022, the infant mortality rate was 2.9 per thousand live births. Infant mortality has sharply declined over the last decades in Belgium. Rates and trends are similar in the Flemish Region and in the Walloon Region.