Infant mortality

1. Key messages

2. Infant mortality rate

359 deaths of infants observed in Belgium in 2022

In the year 2022, Belgian authorities registered a total of 359 infant deaths.

Among those, 332 deaths occurred in infants born from a mother who is registered in the National Register. There was one infant deaths registered in the Asylum Seeker Register in 2022. For 26 deaths (7.0%), the mother was not officially registered in Belgium or the infant death was only notified via a death certificate.

In the same year, the total number of live births was equal to 116,209, of which 113,593 (98%) were registered in the National Register, 502 (0.36%) were registered in the Asylum Seeker Register, and for 2,114 (1.8%) births the mother was not officially registered in Belgium or the birth was only notified with a birth certificate.

In 2022, the majority of infant deaths were attributed to perinatal affections and congenital malformations

Among children born alive in 2022, the leading causes of death before the age of one were perinatal affections (1.99 per 1,000 live births), followed by congenital malformations (0.63 per 1,000). These two causes accounted for 68% and 21% of infant deaths, respectively. External causes represented 4.2%, unknown causes 3.6%, and sudden infant death syndrome 2.7%.

After a decrease in the girl infant mortality rate in 2021, the number of deaths stabilizes

In 2022, the infant mortality rate was 2.9 per thousand live births. Infant mortality rates have decreased by 46% from 1998 (5.3‰) to 2022.

The infant mortality rate in 2022 was 2.6 per thousand live births in girls and 3.2 per thousand live births in boys, corresponding to an absolute gap of 0.6‰ and a sex ratio of 1.2. The fluctuations in these gender mortality gaps over time can be largely explained by the small number of infant deaths. In 2022, the number of deaths remained comparable to 2021.

After smoothing, the mortality differences between girls and boys persisted (respectively 2.9‰ and 3.6‰).

Infant mortality rates were higher in the Brussels-Capital Region

Regional differences were observed in infant mortality rates in 2022: the infant mortality rates were highest in the Walloon Region (3.2‰), followed by the Brussels Capital Region (2.8‰) and the Flemish Region (2.7‰). After smoothing, the 2022 infant mortality rates were higher in the Brussels Capital Region (3.5‰) compared to the Flemish Region (3.3‰) and the Walloon Region (3.2‰).

Over time, a decline has been observed in all regions. After a strong decline in the past and a strong rise in the last years, the infant mortality rate in the Brussels-Capital Region declined in 2021, and remained stable in 2022.

Infant mortality in Belgium is slightly higher than the EU-14 average

In 2022, the Belgian infant mortality was slightly higher than the EU-14 average (2.9‰). 

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View the metadata for this indicator

SPMA: Standardized Procedures for Mortality Analysis in Belgium

Background

The infant mortality rate reflects the mortality of children below 1 year. It includes both the consequences of perinatal events and the mortality occurring after the perinatal period, which is often preventable. The infant mortality rate is highly correlated to the country's level of development, the quality of medical care, and the availability of preventive services and health promotion interventions.

Higher infant mortality rates in boys compared to girls have for long been observed in nearly all countries in the world [3]. The explanation is complex, including important biological and genetic factors as well as environmental and behavioral factors resulting in a persistent mortality difference throughout infancy and even later [4,5].

Large fluctuations in yearly rates are observed at regional level, due to the small number of infant deaths. Meaningful comparisons of rates and trends by region are therefore best made using smoothed rates. In this overview, we use a moving average over 5 years period.

Deaths occurring in Belgium may occur in legal residents (registered in the National Register, with a Belgian or foreign nationality), asylum seekers (registered in the register of asylum seekers), or non-residents (travelers, illegal, etc.). Official statistics on infant mortality include legal residents and asylum seekers.

On this page, we first present all infant deaths in Belgium by residence status, and then focus on the deaths of infants whose mothers were legal residents.

Definitions

EU-14

The EU-14 corresponds to all countries that already belonged to the European Union between 1995 and 2004: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden. We compare the Belgian health status to that of the EU-14 because these countries have similar socioeconomic conditions. Note: The United Kingdom is not included since they have left the EU.

Infant mortality rate

The infant mortality rate is the number of deaths of children under one year of age per 1000 live births in the same year.

Perinatal affections

Perinatal affections arise during the perinatal period, which spans from 22 completed weeks of gestation and ends 7 completed days after birth. Leading perinatal affections include birth trauma and consequences of preterm birth. Although most deaths in this category occur during the perinatal period, a few deaths that are caused by perinatal affections occur later in life [6].

Congenital malformations

Congenital malformations are structural or functional anomalies that occur during intrauterine life and may be recognized prenatally, at birth, or sometimes only later in infancy. The most common serious congenital disorders are heart and neural tube defects, as well as Down syndrome [7].

External causes

External causes refer to deaths resulting from unintentional injuries (accidents), homicide, and other external factors such as medical misadventures, complications of medical or surgical care, or causes of undetermined intent.

Sudden infant death syndrome

Sudden infant death syndrome is the sudden and unexpected death of an apparently healthy baby, with no warning signs. These deaths most often occur while the child is sleeping [8].

Sex ratio

The sex ratio is the mortality rate of boys under the age of 1 divided by the mortality rate of girls under the age of 1. A sex ratio of 1.2 means that there are 1.2 times more infant deaths in boys than in girls.

References

1. Statbel, 1998-2021. https://statbel.fgov.be/en/themes/population/mortality-life-expectancy-and-causes-death/feto-infant-mortality
2. OECD Health Data, 2020. https://stats.oecd.org/
3. UN IGME. United Nations Interagency Group for Child Mortality Estimation; 2018. https://childmortality.org/data
4. Drevenstedt GL, Crimmins EM, Vasunilashorn S, Finch CE. The rise and fall of excess male infant mortality, 2008. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18362357/
5. Sidebotham P, Fraser J, Covington T, Freemantle J, Petrou S, Pulikottil-Jacob R, et al. Understanding why children die in high-income countries, 2014. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25209491/
6. World Health Organization, 2022. Perinatal Conditions. https://platform.who.int/mortality/themes/theme-details/topics/topic-details/MDB/perinatal-conditions/
7. World Health Organization, 2023. Malformation congénitales. https://www.who.int/fr/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/birth-defects
8. Office de la naissance et de l’enfance. Prévention de la mort subite du nourisson. https://www.one.be/public/0-1-an/sante/le-sommeil/prevention-de-la-mort-subite/

Please cite this page as: Sciensano. Mortality and Causes of Death: Infant mortality, Health Status Report, 12 Aug 2025, Brussels, Belgium, https://www.healthybelgium.be/en/health-status/mortality-and-causes-of-death/infant-mortality