By 2070, the Belgian population will increase to 12.9 million inhabitants. This is evident from the demographic outlook for 2021-2070 of the Federal Planning Bureau. In addition, the life expectancy of Belgians is going up again. By 2070, women could reach an average of 90 years and men 88 years. The corona crisis will not normally affect population growth in the long term.
Currently, we are in our country with just over 11.5 million inhabitants. By the year 2070, that number will increase by 1.3 million to a total of 12.9 million. Thus, the population will continue to grow, but at a slower pace than in the last 30 years. Compared to the last three decades, the average number of additional inhabitants per year has halved: between 1992 and 2020, that number increased by 52,000 per year. Between 2021 and 2070, the increase will be 27,000 inhabitants.
The corona year 2020 was marked by a real excess mortality in our country, which led to a decrease in life expectancy. In 2019, the average life expectancy for women was 84 years and for men 79 years. In 2020, it dropped to 83 and 78.
In the past year, however, we have not seen any significant excess mortality. From 2021, we expect another upward trend that is in line with the pre-crisis increase. We assume that the corona crisis will not have a long-term effect on the mortality rate. By 2070, life expectancy for women will increase from 84 to 90 years, and for men from 80 to 88 years.
