Health in Flanders, Belgium: official figures
Life expectancy at birth was 83.3 years in 2024 (82.4 for Belgium); the highest of 3 regions in Belgium.
What is the death rate in Flanders?
Adjusting for age, 848.4 people per 100,000 died in 2021 (Belgium: 921.4; EU: 1,073.4). Age-standardised rates allow fair comparison between places with older and younger populations.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow many people die of cancer in Flanders?
Cancer killed 204.3 people per 100,000 in 2023 (age-standardised), against 216.1 for Belgium as a whole and 233.1 across the EU. In 2015 it was 236.8.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow many people die of heart disease in Flanders?
Heart and circulatory diseases caused 194.5 deaths per 100,000 in 2023 (age-standardised), against 209.6 for Belgium as a whole and 312.9 across the EU. In 2015 it was 276.4.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow many people die of respiratory disease in Flanders?
Respiratory diseases caused 84.2 deaths per 100,000 in 2023 (age-standardised), against 95.7 for Belgium as a whole and 75.2 across the EU. In 2015 it was 100.2.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyWhat is the suicide rate in Flanders?
In 2023, 13.1 people per 100,000 took their own life (age-standardised), against 13.5 for Belgium as a whole and 10.4 across the EU. In 2015 it was 16.2.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow many people die in accidents in Flanders?
Accidents, injuries, violence and other external causes killed 54.8 per 100,000 in 2023 (age-standardised), against 61.1 for Belgium as a whole and 49.4 across the EU. In 2015 it was 53.8.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyWhat is the infant mortality rate in Flanders?
The infant mortality rate was 3.3 per 1,000 live births in 2024, against 3.5 for Belgium as a whole and 3.5 across the EU. In 2014 it was 3.2.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyCan people in Flanders get medical care?
0.3% of people said they could not get a medical examination they needed in 2025 because it was too expensive, too far or the waiting list was too long (Belgium: 0.9%). In 2019 it was 1.0%.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow many people die on the roads in Flanders?
Road accidents killed 37 people per million residents in 2024, against 40 for Belgium as a whole. In 2014 it was 63.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyWhat is life expectancy for men and women in Flanders?
Women in Flanders could expect to live to 85.2 and men to 81.4 at 2024 death rates, a gap of 3.8 years.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow long do people live after 65 in Flanders?
People who reached 65 could expect 21.2 more years of life in 2024 (Belgium: 20.6).
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow Flanders compares with other regions
Deaths per 100,000 (age-standardised, all causes) (2021)
Flanders ranks 3 of 3, highest first.
| Rank | Region | Deaths per 100,000 (age-standardised, all causes) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wallonia | 1,056.8 |
| 2 | Brussels-Capital Region | 914.1 |
| 3 | Flanders | 848.4 |
Cancer deaths per 100,000 (age-standardised) (2023)
Flanders ranks 3 of 3, highest first.
| Rank | Region | Cancer deaths per 100,000 (age-standardised) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wallonia | 238.1 |
| 2 | Brussels-Capital Region | 213.7 |
| 3 | Flanders | 204.3 |
Heart and circulatory deaths per 100,000 (age-standardised) (2023)
Flanders ranks 3 of 3, highest first.
| Rank | Region | Heart and circulatory deaths per 100,000 (age-standardised) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wallonia | 237.2 |
| 2 | Brussels-Capital Region | 200.4 |
| 3 | Flanders | 194.5 |
Respiratory deaths per 100,000 (age-standardised) (2023)
Flanders ranks 3 of 3, highest first.
| Rank | Region | Respiratory deaths per 100,000 (age-standardised) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wallonia | 117.8 |
| 2 | Brussels-Capital Region | 99.1 |
| 3 | Flanders | 84.2 |
Suicides per 100,000 (age-standardised) (2023)
Flanders ranks 2 of 3, highest first.
| Rank | Region | Suicides per 100,000 (age-standardised) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wallonia | 15.1 |
| 2 | Flanders | 13.1 |
| 3 | Brussels-Capital Region | 9.6 |
Deaths from accidents, injury and violence per 100,000 (2023)
Flanders ranks 2 of 3, highest first.
| Rank | Region | Deaths from accidents, injury and violence per 100,000 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wallonia | 73.7 |
| 2 | Flanders | 54.8 |
| 3 | Brussels-Capital Region | 53.6 |
Infant deaths per 1,000 live births (2024)
Flanders ranks 2 of 3, highest first.
| Rank | Region | Infant deaths per 1,000 live births |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wallonia | 3.9 |
| 2 | Flanders | 3.3 |
| 3 | Brussels-Capital Region | 3.2 |
Unmet need for medical care (cost, distance or waiting list) (2025)
Flanders ranks 3 of 3, highest first.
| Rank | Region | Unmet need for medical care (cost, distance or waiting list) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wallonia | 1.8% |
| 2 | Brussels-Capital Region | 1.8% |
| 3 | Flanders | 0.3% |
Road deaths per million people (2024)
Flanders ranks 2 of 3, highest first.
| Rank | Region | Road deaths per million people |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wallonia | 55 |
| 2 | Flanders | 37 |
| 3 | Brussels-Capital Region | 9 |
More on Flanders: overview · economy and jobs · education and schools · poverty and living standards · government budget · government and politics · Belgium
Sources
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset demo_r_mlifexp: Life expectancy at birth, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 62800ed9bbb3…)
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset tran_r_acci: Victims in road accidents by NUTS 2 region, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a183ad1f888d…)
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset demo_r_minfind: Infant mortality rates by NUTS 2 region, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 60cbafea3657…)
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset hlth_cd_asdr2: Causes of death: standardised death rate by NUTS 2 region of residence, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 308c4b705d5d…)
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset hlth_silc_08_r: Self-reported unmet needs for medical examination by NUTS 2 region, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 e5484460cdfc…)
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset demo_r_mlifexp: Life expectancy by age, sex and NUTS 2 region, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f5a2a33406b9…)
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