Healthcare in Belgium

The effectiveness of the health care system in Belgium is well above average in a global comparison.

Probably the most important indicator that can be used to summarize the efficiency of all measures is general life expectancy. In other words, the theoretical age that a newborn child could potentially reach today. At the moment, this age in Belgium is 79.5 years for men and 84.4 years for women. For comparison: worldwide life expectancy is about 10.5 years lower (men: 68.9 / women: 73.9 years).

A total of 5,009.46 USD per inhabitant is spent annually on health measures at state expense. This corresponds to approximately 11.1 percent of the gross domestic product. Internationally, this amount averages 1,177.15 USD (~ 10.9% of the respective GDP).

Back to overview: Belgium

Spread of COVID-19 in Belgium

Current incidence in the week ending 06/02/2023: 0.7 new infections per 100,000 population

Since the beginning of the pandemic until June 2nd, 2023, a total of 4,799,107 infected people and 34,336 deaths have been reported in Belgium.

The total of 4,799,107 infected people currently represents 41.65 percent of the total population. The number of new infections during the seven days preceding June 2nd, 2023, was 83, for a 7-day incidence of 0.7 cases per 100,000 population. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, this results in a mortality rate of about 0.7 percent in Belgium.

Current vaccination status

According to official WHO data, a total of 29.12 million vaccine doses have been administered as of May 14th, 2023. More recent data are not yet available to WHO. There are 9.25 million people who have received at least one vaccination (80.3 percent). The booster vaccination was received by 7.24 million people (62.9 percent).

9.16 million of these are considered fully vaccinated in Belgium (= 79.5 percent).
This means that Belgium is still one of the better countries in terms of vaccination coverage. The vaccination rate is higher in 47 countries.

Weight and size

	Male	Female
Body height	179 cm	164 cm
BMI	26.8	25.7
Weight	85.9 kg	68.8 kg

Diseases

	Belgium	Ø worldwide
Diabetes *	4.60%	8.81%
Tuberculosis	0.08‰	1.34‰

* The number of people suffering from diabetes refers only to inhabitants aged between 20 and 79 years.

Child vaccinations

	Belgium	Ø worldwide
Measles	96.0%	81.7%
Hepatitis B	0.10%	0.08%
DTP *	9.80%	8.14%

* DTP is a combined basic vaccination against diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough) and tetanus, which should be given to children up to the age of 23 months.

In Belgium, 23.4 percent of all over 15-year-olds are still smokers.

Medical supplies

The medical care provided by doctors and hospitals in Belgium is above average and also exceeds the average achieved in the EU countries. The country provides 5.6 hospital beds per 1,000 inhabitants. The global mean here is 2.9 beds. Within the EU, 4.6 beds are available for every 1,000 residents.

With about 38,500 physicians in Belgium, there are about 3.32 doctors per 1000 inhabitants. Here again the comparison: worldwide this standard is 1.50 physicians per 1,000 inhabitants and in the EU is 3.57.

Through medical care, the mortality of major known diseases can be reduced to an above-average extent. For example, only about 11 percent of all people who suffer from cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases or chylomicron retention disease (CRD) currently die.

Drinking water supply

The drinking water supply in Belgium is 100 percent tapped for all inhabitants. Only very few countries achieve this standard, where every inhabitant has a water connection in the immediate vicinity with tested drinking water. In a global comparison, only about 74 percent of the population has direct access to tested and always available drinking water. Within the European Union, this share is 98 percent. Only in a few countries does the proportion fall below 10 percent.

Sources

The above data correspond to the information from the World Health Organization, Global Health Workforce Statistics, UNICEF, State of the World's Children, Childinfo, Global Health Observatory Data Repository and OECD. The case numbers for the spread of the COVID-19 come from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

Average age by countryRising average age worldwide: since 1950 alone, more than 4 years. A list by country.

Average life expectancy by countryInternational ranking of life expectancy in 119 countries including summary by continents. Explanation of significant factors.

Quality of life 2023 in country comparisonCompare the quality of life around the globe: In which countries is life pleasant, safe and healthy?