Population of Belgium to reach 13.1 million by 2060

Belgium’s population (11.2 million in 2013) could reach 11.4 million by 2020 and 13.1 million by 2060, according to the latest calculations from the Federal Planning Bureau (FPB) and General Statistics Department.

In the short term, Belgium’s population growth is slightly lower than expected, while the long term forecast shows an even greater growth than was previously thought. Last year the FPB predicted a total population of 12.5 million by 2060. The Bureau has since revised their prediction, with an additional 600,000 inhabitants. "New insights into international migration have affected the predictions," Johan Duyck of the FPB told brusselnieuws.be.

"In the long term, taking into account the expected growth of the world population and increasing globalisation and mobility, migration flows should rise again,” according to an FPB press release. This will be only slightly tempered by stricter rules for family reunification which are expected to inhibit the growth of non-European migration in the short term.

The predictions include a significant increase in the total number of households in Belgium, as the number of single parent families continues to rise, by as much as 23.5% by 2060.

Life expectancy is also expected to increase, to 86.3 years for men and 88.4 years for women by 2060, while fertility rates across the country should remain steady at about 1.8 children per woman.