The number of patients opting for euthanasia in Belgium rose by nearly 17% in 2024, amounting to 3,991 cases, according to figures by the Federal Control and Evaluation Commission on Euthanasia (FCEE) on Wednesday.
The FCEE received and examined 3,991 euthanasia registration documents last year, and ruled that all of them met the legal requirements. With that, euthanasia represented 3.6% of deaths in 2024, data from statistics agency Statbel showed – up from 3.1% in 2023.
The figures show a sharp 25% increase in the number of Dutch-speaking patients: at 3,042, they represented more than 76% of cases in 2024. On the French-speaking side, however, there was a decline from 1,001 in 2023 to 949 last year. "The commission has no possible explanation for this," they said.
The bulk of patients were over 70 years old (72.6%) and over 43% were older than 80. "Euthanasia in patients younger than 40 years remains rare," said the FCEE. Last year, there were only 50 cases in this age group. One case involved euthanasia in a minor. "Since the extension of the law in 2014, this brings the total number of registered cases in minors to six."
Physical or psychological suffering
More than half of those who opted for euthanasia suffered from cancer (54%). This was followed by patients with various chronic and incurable diseases (polypathology) with over a quarter (26.8%), severe neurological diseases (8.1%), respiratory diseases (2.9%) and cardiovascular diseases (2.6%). "Euthanasia for psychiatric disorders and cognitive impairment remains rare."
In 76.6% of cases, death was expected in the short term. However, euthanasia in patients who are not terminal did increase, especially among those with multiple chronic conditions. The vast majority of patients experienced both physical and psychological suffering (82%). Just under 16% experienced only physical pain and 1.9% only psychological suffering.
Additionally, 120 patients living abroad underwent euthanasia in Belgium last year. These are the first complete euthanasia figures on foreign patients as the anonymity of the registration document was only lifted in March 2024. Before then, patients were not obliged to disclose their place of residence to the FCEE.
Coming from abroad
By far the most foreign patients in the last ten months of 2024 were French: 106 (or 88.3%). Additionally, six Belgians who lived abroad (from France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Germany, Italy and the United States) are also included in the statistics.
Two patients from the Netherlands and two from Germany also underwent euthanasia in Belgium, as did one patient each from Spain, Hungary, Portugal and England.
As these are the first complete statistics, there is no basis for comparison. However, Wim Distelmans, professor of palliative medicine and Dutch-language president of the FCEE, did say that the number of patients coming from abroad is "progressively increasing."
According to the committee, the majority of patients from abroad who received euthanasia in Belgium suffered from neurological disorders, tumours or a combination of several chronic and incurable conditions (polypathology).
