Just over 4% of the Belgian population over 15 years old say they suffer from 'Long Covid' after a Covid-19 infection, according to the results of the National Health Institute Sciensano's 2023-2024 health survey.
The most recent national health survey – the first after the Covid-19 pandemic – provides the first insight into how often Long Covid occurs in Belgium. This concerns people who still have symptoms after their Covid-19 infection that persist for three months and cannot be explained by another diagnosis.
In 2023-2024, more than half (56.7%) of people over 15 years old indicated that they had had a Covid-19 infection in the past. That percentage is significantly higher in Flanders (59.7%) than in Brussels (53.5%) and Wallonia (51.9%).
'Major impact on daily life'
Nationally speaking, 8.9% thought they had had a serious Covid-19 infection. Additionally, 4.2% of respondents indicated that they had Long Covid. This share is roughly the same in the three regions, but is significantly higher among women (5%) than among men (3.5%).
The highest share of people with Long Covid (7%) is between 45 and 54 years old. Unlike many other conditions, there are no socio-economic differences for Long Covid in Belgium.
About a quarter (24.1%) of respondents who say they suffer from Long Covid say that the condition has "a major impact on their daily activities." Additionally, 36.6% have been diagnosed by a doctor or a health worker.
The report also shows that the Covid-19 pandemic has had no lasting consequences for the way in which Belgians assess their general health and well-being: about 22% of Belgians assess their health as poor – a percentage that has remained fairly stable over time.
However, Belgians are still doing better than the European average (30.4%).
A representative sample of 7,001 people in Belgium was interviewed for the health survey.
