A total of 113,800 births were recorded in Belgium last year – 2.4% fewer than the average Belgian birthrate between 2018 and 2021, the national statistics agency Statbel reported.
The office released its annual estimation for last year's birth rates, after surveying Belgium's National Register on 21 January 2023. Their provisional figures showed that 113,800 births were registered in 2022, of which 63,400 were born in Flanders, 35,800 in Wallonia and 14,600 in Brussels.
By comparison, there were 2,800 fewer births in 2022 than the average birth rate during the previous three years – which stood at 116,600.
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The findings also reveal disparities between Beligum's regions. The decline in births was much greater in Brussels than Wallonia or Flanders. With just 14,600 births, Brussels saw a 11.1% decline in birthrate. Flanders and Wallonia only experienced decreases of 1.2% and 0.6% respectively.
This follows from last year's projections, where Brussels was the only region to record a fall in birthrate.
