Demographics of Belgium

The total population of Belgium is 11,498,519 people. People in Belgium speak the Dutch, German, and French languages. The linguistic diversity of Belgium is rather diverse according to a fractionalization scale which for Belgium is 0.5409. The median age is approximately 43.1 years. Life expectancy in Belgium is 80. The female fertility rate in Belgium is 1.8. Around 22% of the population of Belgium are obese. The ethnic diversity is rather diverse according to a fractionalization scale which for Belgium is 0.5554. To find out specifics of language, religion, age, gender distribution, and advancement of people in Belgium see the sections below, as well as visit the section concerning the education in the country.

Population

In Belgium, the population density is 368 people per square kilometer (957 per square mile). Because of this statistic, this country is considered to be densely populated. The total population of Belgium is 11,498,519 people. Belgium has approximately 1,387,940 foreign immigrants. Immigrants in Belgium represent 0.5 percent of the total number of immigrants in the world. Immigrants in Belgium represent 10.4 percent of the total number of immigrants in the world. The ethnic diversity of Belgium is rather diverse according to a fractionalization scale based on ethnicity. Ethnic fractionalization (EF) deals with the number, sizes, socioeconomic distribution, and geographical location of distinct cultural groups, usually in a state or some otherwise delineated territory. Specific cultural features might refer to language, skin color, religion, ethnicity, customs and traditions, history, or other distinctive criteria, alone or in combination. Frequently, these features are used for social exclusion and the monopolization of power. The index of ethnic fractionalization in Belgium is 0.5554. This means that there is a relatively high number of unique ethnic groups in Belgium. EF is usually measured as 1 minus the Herfindahl concentration index of ethnolinguistic group shares, which reproduces the probability that two randomly drawn individuals from the population belong to different groups. The theoretical maximum of EF of 1 means that each person belongs to a different group. Read below for statistics of Belgium on median age and gender distribution at various ages.

Age

The median age is approximately 43.1 years. The median age for men is 41.7, while the median age for women is 44.4.

Gender

The sex ratio, or the number of males for each female (estimated at birth), is 1.045. It can be further divided into the following categories: sex ratio under 15 - 1.04; sex ratio from 15 to 64 - 1.02; sex ratio over 64 - 0.71; total sex ratio - 0.96. Total sex ratio is different from sex ratio estimated at birth. This is due to the fact that some newborns are considered in the sex ratio estimated at birth but pass away within the first weeks of their life and are not included in the total sex ratio.

Religion

The majority religion of Belgium is Christianity, the followers of which comprise 64.2% of all religious believers in the country. Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ as presented in the New Testament. Christianity is the world's largest religion, with over 2.4 billion adherents, known as Christians. Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the savior of humanity whose coming as Christ or the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament. Besides Christianity, there are several other religions present within the country. Other religions in Belgium are Islam, Buddhism, folk religions, Judaism. The religious diversity of Belgium is vaguely diverse according to a fractionalization scale based on the number of religions in Belgium. The index of religious fractionalization in Belgium is 0.2127. This score means that within the country there is one major with a few other minor beliefs.

General development

Belgium is considered to be a developed nation. The developmental stage of a nation is determined by a number of factors including, but not limited to, economic prosperity, life expectancy, income equality, and quality of life. As a developed nation, Belgium is able to provide its citizens with social services like public education, healthcare, and law enforcement. Citizens of developed nations enjoy a high standard of living and longer life expectancies than citizens of developing nations. In Belgium, 82 in every 100 people use internet. Belgium has a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.881. Belgium has a very high HDI score. This indicates that nearly all citizens are able to attain a desirable life because of social and economic support; citizens with a low standard of living receive aid and support and have the opportunity to advance in society. The migration rate in Belgium is 5.87%. In Belgium, 15.1% of the population lives below the poverty line. The percentage of citizens living below the poverty line in Belgium is fairly high, but is not reason for complete concern with regard to investments. Potential financial backers should look at other economic markers, including GDP, urbanization rate, and strength of currency, before making any decisions regarding investments.

Language

People in Belgium speak the Dutch, German, and French languages. The linguistic diversity of Belgium is rather diverse according to a fractionalization scale based on the number of unrelated languages spoken in Belgium. The index of linguistic fractionalization in Belgium is 0.5409. This means that there are several major languages spoken in Belgium. Unrelated languages share few characteristics of grammatical structure, vocabulary, and etymological heritage. Linguistic diversity often results in issues of social and cultural fractionalization that can impact a country’s political circumstance and public policies.