Belgium vs Netherlands Demographics: Median age, Gender, Religion

Median age history and projection chart in
Belgium vs the Netherlands

Table

Year	Median age
	Belgium	Netherlands
1960	34.9	28.8
1961	34.9	28.8
1962	34.9	28.7
1963	34.9	28.7
1964	34.8	28.6
1965	34.8	28.6
1966	34.7	28.6
1967	34.7	28.5
1968	34.7	28.6
1969	34.6	28.6
1970	34.5	28.6
1971	34.4	28.7
1972	34.3	28.9
1973	34.3	29
1974	34.3	29.3
1975	34.2	29.4
1976	34.1	29.8
1977	34.1	30.3
1978	34.1	30.7
1979	34.1	31
1980	34.2	31.3
1981	34.3	31.6
1982	34.5	31.9
1983	34.8	32.3
1984	35	32.6
1985	35.2	32.9
1986	35.4	33.2
1987	35.6	33.5
1988	35.9	33.8
1989	36.1	34.1
1990	36.3	34.3
1991	36.5	34.6
1992	36.7	34.8
1993	37	35.1
1994	37.2	35.4
1995	37.5	35.7
1996	37.8	36.1
1997	38.1	36.4
1998	38.3	36.7
1999	38.6	37
2000	38.9	37.3
2001	39.2	37.5
2002	39.4	37.8
2003	39.7	38.1
2004	40	38.5
2005	40.2	38.9
2006	40.4	39.3
2007	40.6	39.7
2008	40.7	40
2009	40.8	40.3
2010	40.8	40.7
2011	40.9	41
2012	41.1	41.3
2013	41.2	41.6
2014	41.3	41.8
2015	41.4	42
2016	41.4	42.2
2017	41.6	42.3
2018	41.7	42.4
2019	41.8	42.5
2020	41.9	42.5
2021	42	42.6
2022	42.2	42.5
2023	42.4	42.4
2024	42.7	42.4
2025	42.9	42.5
2026	43.1	42.5
2027	43.3	42.6
2028	43.5	42.7
2029	43.8	42.8
2030	44	43
2031	44.2	43.1
2032	44.4	43.3
2033	44.6	43.5
2034	44.8	43.6
2035	45	43.8
2036	45.2	44
2037	45.4	44.2
2038	45.6	44.4
2039	45.7	44.6
2040	45.9	44.7
2041	45.9	44.9
2042	46	45.1
2043	46.1	45.2
2044	46.1	45.4
2045	46.1	45.6
2046	46.1	45.8
2047	46.2	46
2048	46.2	46.2
2049	46.2	46.3
2050	46.2	46.5

In 1960, the median age in Belgium was 34.9 years compared to 28.8 years in the Netherlands. As of 2024, the median age had increased to 42.7 years in Belgium and to 42.4 years in the Netherlands.

According to United Nations projections, the median age in Belgium is expected to increased to around 46.2 years by 2050 compared to 46.5 years in the Netherlands. The aging demographics forecast is based on previous years' birth rates and increasing life expectancy.

Demographic pyramid: age and gender distribution

Table

Age range	Share of population
	Belgium		Netherlands
	Male	Female	Male	Female
0-4	2.46%	2.36%	2.51%	2.39%
5-9	2.74%	2.62%	2.54%	2.42%
10-14	2.97%	2.84%	2.65%	2.52%
15-19	2.97%	2.83%	2.84%	2.72%
20-24	2.9%	2.78%	3.3%	3.19%
25-29	3.03%	2.98%	3.41%	3.33%
30-34	3.28%	3.27%	3.46%	3.37%
35-39	3.23%	3.24%	3.25%	3.18%
40-44	3.26%	3.27%	3.02%	3%
45-49	3.19%	3.16%	2.88%	2.9%
50-54	3.35%	3.28%	3.36%	3.39%
55-59	3.41%	3.36%	3.55%	3.54%
60-64	3.31%	3.35%	3.38%	3.42%
65-69	2.85%	3.01%	2.9%	2.98%
70-74	2.33%	2.59%	2.48%	2.61%
75-79	1.86%	2.24%	2.12%	2.37%
80+	2.16%	3.51%	2.05%	2.99%

The chart above is a variation of a population pyramid and represents a comparison of age and gender structure. Belgium has low demographic potential with 40% of people in the 0-34 age group compared to 40.7% and similar potential in the Netherlands.

Age dependency chart

Table

Year	Age dependency ratio
	Belgium			Netherlands
	Total	Young	Old	Total	Young	Old
1960	55.5%	36.8%	18.6%	63.9%	49.1%	14.7%
1961	56.1%	37.2%	18.9%	63.4%	48.5%	14.9%
1962	56.5%	37.3%	19.2%	62.3%	47.3%	15%
1963	56.9%	37.4%	19.4%	61.6%	46.4%	15.1%
1964	57.3%	37.6%	19.7%	61.1%	45.9%	15.3%
1965	57.8%	37.8%	20%	60.9%	45.5%	15.4%
1966	58.3%	38%	20.3%	60.6%	45%	15.5%
1967	58.6%	38%	20.6%	60.4%	44.7%	15.7%
1968	58.7%	37.9%	20.9%	60.3%	44.3%	16%
1969	58.8%	37.7%	21%	60.1%	44%	16.1%
1970	58.7%	37.5%	21.2%	59.9%	43.6%	16.3%
1971	58.6%	37.2%	21.4%	59.5%	43.2%	16.4%
1972	58.4%	36.9%	21.6%	59.1%	42.6%	16.5%
1973	58.1%	36.3%	21.7%	58.4%	41.8%	16.6%
1974	57.5%	35.6%	21.9%	57.6%	40.8%	16.8%
1975	56.8%	34.9%	21.9%	56.6%	39.7%	16.9%
1976	56%	34.1%	21.9%	55.5%	38.5%	16.9%
1977	55.3%	33.3%	22%	54.3%	37.3%	17%
1978	54.6%	32.5%	22.1%	53.3%	36.1%	17.2%
1979	53.9%	31.7%	22.2%	52.2%	34.9%	17.3%
1980	53.1%	31%	22.1%	51.1%	33.8%	17.4%
1981	52%	30.3%	21.7%	50.1%	32.7%	17.4%
1982	50.8%	29.6%	21.2%	49.2%	31.7%	17.5%
1983	49.6%	29%	20.6%	48.1%	30.6%	17.5%
1984	48.6%	28.4%	20.3%	47%	29.5%	17.5%
1985	48.3%	27.9%	20.4%	46.1%	28.5%	17.6%
1986	48.2%	27.5%	20.7%	45.5%	27.7%	17.8%
1987	48.3%	27.2%	21.1%	45.1%	27.1%	17.9%
1988	48.5%	27%	21.5%	44.9%	26.8%	18.1%
1989	48.9%	27%	21.9%	45%	26.6%	18.4%
1990	49.4%	27.1%	22.3%	45.2%	26.7%	18.5%
1991	49.9%	27.2%	22.7%	45.4%	26.8%	18.7%
1992	50.3%	27.3%	23%	45.7%	26.9%	18.8%
1993	50.7%	27.3%	23.3%	45.9%	27%	18.9%
1994	50.9%	27.3%	23.6%	46.2%	27.1%	19.1%
1995	51.2%	27.2%	24%	46.5%	27.2%	19.3%
1996	51.5%	27.1%	24.5%	46.7%	27.2%	19.4%
1997	51.8%	27%	24.8%	46.9%	27.3%	19.6%
1998	52.1%	26.9%	25.2%	47.2%	27.4%	19.7%
1999	52.3%	26.9%	25.4%	47.4%	27.6%	19.8%
2000	52.5%	26.8%	25.6%	47.6%	27.7%	19.9%
2001	52.5%	26.8%	25.8%	47.7%	27.8%	20%
2002	52.5%	26.6%	25.9%	47.8%	27.7%	20.1%
2003	52.5%	26.5%	26%	47.9%	27.7%	20.2%
2004	52.5%	26.3%	26.2%	48%	27.6%	20.5%
2005	52.3%	26.1%	26.2%	48.2%	27.4%	20.8%
2006	52%	25.9%	26.1%	48.2%	27.1%	21.1%
2007	51.6%	25.7%	25.9%	48.3%	26.8%	21.4%
2008	51.4%	25.6%	25.8%	48.4%	26.6%	21.8%
2009	51.5%	25.6%	25.9%	48.6%	26.4%	22.3%
2010	51.6%	25.7%	26%	48.9%	26.2%	22.8%
2011	52%	25.8%	26.2%	49.6%	26.1%	23.5%
2012	52.6%	25.9%	26.7%	50.6%	26%	24.6%
2013	53.2%	26%	27.1%	51.4%	25.9%	25.6%
2014	53.8%	26.1%	27.6%	52%	25.6%	26.4%
2015	54.2%	26.2%	28%	52.4%	25.4%	27.1%
2016	54.7%	26.3%	28.4%	52.7%	25.1%	27.6%
2017	55.2%	26.3%	28.8%	53%	24.8%	28.2%
2018	55.7%	26.4%	29.3%	53.3%	24.5%	28.7%
2019	56.1%	26.4%	29.7%	53.5%	24.2%	29.3%
2020	56.3%	26.3%	30%	53.8%	24%	29.8%
2021	56.6%	26.1%	30.5%	54.2%	23.9%	30.3%
2022	57%	25.9%	31%	54.4%	23.7%	30.7%
2023	57.3%	25.6%	31.7%	54.6%	23.5%	31.2%
2024	57.6%	25.2%	32.4%	55.1%	23.3%	31.8%

Age dependency is the ratio of people not in the labor force (children under 15 and adults 64+) to people aged 15 to 64.

Age dependency in Belgium increased from 52.5% to 57.6% between 2004 and 2024.

In the Netherlands, the ratio of dependent people increased from 48% to 55.1% between 2004 and 2024 with a decreased share of young people and an increased proportion of people aged 65+.

Working age demographic

Table

Year	Working age population share
	Belgium	Netherlands
1960	64.3%	61%
1961	64.1%	61.2%
1962	63.9%	61.6%
1963	63.8%	61.9%
1964	63.6%	62.1%
1965	63.4%	62.2%
1966	63.2%	62.3%
1967	63%	62.3%
1968	63%	62.4%
1969	63%	62.5%
1970	63%	62.5%
1971	63%	62.7%
1972	63.1%	62.9%
1973	63.3%	63.1%
1974	63.5%	63.5%
1975	63.8%	63.9%
1976	64.1%	64.3%
1977	64.4%	64.8%
1978	64.7%	65.2%
1979	65%	65.7%
1980	65.3%	66.2%
1981	65.8%	66.6%
1982	66.3%	67%
1983	66.9%	67.5%
1984	67.3%	68%
1985	67.4%	68.5%
1986	67.5%	68.7%
1987	67.4%	68.9%
1988	67.3%	69%
1989	67.2%	69%
1990	67%	68.9%
1991	66.7%	68.8%
1992	66.5%	68.6%
1993	66.4%	68.5%
1994	66.3%	68.4%
1995	66.1%	68.3%
1996	66%	68.2%
1997	65.9%	68.1%
1998	65.8%	68%
1999	65.7%	67.8%
2000	65.6%	67.8%
2001	65.6%	67.7%
2002	65.6%	67.7%
2003	65.6%	67.6%
2004	65.6%	67.5%
2005	65.6%	67.5%
2006	65.8%	67.5%
2007	66%	67.5%
2008	66%	67.4%
2009	66%	67.3%
2010	65.9%	67.1%
2011	65.8%	66.8%
2012	65.5%	66.4%
2013	65.3%	66%
2014	65%	65.8%
2015	64.8%	65.6%
2016	64.7%	65.5%
2017	64.4%	65.4%
2018	64.2%	65.2%
2019	64.1%	65.1%
2020	64%	65%
2021	63.9%	64.9%
2022	63.7%	64.7%
2023	63.6%	64.7%
2024	63.4%	64.5%
2025	63.3%	64.2%
2026	63.2%	63.9%
2027	63.1%	63.5%
2028	62.9%	63.1%
2029	62.7%	62.7%
2030	62.5%	62.3%
2031	62.3%	61.9%
2032	62.1%	61.5%
2033	61.9%	61.2%
2034	61.7%	60.8%
2035	61.5%	60.4%
2036	61.3%	60.2%
2037	61.1%	60%
2038	60.9%	59.8%
2039	60.6%	59.7%
2040	60.4%	59.7%
2041	60.2%	59.7%
2042	60%	59.7%
2043	59.7%	59.8%
2044	59.5%	59.8%
2045	59.2%	59.8%
2046	59%	59.8%
2047	58.8%	59.9%
2048	58.6%	59.9%
2049	58.4%	59.9%
2050	58.3%	59.9%

Between 2004 and 2024, the share of working-age demographics aged 15-64 changed from 65.6% to 63.4% in Belgium and from 67.5% to 64.5% in the Netherlands.

Share of young demographic (0-14 years old)

Table

Year	Share of people 0-14 years old
	Belgium	Netherlands
1960	23.7%	30%
1961	23.8%	29.7%
1962	23.8%	29.1%
1963	23.9%	28.7%
1964	23.9%	28.5%
1965	24%	28.3%
1966	24%	28.1%
1967	23.9%	27.8%
1968	23.9%	27.6%
1969	23.8%	27.5%
1970	23.6%	27.3%
1971	23.5%	27.1%
1972	23.3%	26.8%
1973	23%	26.4%
1974	22.6%	25.9%
1975	22.2%	25.3%
1976	21.8%	24.8%
1977	21.4%	24.2%
1978	21%	23.5%
1979	20.6%	22.9%
1980	20.3%	22.3%
1981	19.9%	21.8%
1982	19.6%	21.3%
1983	19.4%	20.7%
1984	19.1%	20.1%
1985	18.8%	19.5%
1986	18.6%	19.1%
1987	18.3%	18.7%
1988	18.2%	18.5%
1989	18.1%	18.4%
1990	18.1%	18.4%
1991	18.2%	18.4%
1992	18.2%	18.5%
1993	18.1%	18.5%
1994	18.1%	18.6%
1995	18%	18.6%
1996	17.9%	18.6%
1997	17.8%	18.6%
1998	17.7%	18.6%
1999	17.7%	18.7%
2000	17.6%	18.8%
2001	17.5%	18.8%
2002	17.5%	18.8%
2003	17.3%	18.7%
2004	17.2%	18.6%
2005	17.1%	18.5%
2006	17%	18.3%
2007	16.9%	18.1%
2008	16.9%	17.9%
2009	16.9%	17.7%
2010	16.9%	17.6%
2011	17%	17.4%
2012	17%	17.3%
2013	17%	17.1%
2014	17%	16.9%
2015	17%	16.6%
2016	17%	16.4%
2017	17%	16.2%
2018	16.9%	16%
2019	16.9%	15.8%
2020	16.8%	15.6%
2021	16.7%	15.5%
2022	16.5%	15.4%
2023	16.3%	15.2%
2024	16%	15%
2025	15.7%	14.9%
2026	15.4%	14.9%
2027	15.1%	14.8%
2028	14.9%	14.8%
2029	14.6%	14.8%
2030	14.4%	14.8%
2031	14.2%	14.8%
2032	14%	14.7%
2033	13.8%	14.7%
2034	13.6%	14.7%
2035	13.5%	14.7%
2036	13.4%	14.7%
2037	13.3%	14.6%
2038	13.3%	14.6%
2039	13.3%	14.6%
2040	13.4%	14.5%
2041	13.4%	14.5%
2042	13.5%	14.4%
2043	13.5%	14.4%
2044	13.6%	14.3%
2045	13.7%	14.2%
2046	13.8%	14.1%
2047	13.8%	14.1%
2048	13.9%	14%
2049	13.9%	13.9%
2050	13.9%	13.8%

The share of young people aged below 15 is 16% in Belgium and 15% in The Netherlands. Birth rates in Belgium compared to The Netherlands .

Share of old population (65+)

Table

Year	Share of population 65+ years old
	Belgium	Netherlands
1960	12%	9%
1961	12.1%	9.14%
1962	12.3%	9.26%
1963	12.4%	9.36%
1964	12.5%	9.47%
1965	12.7%	9.57%
1966	12.8%	9.67%
1967	13%	9.81%
1968	13.1%	9.95%
1969	13.3%	10.1%
1970	13.4%	10.2%
1971	13.5%	10.3%
1972	13.6%	10.4%
1973	13.8%	10.5%
1974	13.9%	10.7%
1975	14%	10.8%
1976	14.1%	10.9%
1977	14.2%	11%
1978	14.3%	11.2%
1979	14.4%	11.4%
1980	14.4%	11.5%
1981	14.3%	11.6%
1982	14%	11.7%
1983	13.8%	11.8%
1984	13.6%	11.9%
1985	13.7%	12%
1986	14%	12.2%
1987	14.2%	12.4%
1988	14.5%	12.5%
1989	14.7%	12.7%
1990	14.9%	12.8%
1991	15.1%	12.8%
1992	15.3%	12.9%
1993	15.5%	13%
1994	15.7%	13%
1995	15.9%	13.1%
1996	16.1%	13.2%
1997	16.4%	13.3%
1998	16.5%	13.4%
1999	16.7%	13.4%
2000	16.8%	13.5%
2001	16.9%	13.5%
2002	17%	13.6%
2003	17.1%	13.7%
2004	17.2%	13.8%
2005	17.2%	14%
2006	17.2%	14.2%
2007	17.1%	14.5%
2008	17.1%	14.7%
2009	17.1%	15%
2010	17.1%	15.3%
2011	17.3%	15.7%
2012	17.5%	16.3%
2013	17.7%	16.9%
2014	18%	17.4%
2015	18.2%	17.8%
2016	18.4%	18.1%
2017	18.6%	18.4%
2018	18.8%	18.8%
2019	19%	19.1%
2020	19.2%	19.4%
2021	19.5%	19.7%
2022	19.8%	19.9%
2023	20.1%	20.2%
2024	20.6%	20.5%
2025	21%	20.9%
2026	21.4%	21.3%
2027	21.8%	21.7%
2028	22.2%	22.1%
2029	22.7%	22.5%
2030	23.1%	23%
2031	23.6%	23.4%
2032	23.9%	23.7%
2033	24.3%	24.1%
2034	24.6%	24.5%
2035	25%	24.8%
2036	25.3%	25.2%
2037	25.6%	25.4%
2038	25.8%	25.6%
2039	26.1%	25.7%
2040	26.2%	25.8%
2041	26.4%	25.8%
2042	26.6%	25.8%
2043	26.7%	25.9%
2044	26.9%	25.9%
2045	27.1%	26%
2046	27.3%	26%
2047	27.4%	26.1%
2048	27.6%	26.1%
2049	27.7%	26.2%
2050	27.8%	26.3%

The share of older people aged 65 and over is 20.6% in Belgium and 20.5% in the Netherlands. Life expectancy in Belgium compared to the Netherlands .