Figures from Statistics Flanders show that singles today form the largest group in Flemish society. More people also died in Flanders than were born In 2024. The trend, which started in since 2020, seems to have become more or less permanent.
Flemish households are undergoing a quiet revolution. The average household size fell further last year from 2.44 people in 2000 to 2.28 at the beginning of 2025 with the number of single-occupant households rising even faster.
Single-occupant households are the most common household type, accounting for a share of 33 per cent of the total. The growth in the number of people living alone is also strongest among those aged 67 and over, which promises to create additional challenges in the future in terms of housing policy, care and social services.
Population balance under threat
With almost 61,800 births - 31,600 boys and 30,200 girls - and almost 65,500 deaths, the natural balance, the difference between the number of births and deaths, was 3,700 in the negative in the Flemish Region last year.
The negative natural balance resurfaced in 2020 for the first time in almost 80 years, mainly due to the corona pandemic that caused a sharp rise in the number of deaths.
The following year, although more births than deaths were recorded again, the recovery was short-lived as 2022 and then also 2023 ended with a negative natural balance.
Nevertheless, the Flemish population did manage to grow by a small 0.6 per cent due to migration.
On 1 January this year, the Flemish region counted 6,865,000 inhabitants, about 43,000 more than in early 2024. This brings us to a population density of 504 inhabitants per km2 on average.
Aging population another challenge
Besides the challenge of the negative natural population balance, the Flemish Region is currently undergoing significant demographic transformation in other areas. For instance, the ageing population is continuing to increase and traditional family structures are increasingly giving way to new forms of households.
According to figures from Statistics Flanders, on 1 January 2025 more than 19 per cent of the population will be 67 or older, compared to less than 15 per cent in the year 2000.
This is mainly due to the baby boomer generation now advancing to the upper age groups. The over-85s made up just over 3 per cent of the total population in early January 2025, up from less than 2 per cent in 2000, and the number of centenarians rose from less than 500 to nearly 1,900 over that period.