By that year, Belgium's population will have risen to 13 million and newborns will live to an average age of 90, according to the new population projections from the Federal Planning Office.
Last year, Belgium's population grew by almost 50,000, bringing the total population to 11.8 million.
Population growth will remain positive until 2080, but will be weaker than in the past, fluctuating between 15,000 and 25,000 inhabitants extra per year. As the number of births lags behind the number of deaths, the Planning Bureau believes that population growth will exclusively be the result of international migration.
While the average number of children per woman has fallen from 1.9 at the end of the 2000s to 1.5 in 2025, the new forecasts assume a gradual increase to around 1.6 children per woman from the 2040s onwards. However, this fertility level remains historically low.
Higher life expectancy
By 2080 average life expectancy at birth will be 90 years for women (compared to 85 years in 2025) and 89.2 years for men (81 years in 2025). By 2080, the life expectancy of men will be almost equal to that of women, whereas in 2025 the difference was still 4 years.
However, the increase in life expectancy has slowed significantly over time. Life expectancy for men rose by 6.1 years between 2000 and 2025, while the expected increase over the next 25 years is only 4.3 years, compared to 3.7 and 2.6 years for women respectively. Between 2050 and 2080, the increase will be 4.3 years for men and 2.8 years for women.
An ageing population
The ageing of the population also continues: in coming decades, there will be an increasing number of people aged 67 and over in relation to the working-age population (18 to 66 years).
By 2080, there will be 45 people aged 67 and over for every 100 people aged 18 to 66. In 2025, this figure was 28, and at the beginning of the century it was 23.