Belgium - Population, total

The value for Population, total in Belgium was 11,544,240 as of 2020. As the graph below shows, over the past 60 years this indicator reached a maximum value of 11,544,240 in 2020 and a minimum value of 9,153,489 in 1960.

Definition: Total population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship. The values shown are midyear estimates.

Source: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2019 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Popu

See also:

Year Value
1960 9,153,489
1961 9,183,948
1962 9,220,578
1963 9,289,770
1964 9,378,113
1965 9,463,667
1966 9,527,807
1967 9,580,991
1968 9,618,756
1969 9,646,032
1970 9,655,549
1971 9,673,162
1972 9,711,115
1973 9,741,720
1974 9,772,419
1975 9,800,700
1976 9,818,227
1977 9,830,358
1978 9,839,534
1979 9,848,382
1980 9,859,242
1981 9,858,982
1982 9,856,303
1983 9,855,520
1984 9,855,372
1985 9,858,308
1986 9,861,823
1987 9,870,234
1988 9,901,664
1989 9,937,697
1990 9,967,379
1991 10,004,490
1992 10,045,160
1993 10,084,480
1994 10,115,600
1995 10,136,810
1996 10,156,640
1997 10,181,250
1998 10,203,010
1999 10,226,420
2000 10,251,250
2001 10,286,570
2002 10,332,790
2003 10,376,130
2004 10,421,140
2005 10,478,620
2006 10,547,960
2007 10,625,700
2008 10,709,970
2009 10,796,490
2010 10,895,590
2011 11,038,260
2012 11,106,930
2013 11,159,410
2014 11,209,060
2015 11,274,200
2016 11,331,420
2017 11,375,160
2018 11,427,050
2019 11,488,980
2020 11,544,240

Development Relevance: Increases in human population, whether as a result of immigration or more births than deaths, can impact natural resources and social infrastructure. This can place pressure on a country's sustainability. A significant growth in population will negatively impact the availability of land for agricultural production, and will aggravate demand for food, energy, water, social services, and infrastructure. On the other hand, decreasing population size - a result of fewer births than deaths, and people moving out of a country - can impact a government's commitment to maintain services and infrastructure.

Limitations and Exceptions: Current population estimates for developing countries that lack (i) reliable recent census data, and (ii) pre- and post-census estimates for countries with census data, are provided by the United Nations Population Division and other agencies. The cohort component method - a standard method for estimating and projecting population - requires fertility, mortality, and net migration data, often collected from sample surveys, which can be small or limited in coverage. Population estimates are from demographic modeling and so are susceptible to biases and errors from shortcomings in both the model and the data. In the UN estimates the five-year age group is the cohort unit and five-year period data are used; therefore interpolations to obtain annual data or single age structure may not reflect actual events or age composition. Because future trends cannot be known with certainty, population projections have a wide range of uncertainty.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Population estimates are usually based on national population censuses. Estimates for the years before and after the census are interpolations or extrapolations based on demographic models. Errors and undercounting occur even in high-income countries. In developing countries errors may be substantial because of limits in the transport, communications, and other resources required to conduct and analyze a full census. The quality and reliability of official demographic data are also affected by public trust in the government, government commitment to full and accurate enumeration, confidentiality and protection against misuse of census data, and census agencies' independence from political influence. Moreover, comparability of population indicators is limited by differences in the concepts, definitions, collection procedures, and estimation methods used by national statistical agencies and other organizations that collect the data. The currentness of a census and the availability of complementary data from surveys or registration systems are objective ways to judge demographic data quality. Some European countries' registration systems offer complete information on population in the absence of a census. The United Nations Statistics Division monitors the completeness of vital registration systems. Some developing countries have made progress over the last 60 years, but others still have deficiencies in civil registration systems. International migration is the only other factor besides birth and death rates that directly determines a country's population growth. Estimating migration is difficult. At any time many people are located outside their home country as tourists, workers, or refugees or for other reasons. Standards for the duration and purpose of international moves that qualify as migration vary, and estimates require information on flows into and out of countries that is difficult to collect. Population projections, starting from a base year are projected forward using assumptions of mortality, fertility, and migration by age and sex through 2050, based on the UN Population Division's World Population Prospects database medium variant.

Aggregation method: Sum

Periodicity: Annual

General Comments: Relevance to gender indicator: disaggregating the population composition by gender will help a country in projecting its demand for social services on a gender basis.

Classification

Topic: Health Indicators

Sub-Topic: Population