Median age of the Belgian population 2010-2021

The median age of the population of Belgium aged slightly from 2010 to 2021. The median age divides a population into two equal-sized groups. This single index summarizes the age distribution of Belgians. In other words, half of the Belgian population was younger than 41.98 years old in 2021, and the remaining half was aged over 41.98 years.

Median ages of the population around the world

Median ages vary greatly across the globe. This measure is influenced by several factors, such as birth rates, social and economic factors, and average life expectancies within countries. From a European perspective, Belgium’s population median age was slightly lower than in the Netherlands, yet higher than Luxembourg in 2020. In other words, Belgium’s population was younger than in the Netherlands, yet not as young as in Luxembourg. Currently, Germany had one of the highest median age in Europe alongside with the principality of Monaco. Outside of Europe, however, median age ranged from as low as 15 in Niger to 48.4 in Japan.

Similar median ages for different population structures

Two countries can have similar median ages, yet their populations have different age profiles. For instance, some countries may have large shares of young adults and not many children or older people, whereas some countries can have large shares of children and older people and not many young adults. These differences in terms of structuration of the population can be overlooked when comparing this index between countries. Nonetheless, the median age is crucial to fathom whether a population is aging or not. In Belgium, the population was slowly but steadily aging over the last decade.