In 2020, more people died in Flanders than expected, bringing the excess mortality to seven percent. This is evident from data from Statistics Flanders. A total of 70,919 inhabitants of the Flemish Region died last year, about 8,499 people more than in 2019.
The mortality rates for 2020 are higher than expected and indicate an excess mortality of seven percent. Statistics Flanders warns that these are figures of the total number of deaths from all causes of death and not just from the corona virus. Nevertheless, the excess mortality peaked mainly in April, November and December, three months in which the virus took hold.
over 75s
People in the age category 75+ are especially vulnerable to the disease. The number of people over 75 therefore died more often. As a result, their share in the death rates weighs more heavily and the share of premature deaths decreased in 2020. This refers to people who die before the age of 75. In 2020, 26 percent of those who died were under the age of 75.
Moreover, the regional variation in our country is striking. In Flanders, for example, there were almost eleven deaths per 1,000 inhabitants, while in Wallonia and Brussels this came to approximately twelve and nine deaths respectively. In the Brussels-Capital Region there has been a rejuvenation of the population in recent years, which explains the lower figure. But the figures also vary within Flanders. Cities and municipalities with an older population in particular have more deaths.
Fewer Births
Last year was also the first time since before the year 2000 that there were more deaths than births. This was not the case in the years between 2000 and 2019, and there was always a positive natural balance. This is what you get when you subtract the number of deaths from the number of births.
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