Today is the National Holiday of Belgium. On 21 July 1831, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha took the constitutional oath to become King of the Belgians. The 21st century is now 25 years old. In January 2025, the newspaper De Morgen looked at how the country has changed in a quarter century. Quite a lot, it seems.
We don’t tend to see 1900 and 1925 as similar, but living now as an adult and being adult in this past quarter century – I’m 44 now – 2000 doesn’t seem that different to 2025. But it actually is.
Belgium’s structure in a few paragraphs
Belgium is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy with a federal system based on regional and linguistic divisions. The country consists of three highly autonomous regions: the Flemish Region (Flanders) in the north, the Walloon Region (Wallonia) in the south, and the Brussels-Capital Region in the centre.
Brussels, the smallest of these regions, is the most densely populated and has the highest GDP per capita.
Belgium has two main linguistic communities: the Dutch-speaking Flemish Community, which accounts for approximately 60 per cent of the population, and the French-speaking French Community, which makes up around 40 per cent.
Additionally, a small German-speaking Community, representing about one per cent of the population, is located in the East Cantons, also known as East Belgium (Ostbelgien). The Brussels-Capital Region is officially bilingual in French and Dutch, although French is the predominant language and serves as the lingua franca. The country’s linguistic diversity and associated political tensions are reflected in its complex governance structure, which comprises six separate governments.
This is us
In the year 2000, the population of Belgium stood at 10,239,085. Over the past quarter of a century, much has changed for those people. Those born that year are now adults, some already part of the workforce. Many have moved in with a partner, and some have even started families of their own. Meanwhile, anyone who was 25 at the turn of the century has now reached their early fifties.
Even greater changes have taken place. Over the past 25 years, three million babies have been born, while more than 2.6 million people have passed away. Half a million have emigrated in search of opportunities elsewhere, while 1.5 million have arrived from other countries. Today, the population stands at approximately 11,763,700.
That represents a 15 per cent increase, the highest rate of population growth since the 1970s. This rise is partly due to a modest baby boom in the early 2000s and increasing life expectancy, but it is primarily driven by migration.
2070
News agency Belga reported in February Belgium’s population is expected to grow by 1.2 million in the next 45 years, according to a demographic forecast by the Federal Planning Bureau and statistics agency Statbel. The number of older people will continue to increase significantly.
The population in 2024 was 11.7 million. Over the next few years, the number is predicted to grow by an average of 30,000 people a year to a total of 12.9 million by 2070.
Migration will remain the main driver of demographic growth, and the only driver from the late 2030s, as the natural balance of births minus deaths is forecast to become negative from 2038.
Life expectancy gap
The bureau expects the population of Flanders to reach 8.0 million in 2070, compared with 6.8 million in 2024, while the populations of Wallonia and Brussels are expected to remain virtually stable at 3.7 million and 1.2 million respectively.
The ageing of the population is reflected in a predicted sharp increase in the dependency ratio, which expresses the proportion of people aged 67 and over in relation to the number of working age people.
In 2024, there were 28 people aged 67 and over for every 100 people aged 18 to 66. This is predicted to rise to 37 in 2040 and 43 in 2070.
The gap in life expectancy between men and women is also expected to narrow, from 4.1 years in 2023 to 1.7 years in 2070. Life expectancy at birth will reach 88.9 for the total population: 89.8 for women and 88.1 for men.
Space to live in
We are also more aware of our growing numbers. Demographer Patrick Deboosere from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Free University of Brussels, VUB) notes that there is now a significant demand for housing.
The baby boom at the start of this century led to concerns in the following years when it became clear that there were too few childcare and primary school places. Around 2015, a similar situation arose, this time affecting secondary schools, particularly in urban areas.
That pressure has never fully subsided, and the shortage of places has not been completely resolved, according to Deboosere. In 2000, multiculturalism was largely associated with major cities, but over time, villages have also become increasingly diverse.
Say my name
Diversity is also reflected in the names we choose. In 2000, there were 65,375 different boys’ names and 77,734 girls’ names. Today, those numbers have risen to 158,476 and 182,611, respectively.
The term multiculturalism has largely been replaced by superdiversity. Before the turn of the century, migration patterns were relatively homogeneous, with most migrants coming from Mediterranean countries such as Italy, Greece, Morocco, and Turkey. Since 2000, however, newcomers have arrived from all over the world.
Until 1987, the country maintained a list of permitted first names to prevent parents from choosing unconventional ones. While it took time to move away from traditional Flemish names, the sharp rise in name diversity suggests that, influenced by globalisation, naming practices have become increasingly creative over the past two decades.
Life expectancy
We are also living longer. In 2000, the average life expectancy was 77.8 years; today, it has risen to 82.3 years.
However, this does not necessarily mean we are significantly healthier. Cancer diagnoses, for example, have increased. In 2000, there were 30,849 cancer cases recorded in Flanders (solid nationwide data has only been available since 2004), but by 2022, the number had risen to 46,139.
The ageing population plays a major role in this trend. At the same time, fewer people are dying from cancer, thanks to improved screening and medical advancements. Deaths from cardiovascular and respiratory diseases have also declined, aided by better air quality.
Medical progress has also given us more control over reproductive choices. Now that the NIP test is reimbursed, almost all expectant parents opt for it, which has affected the number of children born with Down’s syndrome.
Ignaas Devisch, professor of medical philosophy and ethics at University of Ghent, notes that questions about what quality of life is considered acceptable at birth or end of life have become central to hospital ethics in recent decades.
Sweet death?
There are also warning signs: the number of people with diabetes has risen sharply over the past 25 years, and the same applies to excess weight.
Around the year 2000, half of adult Belgian men were overweight, with 11.6 per cent classified as obese. Among women, 39 per cent had excess weight, and 13 per cent were obese. According to the most recent figures, half of the population aged three and older is now overweight, and nearly 18 per cent suffers from obesity. Professor Brecht Devleesschauwer from Sciensano summarises the situation by noting that while people die less quickly from diseases than before, far more people are living with illness.
The reasons for this are straightforward: people sit too much, eat too much, and consume excessive amounts of fat and sugar. Although alcohol consumption has declined slightly since 2000, it remains high despite campaigns such as Tournée Minérale. Ignaas Devisch points out that in the past, people often died due to scarcity, whereas today, overconsumption is the bigger threat.
At the same time, health has never been more widely discussed. Concepts like turmeric as a superfood or intuitive eating were virtually unknown at the turn of the century, and events like the Antwerp Ten Miles were far less prominent.
Yet diseases linked to affluence have increased significantly. Devisch explains that in the past, health was seen as a simple distinction between being sick or well, a factual state. Today, health is viewed as both a personal responsibility and a moral issue, where illness can be seen as a failure to make the right choices.
‘Fast casual’ restaurants
Meanwhile, the food industry has more control over dietary habits than ever before. Where once the main fast-food choices were McDonald’s, Quick, or a local chip shop, today Antwerp’s De Keyserlei alone has at least eight fast-food outlets.
Almost every village now has a night shop stocked with crisps, sweets, and alcohol. Devisch notes that people naturally crave fatty and sugary foods, and these are now cheap and widely available. Consumers have little control over how much sugar is added to processed foods, as these decisions are made by manufacturers.
Little has been done in recent years to address these structural issues, and the health gap between people with higher and lower levels of education has not narrowed since 2000—if anything, it has widened.
Thank you for (not) smoking
Yet some progress has been made. In 2000, smoking was still allowed on trains, something that now seems unthinkable.
Over the past 25 years, smoking has been banned in more and more places, and Sciensano reports that these measures have been effective.
Between 1997 and 2018, the number of daily smokers fell by an impressive 40 per cent.
APT
There are more people, which means more living space is needed. Around the year 2000, the country had 4,364,023 residential units; today, that number has grown to 5,489,574.
Luxury apartments have appeared on nearly every street, a trend known as apartmentisation.
At the beginning of the century, 57 per cent of all residential units were houses, while 43 per cent were apartments. Today, the balance has nearly reversed, with houses making up 45 per cent of homes and apartments accounting for 55 per cent.
Despite this shift, sociologist Pascal De Decker, an expert in housing policy, notes that very little has fundamentally changed.
Many of these apartments are built for investors looking to rent them out rather than for people to buy and live in themselves. They also tend to be more expensive, making it difficult for those with lower rental budgets to find suitable housing. Meanwhile, the dream of owning a home with a garden remains strong for many.
Occasionally, ideas like cohousing or communal living are discussed as the future of housing, but these remain niche options, primarily for those with alternative lifestyles.
The term ‘construction shift‘ has been around since the early 2000s, but the deep-rooted desire for property ownership has not disappeared. In 2023, 22,572 permits for new homes were issued, only 1,500 fewer than in 2000.
As a result, it has become nearly impossible to take a walk in the woods, particularly in Flanders, without encountering new developments. De Decker describes housing policy as a train that has been steadily rolling along for decades. Continued construction outside city and village centres leads to high costs for infrastructure such as roads and sewer systems.
Car is still king (?)
People are also taking up more space on the road. The number of registered cars has increased by nearly a third, rising from 4,678,376 in 2000 to 6,089,564 today.
While cycling has become slightly more popular, thanks in part to the rise of electric bicycles, car use remains dominant. Just as in the past, 70 per cent of Flemish people still drive to work, meaning that King Car remains firmly on his throne.
Despite efforts to curb car traffic, little has changed. Mobility specialist Thomas Vanoutrive from the University of Antwerp points out that as early as 2001, a mobility plan called for a reduction in car use, but this has not materialised.
Traffic congestion records have been repeatedly broken in recent years, which is hardly surprising. There are simply more people, many families can now afford two cars, and company car schemes continue to encourage driving.
Car use has also increased in everyday life, with people driving to the bakery, taking children to dance lessons, or making other short trips—another consequence of uncoordinated spatial planning.
Over the past 25 years, many shops have moved out of village centres, and supermarkets are now typically accessed by car. Hospitals and amusement parks have also been built in car-friendly locations, reinforcing dependency on driving.
The thin yellow line
This was not the case in 2000. Although public transport use was not significantly higher, there was a different attitude towards it. At the time, De Lijn had only recently come under Flemish control, and there were ambitious plans to expand its services. Two years before the turn of the century, Steve Stevaert (then sp.a, now Vooruit) introduced free buses, a policy that defined the era.
Vanoutrive recalls that De Lijn was once a flagship project of the Flemish Government. The plan was for every resident to live within 750 metres of a bus stop, a goal that was largely achieved. However, over time, De Lijn has become a frequent target for criticism, and reforms have often meant increased privatisation.
Up in the air
Air travel has also increased significantly. In 2000, Belgian airports handled 21,594,842 passengers, while in 2023, that number had risen to 32,341,221.
Vanoutrive observes that younger generations now see flying as a normal way to travel, whereas it was far less common when he was their age.
The rise of low-cost airlines such as Ryanair around 2000 put pressure on traditional carriers to lower ticket prices. At the time, Dublin was a particularly popular city-break destination simply because Ryanair had few other routes. Today, flight options are far more extensive.
Air travel has become more accessible not only because of cheaper flights but also due to increased household incomes.
In 2003, the first year with reliable data, the median income was 22,056 euros; by 2022, it had risen to 40,023 euros. Inflation has played a role, with prices increasing by 74.6 per cent between 2000 and 2024.
However, one of the biggest social changes over the past 25 years has been the decline of the breadwinner model and the rise of dual-income households.
Women at work
Women in the workforce are now the norm, but in 2000, that was far from the case. At the time, 1,725,000 women, or 56 per cent, had paid employment. Today, that figure has risen to around 70 per cent, with 2,372,000 women in the workplace.
Professor Sarah Vansteenkiste, a labour market specialist at Steunpunt Werk, describes this as a significant increase.
Several factors explain this shift. More women are highly educated and want to put their degrees to use. There are also more jobs available to them in the service sector, while employment in industry has declined by 7.5 per cent over the same period.
This increasing diversity in the workplace has had far-reaching consequences. Without working women, Ursula von der Leyen might never have become the head of the European Commission.
The #MeToo movement and the dismantling of outdated views on women’s capabilities might not have gained as much traction. Vansteenkiste notes that progress is clear when looking at television programmes like ‘Hertoginnedal‘, which examines the role of women in politics.
At the same time, the rise of women in the workforce has also contributed to the childcare crisis. Balancing work and family remains a challenge, and the birth of a first child continues to be a turning point in many women’s careers.
Vansteenkiste points out that school hours have not been adjusted to accommodate this new reality, making it especially difficult for parents of young children.
Women under stress
Research in Flanders has shown that as early as 2004, women reported higher levels of stress and burnout than men, and these complaints have only increased over the years.
Vansteenkiste acknowledges that men are taking on more domestic responsibilities, but women still carry the bulk of household chores and childcare. They are also more likely to care for ageing parents or grandparents, which may explain why they are more frequently incapacitated for work over long periods.
Older women in particular are working much more than before. In 2000, only 15 per cent of women over 55 were employed. Today, that number has risen to 55 per cent.
As a result, workplace discussions are shifting to new issues, such as the impact of (pre)menopause on professional and personal life.
Without working women, programmes like ‘Menopauzia‘ or books like Miranda July’s ‘On All Fours‘ might not exist. Vansteenkiste emphasises that one of the biggest labour challenges for the next 25 years will be figuring out how to make work more sustainable for everyone.
The financial independence of women has also transformed relationships. Over the past 25 years, societal expectations around marriage have changed dramatically.
Last year, 680,902 couples were legally cohabiting, a sharp increase from just 5,139 in 2001. Marriage is no longer the foundation on which people structure their lives.
Legal cohabitation was introduced in 1998 as a response to changing norms, and by the turn of the century, even grandmothers had come to accept that their grandchildren preferred to live together rather than marry, says sociologist Dimitri Mortelmans from the University of Antwerp.
Love and marriage
People are still getting married. In 2000, 45,123 couples tied the knot, and in 2023, the most recent figure, that number was 46,564.
While this suggests an increase, the rise in population means that marriage rates have actually declined slightly in relative terms. However, not all marriages last. In 2000, 27,002 couples divorced. By 2023, there were 20,036 dissolved marriages, along with approximately 16,300 cohabiting couples who separated.
Attitudes towards separation have changed significantly over the past two decades. Divorce is now seen as more normal and carries less stigma.
In 2000, ending a marriage was a complicated process. Couples had to prove that their relationship was irreparably broken, with abuse or adultery often serving as key arguments. At the time, custody of children was almost automatically granted to the mother. A major shift came in 2007, when a new divorce law removed the requirement to assign blame and established co-parenting as the standard.
The idea was that citizens should have the freedom to make their own decisions about their relationships. The government did not want to make divorce more difficult than necessary, but it did want to emphasise that both parents remain responsible for their children.
This seems completely normal today, but at the time, it was a radical change. Co-parenting does not always go smoothly, but it has helped keep fathers more involved in their children’s lives.
The role of fathers has evolved considerably. In the 1990s, then-Minister of Equal Opportunities Mieke Vogels (Groen) launched a campaign called ‘Father of the Year‘ to encourage men to take a more active role in parenting—an idea that would be almost unthinkable today.
In 2000, only 5 per cent of men worked part-time. That number has now risen to 12 per cent, and fathers have increasingly taken advantage of parental leave. The balance remains far from equal, as 40 per cent of women still work part-time, the same proportion as in 2000.
However, Mortelmans notes that men today, compared to their own fathers, are far more conscious of their role in the family.
Single parenting
The number of single-parent families has increased by just 1 per cent in recent years, now making up 10 per cent of all households. This may seem surprisingly low, given that divorce has become more common, but single parenthood is often only a temporary phase.
Many single parents, particularly women, go on to find new partners and form blended families. It has now become quite normal to have children with a new partner, whereas this was much more complicated in the past. In 2018, legal status and inheritance laws were also updated to reflect the realities of blended families.
The next step is recognising relationship structures that fall outside the current norms. Over the next 25 years, a legal framework is expected to be developed for alternative forms of relationships such as polyamory and singles.
Solo
In 2000, single-person households accounted for 31 per cent of all households. That figure has now risen to 36 per cent, representing 15 per cent of the population.
Many of these individuals are older, including baby boomers who led the initial wave of divorces and now live alone, as well as women who have outlived their husbands.
However, it is particularly younger, more affluent singles who are driving the debate. They seek greater recognition and normalisation of their lifestyle, with issues such as improved inheritance rights for childless singles gradually making their way onto the political agenda.
Individualisation
The number of crimes in the country has declined. In 2000, the crime rate stood at 9.8 per hundred inhabitants; by 2023, it had dropped to 7.9. People now watch 51 minutes less linear television per day than they did in 2000, and church attendance has also fallen. In 1998, just before the turn of the century, 77 per cent of the deceased received a church funeral.
By last year, that figure had dropped to 33 per cent, amounting to 37,207 funerals.
Pubs have also become less common. In 2000, there were 20,163 pubs, whereas only 12,672 remain today.
Economic factors, such as wage costs, likely play a role in these shifts, but philosopher Ignaas Devisch believes depillarisation has also contributed.
Each ideological pillar once had its own pubs, and as those pillars disappeared, so did the social fabric around them. This has never been fully restored.
Lieven De Marez, media professor at University of Ghent, observes a broader trend. Society has become more individualised, with people expecting a more personalised approach in everything from education to job coaching.
As a result, the connections that once bound people together have weakened.
This brings us to a change that is impossible to ignore: digitalisation.
When the year 2000 approached, there was widespread—though ultimately unnecessary—panic about the millennium bug. At the time, the concept of ‘screentime‘ did not exist, let alone concerns about it.
While there are no exact figures from that period, it is evident that people now spend a significant amount of time on, in front of, and with screens. The question is, what impact does this have?
Screentime
Digitalisation has blurred the boundaries of time and space, says De Marez. It is now possible to buy a car from China at 3 AM or chat with a relative in Morocco with ease.
The pace at which the world operates has accelerated significantly. Many cognitive skills have been outsourced, yet maintaining focus amid constant digital noise has become increasingly difficult.
People now live in parallel worlds—has someone truly attended a concert if it is not shared online?
More than anything, digitalisation has created a paradox in both the world and in individuals. People love social media but resent their dependence on smartphones. They are overwhelmed by information yet worry about what is true. They want to be heard but have little patience for debating opinions. Constant connectivity has made real one-on-one conversations more challenging.
Forwards or backwards?
Does this assessment of the past 25 years sound bleak?
De Marez remains optimistic. He sees signs of a shift, a growing desire to switch off, to step away from idealised portrayals of how to live, travel, eat, and exist.
He predicts a turn towards greater authenticity in the next quarter-century, a return to real-life interactions, such as meeting at a local café rather than seeking fulfilment on the other side of the world.
The pendulum has swung quickly and sharply, he says, but sometimes it is only by pushing boundaries that people truly understand where they are.
The future
Belgium is often labelled as being complex and complicated politically. But is it really more complicated than let’s say Switzerland, Canada, France or the United Kingdom? No.
Yes we have six governments. All of them promise change(s). But in the end, it’s world events which dictate what happens. The world is in turmoil so we’ll have to brace ourselves.
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