Population 10,174,922 (July 1998 est.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 17% (male 903,954; female 860,940)
15-64 years: 66% (male 3,387,329; female 3,318,221)
65 years and over: 17% (male 693,519; female 1,010,959) (July 1998 est.)

Population growth rate 0.09% (1998 est.)

Birth rate 10.21 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Death rate 10.41 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Net migration rate 1.05 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Sex ratio
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female (1998 est.)

Infant mortality rate 6.27 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
total population: 77.35 years
male: 74.13 years
female: 80.74 years (1998 est.)

Total fertility rate 1.49 children born/woman (1998 est.)

Nationality
noun: Belgian(s)
adjective: Belgian

Ethnic groups Fleming 55%, Walloon 33%, mixed or other 12%

Religions Roman Catholic 75%, Protestant or other 25%

Languages Flemish 56%, French 32%, German 1%, legally bilingual 11%

Literacy
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% (1980 est.)
male: NA%
female: NA%

NOTE: The information regarding Belgium on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Belgium People 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Belgium People 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.