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%