Catalina Espinosa
Research expert covering society, economy, and politics for Europe and the EU
Death in the Benelux - Statistics & Facts
In 2021, over 170,000 people died in the Netherlands, which was a significant increase compared to 2019 when 152,000 passed away, before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. There was a similar trend in Belgium, as the number of deaths increased from 109,000 in 2019 to 127,000 in 2020, though it decreased again in 2021 to 112,000 deaths. In Luxembourg, the number of deaths increased slightly from 2019 to 2020, from 4,300 to 4,600, before decreasing to 4,500 in 2021. Neoplasms, also known as tumors, were the main cause of deaths in the Netherlands in 2021, with 47,100 citizens passing away from them, compared to 374,000 who died from diseases of the circulatory system, which includes heart failures and strokes. In contrast, the most common cause of death in Luxembourg were diseases of the circulatory system, slightly more common than neoplasms, with 1,086 and 1,055 deaths respectively in 2020.
