The number of Belgians who die due to euthanasia increased again last year. Among them was one minor. At least 110 foreigners also came to our country for euthanasia.
In 2023, 3,423 people in our country died due to euthanasia. That is another increase of 15 percent compared to a year earlier. It also means that 3.1 percent of the population decided their own end of life, while in 2022 that was only 2.5 percent.
The figures come from the federal Commission for the Control and Evaluation of Euthanasia. Three-quarters of people were over 60 at the time of their death. Euthanasia is rare under the age of 40. Euthanasia was also granted to one minor. That remains exceptional.
Multiple diseases
In more than half of the cases, the deceased had cancer, often in combination with psychological suffering, due to the hopelessness of the disease. The second largest group concerns people with a so-called “polypathology”: they suffer from multiple diseases, often age-related ailments, at the same time: in 2022 this concerned 528 people (or just under 20 percent), in 2023 this group has already grown to 793 people (or more than 23 percent).
Other categories remain limited: euthanasia due to psychological suffering has increased slightly, but still only accounts for 1.2 percent. Euthanasia due to dementia also remains at 1.2 percent. Euthanasia in the event of irreversible coma is even less common (0.6 percent).
It is striking that foreigners are also increasingly finding their way to our country: the committee received 110 files on which the patient’s place of residence was stated. The entry is not mandatory on the form, so there could have been more.