Traditionally, the professional nursing group has been composed primarily of women. Belgium has approximately 85% female nurses. This percentage has been stable for many years.
In 2018, 214,374 professional practitioners were licensed to practise nursing in Belgium. Of these licensed professionals, 59% (or 126,496 nursing practitioners) were active in the healthcare sector, 10% were active outside the healthcare field, 15% were not working in Belgium and 15% were already retired.
The age pyramid shows an even distribution of nurses by age.
DISTRIBUTION OF NURSES BY ACTIVITY STATUS AND COMMUNITY, 2018
DISTRIBUTION OF NURSES ACTIVE IN HEALTH CARE BY AGE AND GENDER, 2018
The professional group is also divided equally between the different Communities. 60% of the nurses working in health care work in the Flemish Community and 40% in the French Community. Each year, just over 2,000 individuals are added to the number of nurses working in the healthcare field.
Most nurses had a salaried professional status (83%) and mainly worked in a hospital. The nursing and care home sector and the home nursing sector completed the top 3.
The density of the number of nurses working in health care was slightly higher in the Flemish Community (113.6 per 10,000 inhabitants) than in the French Community (109).
SECTOR OF ACTIVITY OF NURSES WORKING IN HEALTH CARE IN 2018
NUMBER OF NURSES WORKING IN HEALTH CARE PER 10,000 INHABITANTS BY ACTIVITY DISTRICT (31/12/2018)
PROFESSIONAL STATUS OF NURSES WORKING IN HEALTH CARE IN 2018
In the nurse supply and demand forecasting exercise, we find that nursing needs between now and 2038 will increase sharply for the age categories 65 and older. At the same time, an increase of just over 25% in the number of nurses working in health care is expected.
SIZE OF EACH SEGMENT OF THE POPULATION IN CURRENT AND FUTURE NURSING CARE IN RELATION TO ITS DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGE[1]
EVOLUTION OF THE NUMBER OF NURSES ACTIVE IN HEALTH CARE AS INDIVIDUALS AND FULL-TIME EQUIVALENTS FROM 2004 TO 2018 AND PROJECTIONS TO 2043
[1]Explanation of the weighted population: the 'gross' population projections by the Federal Planning Bureau and the Belgian Statistical Of-fice are multiplied by a consumption rate based on consumption rate based on the consumption of care "honoraria of nurses" by the NIHDI. The average total amount reimbursed by the NIHDI is calculated per community and is the reference value. The rate of health care consumption for each segment of the population is then calculated in relation to this reference value.