The Federal Commission for the Control and Evaluation of Euthanasia has today published the figures for reported euthanasia cases in Belgium in 2024.
In 2024, 3991 euthanasia registration documents were received and reviewed by the Commission, marking a 16.6% increase compared with 2023. Euthanasia accounted for 3.6% of all deaths recorded in Belgium in 2024, compared to 3.1% in 2023 (source: Statbel, 20.01.2024).
The number of registration documents written in Dutch increased by 25%, while the number of registration documents written in French slightly decreased (949 in 2024, compared with 1001 in 2023). The Euthanasia Commission is unable to provide an explanation for this decrease.
The majority of patients concerned were over 70 (72.6%), of which 43.2% were over 80. Euthanasia in patients under the age of 40 remained rare (1.3%).
One euthanasia case involving a patient who was a minor was reported in 2024, bringing the total number of cases since the law was extended to minors in 2014 to six.
With regard to locations, 50.4% of euthanasia cases were carried out at home, confirming patients' tendency to wish to remain in a familiar environment. The proportion of euthanasia cases carried out in rest homes remained stable (17.6%), while there was a slight decrease in those carried out in the hospital environment (30.2%, of which 6.3% were in palliative care units compared to 32% (and 6.1%) in 2023).
The main pathologies that prompted requests for euthanasia remained as follows:
- Cancers (54% of cases)
- Polypathologies (26.8%) – increasing
- Serious neurological disorders (8.1%)
- Cardiovascular (2.6%) and respiratory (2.9%) conditions
Euthanasia cases for psychiatric conditions and cognitive disorders remain rare (1.4% for each category).
In 76.6% of cases, death was expected in the short term. However, euthanasia for patients for whom death was not expected in the short term continued to rise (932 cases in 2024, compared with 713 in 2023), mainly for patients affected by polypathologies.
Patients usually presented with multiple forms of suffering:
- 82.3% of patients were experiencing both physical and psychological suffering (compared with 76.2% in 2023).
- 15.8% were experiencing physical suffering only.
- 1.9% were experiencing psychological suffering only.
It is important to highlight that psychological suffering should not be confused with a psychiatric condition. It may be linked to a physical illness, such as a loss of autonomy or dignity due to advanced cancer.
Although thiopental has been back on the Belgian market since April 2024, the use of propofol continues to rise. Some doctors cite logistical difficulties linked to the use of thiopental (it is expensive, non-refundable and packaged in boxes of 10 doses).
General practitioners are the primary representatives of patients who want to request euthanasia, and are the main practitioners who carry out the procedure.
The number of euthanasia cases carried out on the basis of an advanced declaration halved in comparison to 2023 (9 cases, compared to 19 in 2023).
The Commission highlighted that the registration documents received met the essential requirements of the law:
- Voluntary, considered and repeated request made without external pressure.
- Serious and incurable medical condition, where the patient is in a medical situation without a medical solution.
- Constant, unrelievable and unbearable suffering caused by this condition.
No cases were forwarded to the Public Prosecutor.
Since the start of 2025, steps have been taken to finalise the digitalisation of procedures (electronic declaration of euthanasia, request made by the Commission since 2014). However, the issue of improving the Commission's human and administrative resources remains.
The Commission is once again calling on the public authorities, in particular the ministers in charge of Public Health and Justice – equally responsible for the funding of the Commission – to take rapid, concrete measures.
The constant increase in registration documents requires suitable infrastructure and sufficient resources to ensure an efficient and rigorous assessment process.
The detailed figures for 2024 are available below.
