According to Vivalis, changes in health behaviors, like the decline in smoking, and advancements in health care are the main reasons behind these positive developments.
The agency’s analysis, however, also found that the improvements did not benefit everyone equally.
Data from the 2017-2019 period shows stark differences in life expectancy between Brussels’ rich and poor neighborhoods.
Life expectancy among men living in Woluwe-Saint-Pierre (the commune with the highest median income in 2019, according to the Belgian statistical office), for example, is more than six years higher than for residents of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, the poorest commune in the capital region.
On average, babies born today in the wealthier parts of Brussels can expect to live at least two years longer than those born in the least affluent areas.
The report also found that the life expectancy gap had widened in the last two decades, suggesting that the Belgian capital is becoming increasingly unequal.
Vivalis noted that “health care inequalities start at, or before birth” and called for a comprehensive health care and prevention policy that goes “beyond personal choices and strives to improve the conditions in which Brussels residents live, work and thrive.”
