Record number of deaths by euthanasia in Belgium and the Netherlands in 2025
Over 10,300 deaths by euthanasia were recorded in the Netherlands and almost 4,500 in Belgium, accounting for 6% and 4% of the total number of deaths in those countries.
BRUSSELS | AMSTERDAM · 07 APRIL 2026 · 17:40 CET
According to official data from both countries, the number of deaths by euthanasia in Belgium and the Netherlands reached record highs in 2025.
Furthermore, euthanasia accounted for 6% of all recorded deaths in the Netherlands and 4% in Belgium.
Belgium: An increase of over 12%
The Federal Commission for the Control and Evaluation of Euthanasia (FCCEE) in Belgium reported 4,486 deaths by assisted suicide or euthanasia in the country in 2025, the highest number in any single year since it was legalised.
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That is an increase of over 12% compared to the previous year, and a 1,809% increase in over the 235 deaths that occurred in the first full year of the implementation of the law (2003).
The main pathologies that prompted requests for euthanasia were cancer (almost 50% of cases), followed by polypathologies (30%, and increase of 2.7% compared with 2024).
There was also a a slight increase in euthanasia for psychiatric conditions (1.6%) and cognitive disorders (1.7%).
According to the FCCEE, the majority of patients were over 70 (74%), 45% of whom were over 80, while “euthanasia in patients under 40 remains rare”.
In almost a quarter of the euthanasia and assisted suicide cases, death was not expected in the short term. That figure continues to increase (1,117 cases in 2025 vs 932 in 2024).
Netherlands: Over 10,300 deaths
According to the Regional Euthanasia Review Committees (RTE), there were 10,341 deaths by by assisted suicide or euthanasia in the Netherlands in 2025, 3.8% more than the previous year.
It also reported that 174 requests for euthanasia last year were related to mental disorders. That is 45 fewer than in 2024, marking a decrease of nearly 21%. None of these requests involved child patients.
Moreover, 85% of euthanasia cases were due to common physical conditions such as cancer, nervous system problems, lung disease and cardiovascular conditions.
The RTE explains that most of the people who requested to die were over the age of 70 (75%), and one teenager between the ages of 12 and 18 died of euthanasia.
They are currently investigating seven of the total number of cases, to determine whether there were any irregularities, as it believes that the doctor did not comply with the required legal standards of care.
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Published in: Evangelical Focus - europe - Record number of deaths by euthanasia in Belgium and the Netherlands in 2025