Eight out of ten Flemish people choose cremation
Eight in ten people who died in Flanders last year were cremated, according to figures compiled by Flemish Parliament member Katrien Schryvers (CD&V). Not only is the number of cremations rising, but the proportion of people opting for cremation has also been increasing steadily for years.
In 2025, a total of 53,115 cremations were carried out of the 66,495 deaths reported, making it the busiest year on record for Flemish crematoria. In 2024, there were 51,441 cremations, 1,674 fewer than the year after. Over the past six years, the number of cremations has risen by almost a fifth, from 44,862 to 53,115.
The upward trend is also reflected in the percentage of cremations, which has grown without interruption since 2013. At that time, 63.3 per cent of the deceased were cremated, compared with 36.7 per cent who were buried. By 2019, the cremation rate had climbed to almost 72 per cent. Six years on, in 2025, cremation accounted for 79.9 per cent of all deaths.
"Cremation offers bereaved families more options to personalise their final resting place," says Schryvers. "From a municipal scattering meadow or columbarium to an urn at home or another destination. Moreover, more and more people are consciously choosing to return to nature."
According to the CD&V MP, local authorities must respond to this shift by actively exploring where and how to create additional natural burial grounds. It is important, she argues, that people are able to lay their loved ones to rest with peace of mind. While it is up to local governments to accommodate these wishes, she adds, the Agency for Nature and Forests must also be receptive to such initiatives.
#FlandersNewsService | A man receives an urn with ashes of his father © PHOTO PEDRO PARDO / AFP
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