A stable prevalence of mild (5 %) and severe (2–3 %) disability was observed for the Belgian population aged 15 years or older between 1997 and 2008. For women, arthritis was the main contributor to the mild and severe disability burden. For men with mild disability, low back pain, arthritis, and heart attack contributed most to the disability burden in men aged 15–64 years, 65–79 years, and ≥ 80 years, respectively. For severely disabled men, chronic respiratory diseases contributed most to the disability prevalence. The contribution also differed by age: for mild disability, depression and chronic respiratory diseases were important contributors among young individuals, while heart attack had a large contribution for older individuals. For severe disability, neurological diseases and stroke presented a large contribution in young and elderly individuals, respectively.