Belgium had 11,521,238 inhabitants at the beginning of 2021, an increase of 5.2 percent compared to the 10,951,266 inhabitants in 2011. This is evident from the Census 2021, the population census that the Belgian statistical agency Statbel conducts every 10 years. The count shows, among other things, that more and more Belgians are obtaining a higher education diploma, that more and more Belgians are working and that the share of residents with a foreign nationality has also increased.
The 2021 Census maps the population and housing of Belgians every ten years. The census contains data on five major themes: the residential population, households, housing, labor market and education.
Population
The figures show, among other things, that the population increased by 5.2 percent between 2011 and 2021 to 11.5 million inhabitants. The top five municipalities with the largest number of inhabitants have remained the same: Antwerp (529,417), Ghent (263,703), Charleroi (201,837), Liège (196,296) and Brussels (186,916). The municipality with the least number of inhabitants remains Herstappe (78).
Between 2011 and 2021, population density increased from 356.8 inhabitants per square kilometer to 375.4 inhabitants per square kilometer. In terms of density, a number of Brussels municipalities continue to top the list, with Sint-Joost-ten-Noode at the top with more than 23,000 inhabitants per square kilometer. South of Sambre and Meuse, the population density decreases sharply, with Daverdisse (Luxembourg) as an outlier with barely 25 inhabitants per square kilometer.
Wedding
At Belgian level, 45 percent of the population aged 18 and older is married, i.e. less than half. This figure is 48 percent in Flanders, 40 percent in Wallonia and 38 percent in Brussels. These percentages are lower than in 2011, when 54 percent of people aged 18 and older were married in Flanders, 47 percent in Wallonia and 45 percent in Brussels. At Belgian level, 51 percent of +18 year olds were married according to the previous census of 2011.
Age
The average age of Belgians increased from 40.9 years to 42 years between 2011 and 2021. Traditionally, the coastal municipalities are at the top of the list with the highest average age, with Koksijde as the ‘leader’ with an average of 55.1 years. The youngest municipalities are located around Brussels, with Sint-Jans-Molenbeek as an outlier with an average age of 35.2 years.
Migration
In terms of nationality and migration, the 2021 figures show that 12.4 percent of residents had another nationality, compared to 10.1 percent in 2011. When it comes to residents with a nationality from outside the EU, this is an increase from 3.3 percent to 4.2 percent. The share of residents born abroad has also increased from 14.4 to 17.7 percent in ten years. If we only look at the share of residents born outside the EU, we see an increase from 7.5 percent to 9.8 percent.
Education
In the field of education, it appears that more and more Belgians are obtaining a higher education diploma. That share has increased from 27.8 percent in 2011 to 31.8 percent in 2021. In the Brussels Capital Region, that share is much higher at almost 38 percent than in Flanders (32 percent) and Wallonia (29 percent). At a municipal level, Sint-Pieters-Woluwe is the outlier with 60.5 percent. The map clearly shows that the figures are especially higher in the area with the south of the Brussels Capital Region and the center of Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant.
Work
The figures are also clearly increasing in terms of work. For example, the activity rate of 15-64 year olds increased from 66.4 percent to 73 percent between 2011 and 2021. Flanders is the leader there with almost 76 percent, compared to almost 71 percent in Wallonia and 66.5 percent in the Brussels Capital Region.
Housing
Furthermore, it appears that Belgium had 4.9 million occupied conventional homes at the beginning of 2021. That was almost 385,000 more than in 2011. Of those homes, 57 percent were located in Flanders, 32 percent in Wallonia and 11 percent in the Brussels-Capital Region, a distribution comparable to that of 2011.
Households
Finally: more than 1 in 3 households in Belgium was a single-person household at the beginning of 2021. There are quite large regional differences. For example, the share of single-person households in the Brussels Capital Region (46.5 percent) is much higher than in Flanders (32.5 percent). Outside the capital, a number of provincial cities also show high figures, such as Liège, Leuven, Ghent and Antwerp.
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and never miss anything from the stars.
Yes, I want free unlimited access
Tags: Census million average age marriages ten years Domestic
-
