Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
On January 1, 2025, Belgium's population was 11,825,551. Between January 1, 2024, and January 1, 2025, Belgium's population increased by 0.52%, amounting to 61,901 people. This is evident from official figures released by the Belgian Statistical Office (Statbel).
In 2024, Belgium experienced population growth due to more people moving to Belgium than leaving the country during that year (a positive international migration balance, +66,044). This offsets the negative natural balance (-3,879), resulting from a higher number of deaths than births throughout 2024. The statistical adjustment is limited (-264). Belgium's population grows over the years, but the factors driving population growth change.
In 2024, Belgium experienced population growth of 0.52%, amounting to 61,901 people. In 2024, there were more deaths than births in Belgium, resulting in a negative natural balance (-3,879). The natural balance has been declining for several years, due to a decline in the number of births and an increase in the number of deaths due to old age. It is somewhat exceptional to have more deaths than births. The negative natural balance appeared again in 2020 (-13,111). That year was marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, which primarily drove up the number of deaths. A negative natural balance was then observed again in 2022 (-2,787). Therefore, we must go back to the early 1940s to find a negative natural balance again. As in 2023, more people immigrated to Belgium in 2024 (194,212) than had migrated earlier (128,168). As a result, the international migration balance, the difference between the two, was positive in 2024 (+66,044). Belgium's population growth in 2024 is attributed to a positive international migration balance, which offset the negative natural balance, ensuring a population growth of 0.52%, equivalent to 61,901 inhabitants.
Population Trends in the Flemish Region
The population of Flanders grew by 0.63%, equivalent to 42,996 inhabitants, in 2024. This growth is slightly less robust than in 2023 (0.69%).
In 2024, 61,781 births and 65,468 deaths were recorded in Flanders. Consequently, the natural balance was negative in 2024 (-3,687). However, Flanders is experiencing population growth thanks to a strong positive balance of international migration (+32,995), with 94,367 outmigrations offsetting 61,372 emigrations, and a positive balance of internal migration (+13,926), with the number of people moving to Flanders from another region (37,455) outnumbering the number of people moving from Flanders to another region (23,529).
Thus, the positive population growth in the Flemish Region in 2024 is the result of a positive balance of internal migration and a positive balance of international migration, which offset the negative natural balance.
In 2024, Wallonia's population growth rate was 0.34%, or 12,707 inhabitants. This is stronger than in 2023 (0.29%).
The natural balance was negative in 2024 (-5,522). In that year, 32,539 births and 38,061 deaths were recorded. In addition, there was a positive balance of international migration (+13,651). In that year, 45,578 immigration and 31,927 emigration were recorded. The balance of internal migration was also positive (+4,067). In 2024, more people moved from another region to Wallonia (24,324) than from Wallonia to another region (20,257).
Thus, the population growth in Wallonia in 2024 is the result of a positive balance of internal migration and a positive balance of international migration. These migration balances offset the negative natural balance and also ensured population growth. Demographic Trends in the Brussels-Capital Region
The population of the Brussels-Capital Region grew by 0.49%, or 6,198 inhabitants, in 2024. This population growth is less strong than in 2023 (0.68%). Brussels was the only region to maintain a positive natural balance in 2024 (+5,330), thanks to 13,830 births and 8,500 deaths. However, this balance is also declining in Brussels due to a decline in births.
The international migration balance was positive in 2024 (+19,398). In 2024, 54,267 immigrations and 34,869 migrations were recorded in Brussels. On the other hand, the internal migration balance was negative (-17,993). In 2024, the number of people moving from another region to Brussels (25,109) was lower than the number of people migrating from Brussels to another region in Belgium (43,102). Thus, population growth in the Brussels-Capital Region in 2024 is the result of a positive natural balance and a positive international migration balance. These balances have offset a negative internal migration balance. Population Growth Over the Years
Over the years, the population has increased, but the strength of population growth has fluctuated. Certainly, recent years have witnessed some notable fluctuations. During 2020, Belgium experienced a slight growth of 0.25%, the year in which the COVID-19 pandemic peaked: this led, on the one hand, to an increase in the mortality rate, resulting in a negative natural balance. At the same time, borders were regularly closed, making international migration more difficult and leading to a decline in the international migration balance. The impact of the pandemic was less pronounced in 2021 (0.54%). The following year, we experienced strong population growth (0.98%), the result of an increased international migration balance due to the war between Ukraine and Russia. The average annual population growth over the past 30 years (1994-2024) has been 0.51%.