Demographics of Brussels

Demographics of Brussels
Population pyramid of Brussels in 2022
Population1,222,657 (2022)
Growth rate0.22% (2021)
Fertility rate1.7 children per woman (2019)

The demographics of Brussels are monitored by Statistics Belgium. Brussels population is currently 1,222,657 as of 2022.

Population

Population of Belgium overall in provinces in 2017

The current population of Brussels (officially the Brussels Capital Region) in 2022 was 1,222,637 In recent years, the city has received a markable increase in its population. In general, the population of Brussels is younger than the national average, and the gap between rich and poor is wider.

Growth rate

The population growth rate within Brussels for 2021 was 0.22%.

Density

Population density in Belgium as a whole

The density of Brussels is also high, Brussels is one of the most urbanised areas of Europe.

Life expectancy

The life expectancy is Brussels is 79.61 years of age in 2020.

Life expectancy in Brussels Years
1996 2000 2005 2010 2015 2019 2020
Total 77.46 77.94 79.04 79.7 80.86 81.59 79.61
Men 73.96 74.62 75.99 76.92 78.11 79.08 76.93
Women 80.54 80.89 81.76 82.73 83.36 83.86 82.19

Fertility

The total fertility rate within Brussels in 2019 is 1.7 children per woman.

Total fertility rate within Brussels Year
1971 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001 2006 2011 2016 2019
1.98 1.66 1.71 1.76 1.8 1.79 2.03 2.11 1.96 1.82 1.7

The total number of births in Brussels is declining.

Total number of births in Brussels Year
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Births 17,709 17,377 16,854 15,847 15,690

Age of first birth and childbearing

The average age of which a mother gives birth has been consistently rising since figures go back to 1998

Age of motherhood Year
1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2019
First birth 26.8 28 28 28.4 28.6 28.7 29.1 29.2 29.8 30.1 30.2 30.5
Average age of childbearing overall 29.5 29.7 29.7 30 30.2 30.5 30.7 31 31.4 31.6 31.9 32.1

Age

Belgian and non-Belgian nationals Brussels Capital Region population pyramid in 2022

The average age of Brussels is much lower than on average the rest of Belgium.

Brussels 2022
Less the 18 years 18 to 64 65 years or more
Population 273,645 788,876 160,116

Language

Languages spoken at home in the Brussels-Capital Region (2013)
 French
 Dutch and French
 Dutch
 French and other language
 Neither Dutch nor French

Today, the Brussels-Capital Region is legally bilingual, with both French and Dutch having official status, as is the administration of the 19 municipalities.

Owing to migration and to its international role, Brussels is home to a large number of native speakers of languages other than French or Dutch. Currently, about half of the population speaks a home language other than these two. In 2013, academic research showed that approximately 17% of families spoke none of the official languages in the home, while in a further 23% a foreign language was used alongside French. The share of unilingual French-speaking families had fallen to 38% and that of Dutch-speaking families to 5%, while the percentage of bilingual Dutch-French families reached 17%. At the same time, French remains widely spoken: in 2013, French was spoken "well to perfectly" by 88% of the population, while for Dutch this percentage was only 23% (down from 33% in 2000); the other most commonly known languages were English (30%), Arabic (18%), Spanish (9%), German (7%) and Italian and Turkish (5% each). Despite the rise of English as a second language in Brussels, including as an unofficial compromise language between French and Dutch, as well as the working language for some of its international businesses and institutions, French remains the lingua franca and all public services are conducted exclusively in French or Dutch.

Religion

Religions in the Brussels-Capital Region (2016)

 Islam (23%)
 Other religions (4%)
 Non-religious (30%)

Historically, Brussels has been predominantly Roman Catholic, especially since the expulsion of Protestants in the 16th century. This is clear from the large number of historical churches in the region, particularly in the City of Brussels. The pre-eminent Catholic cathedral in Brussels is the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula, serving as the co-cathedral of the Archdiocese of Mechelen–Brussels. On the north-western side of the region, the National Basilica of the Sacred Heart is a Minor Basilica and parish church, as well as the 14th largest church building in the world. The Church of Our Lady of Laeken holds the tombs of many members of the Belgian royal family, including all the former Belgian monarchs, within the Royal Crypt.

The National Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Koekelberg

In reflection of its multicultural makeup, Brussels hosts a variety of religious communities, as well as large numbers of atheists and agnostics. Minority faiths include Islam, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Judaism, and Buddhism. According to a 2016 survey, approximately 40% of residents of Brussels declared themselves Catholics (12% were practising Catholics and 28% were non-practising Catholics), 30% were non-religious, 23% were Muslim (19% practising, 4% non-practising), 3% were Protestants and 4% were of another religion.

As guaranteed by Belgian law, recognised religions and non-religious philosophical organisations (French: organisations laïques, Dutch: vrijzinnige levensbeschouwelijke organisaties) enjoy public funding and school courses. It was once the case that every pupil in an official school from 6 years old to 18 had to choose 2 hours per week of compulsory religious—or non-religious-inspired morals—courses. However, in 2015, the Belgian Constitutional court ruled religious studies could no longer be required in the primary and secondary educational systems.

The Great Mosque of Brussels is the seat of the Islamic and Cultural Centre of Belgium.

Brussels has a large concentration of Muslims, mostly of Moroccan, Turkish, Syrian and Guinean ancestry. The Great Mosque of Brussels, located in the Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark, is the oldest mosque in Brussels. Belgium does not collect statistics by ethnic background or religious beliefs, so exact figures are unknown. It was estimated that, in 2005, people of Muslim background living in the Brussels Region numbered 256,220 and accounted for 25.5% of the city's population, a much higher concentration than those of the other regions of Belgium.

Origin

Belgians of Belgian origin by percentage in the Brussels-Capital Region

Belgium does not collect ethnic data of its citizens but does have a unique classification on the status of where its citizens originate from. This classification is not based on the place of birth, but takes into account previous nationalities of the person and of their parents.

In 2021, only 25% of the residents of Brussels were of Belgian origin (i.e., the resident had no previous nationality other than Belgian and both of their parents have the Belgian nationality as first nationality), and 75% were of overall foreign origin. Of these foreign origin residents, 41.8% were of non-European origin and 28.7% were of African origin.

A total of 37.5% of Brussels residents are of non-European origin as of 2023, according to Statistics Belgium. Among those aged under 18, 88% were of foreign origin and 57% of non-European origin (including 42.4% of African origin).

Group of origin Year
2001 2006 2011 2016 2023
Number % Number % Number % Number % Number %
Belgians with Belgian background 486,864 50.5% 433,338 42.5% 385,436 34.4% 342,026 28.9% 289,871 23.4%
Belgians with foreign background 214,770 22.2% 311,773 30.6% 381,308 34.1% 434,789 36.6% 493,152 39.7%
Neighbouring country 27,024 28,386 30,215 32,463 37,524
Other EU 34,211 38,468 42,395 47,531 55,249
Other Europe 25,505 39,154 46,513 50,384 51,087
Non-European 118,054 12.2% 192,235 246,431 287,598 328,719 26.5%
Not classified 9,976 13,530 15,754 16,813 20,573
Non-Belgians 262,771 27.2% 273,693 26.9% 352,344 31.5% 411,075 34.6% 458,152 36.9%
Neighbouring country 55,613 62,721 76,482 85,953 91,520
Other EU 87,602 97,320 136,090 173,082 186,589
Other Europe 20,095 17,798 21,337 21,326 34,426
Non-European 95,147 9.9% 90,769 112,507 124,230 136,016 11%
Not classified 4,314 5,085 5,928 6,484 9,601
Total 964,405 100% 1,018,804 100% 1,119,088 100% 1,187,890 100% 1,241,175 100%

This page was last updated at 2023-11-03 15:54 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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