In 2022, in terms of population, the biggest cities or municipalities in Belgium were Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, and Brussels. The Flemish cities of Antwerp and Ghent were the most populated in Belgium in 2022. From a regional perspective, out of the 6.8 million people living in Flanders, around 800,000 people lived in one of these two cities. However, the region of Wallonia also had large cities such as Charleroi and Liège. For instance, both cities registered around 200,000 inhabitants each. To put all these numbers into perspective, Belgium’s population amounted to 11.6 million in 2022.

Belgium’s capital city: Brussels

Surprisingly, the Belgian capital, Brussels, was not on top of the list. The reason for this is in the way the city’s population is measured. Brussels is made of 19 municipalities. In this ranking, for instance, only three of them are listed: Brussels City, Schaerbeek, and Anderlecht. These 19 municipalities form the heart of the agglomeration of Brussels which counts 36 municipalities in total and is also known as “le Grand Bruxelles”. In 2019, over a million people were living in this Brussels-Capital Region. The agglomeration of Brussels is the most populated in the country, it is bigger than the agglomeration of Antwerp. Yet in terms of municipalities, Antwerp was the most populated in Belgium in 2020.

Belgium’s five big agglomerations

Belgium faced a population growth of 0.58 percent in 2020. The country counts five big agglomerations: Antwerp, Brussels, Charleroi, Ghent, and Liège. Although the notion of agglomeration is very fluid and disputed, each of these five agglomerations represents a significant part of the population. For some, agglomerations are defined by the continuity of constructions. For others, they are defined by the sense of an urban entity shared by a living community. Nonetheless, the definition of an agglomeration in Belgium corresponds to the European rules. These rules fix the technical specifications regarding the population and housing census. An agglomeration is, therefore, a group of municipalities which includes a continuously built-up zone with no cut of more than 200 meters between two constructions.

Belgium's largest cities in terms of population in 2024 were situated in Flanders. Approximately ******* people lived in Antwerpen, making it the biggest city in Belgium. This city was followed by Gent with ******* inhabitants in 2024. However, the third and fourth city with the most inhabitants were in the Belgian region of Wallonia. Indeed, Charleroi counted ******* inhabitants, and Bruxelles, ******* inhabitants.

Population in largest city in Belgium was reported at 2132178 in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Belgium - Population in largest city - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on August of 2025.

Belgium BE: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data was reported at 18.381 % in 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 18.334 % for 2023. Belgium BE: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data is updated yearly, averaging 17.684 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2024, with 65 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 18.435 % in 2021 and a record low of 17.224 % in 1967. Belgium BE: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Belgium – Table BE.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population in largest city is the percentage of a country's urban population living in that country's largest metropolitan area.;United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects.;Weighted average;

Population in the largest city (% of urban population) in Belgium was reported at 18.28 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Belgium - Population in the largest city - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

Belgium BE: Population in Largest City data was reported at 2,132,178.000 Person in 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 2,121,992.000 Person for 2023. Belgium BE: Population in Largest City data is updated yearly, averaging 1,703,259.000 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2024, with 65 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2,132,178.000 Person in 2024 and a record low of 1,484,676.000 Person in 1960. Belgium BE: Population in Largest City data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Belgium – Table BE.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population in largest city is the urban population living in the country's largest metropolitan area.;United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects.;;

This horizontal bar chart displays ranking by city using the aggregation sum in Belgium. The data is about universities.

Want to live somewhere quiet? Then the Brussels-Capital Region maybe would not be the place for you. In a country where the population density was highly depended on the region, the Brussels-Capital Region far exceeded the others in terms of residents per square kilometer. Whereas in Brussels over 7,500 people lived per a square kilometer, in the Walloon Region this was only 276. In total, roughly 1.22 million inhabitants lived in the Brussels-Capital Region in 2022.

 Flemish Region has the highest number of inhabitants  

Although the Brussels-Capital Region had the highest population density, it was by no means Belgium’s region with the largest number of inhabitants. On the contrary: both the Flemish and the Walloon Regions had more inhabitants than the Brussels Region. In total, just over ten percent of Belgium’s population lived in Brussels, the rest was divided among Flanders (58 percent) and Wallonia (32 percent).

 Comparison to the other Benelux countries   

Belgium’s population density amounted to 375 inhabitants per square kilometer in 2021. This was significantly lower than the population density in neighboring country the Netherlands, where on average 519 inhabitants lived on a square kilometer. It was however higher than Luxembourg’s population density, which amounted to about 245 inhabitants per square kilometer. This was the lowest population density of all three Benelux countries.

About this dataset

Context

The dataset tabulates the Belgium town population by age cohorts (Children: Under 18 years; Working population: 18-64 years; Senior population: 65 years or more). It lists the population in each age cohort group along with its percentage relative to the total population of Belgium town. The dataset can be utilized to understand the population distribution across children, working population and senior population for dependency ratio, housing requirements, ageing, migration patterns etc.

Key observations

The largest age group was 18 to 64 years with a poulation of 968 (67.04% of the total population). Source: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.

Age cohorts:

• Under 18 years
• 18 to 64 years
• 65 years and over

Variables / Data Columns

• Age Group: This column displays the age cohort for the Belgium town population analysis. Total expected values are 3 groups ( Children, Working Population and Senior Population).
• Population: The population for the age cohort in Belgium town is shown in the following column.
• Percent of Total Population: The population as a percent of total population of the Belgium town is shown in the following column.

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for Belgium town Population by Age. You can refer the same here

Where can you find the most office space in Belgium? According to calculations based on the number of square meters, most office buildings were in Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent. There were large differences in the market size between the three cities, however. Mechelen and Liège followed in fourth and fifth place with ******* square meters of office space, whereas Ypres was ranked the lowest of the ** cities in this ranking.

About this dataset

Context

The dataset tabulates the Non-Hispanic population of Belgium town by race. It includes the distribution of the Non-Hispanic population of Belgium town across various race categories as identified by the Census Bureau. The dataset can be utilized to understand the Non-Hispanic population distribution of Belgium town across relevant racial categories.

Key observations

Of the Non-Hispanic population in Belgium town, the largest racial group is White alone with a population of 1,327 (92.73% of the total Non-Hispanic population).

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.

Racial categories include:

• White
• Black or African American
• American Indian and Alaska Native
• Asian
• Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander
• Some other race
• Two or more races (multiracial)

Variables / Data Columns

• Race: This column displays the racial categories (for Non-Hispanic) for the Belgium town
• Population: The population of the racial category (for Non-Hispanic) in the Belgium town is shown in this column.
• % of Total Population: This column displays the percentage distribution of each race as a proportion of Belgium town total Non-Hispanic population. Please note that the sum of all percentages may not equal one due to rounding of values.

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for Belgium town Population by Race & Ethnicity. You can refer the same here

This horizontal bar chart displays inflation (annual %) by capital city using the aggregation median in Belgium. The data is filtered where the date is 2021. The data is about countries per year.

In 2023, the population of Belgium was approximately 11.7 million, and has grown by about 113,500 compared to 2022, when the population was 11.58 million.

How is the population distributed by region?
The population of Belgium is divided into three regions: the Flemish, Walloon, and Brussels-capital regions. The population of these regions is not distributed equally. In 2021, the Flemish region had 6.65 million inhabitants, compared to 3.65 million in the Walloon region and 1.22 million in the Brussels-capital region. The distribution between the regions has remained similar since 2009, with population increases in all regions staying relatively similar. With the population of Belgium expected to grow to 11.91 million by 2031, it will be interesting to see where these people will settle themselves.

How does Belgium’s population compare to the rest of Europe?
In 2021, Belgium had the 12th largest population in Europe, putting Belgium one place above Czechia and one below the Netherlands. Russia is the most populated European country with 145.9 million residents, meaning it has about 12.5 times the population of Belgium. The least populated country in Europe other than Vatican city is Gibraltar, with 34,000 inhabitants, meaning it has 0.3 percent of the population of Belgium.

This statistic displays the total retail outlets in Belgium in 2019, by city size. There were approximately *** retail stores in places that had ***** to ***** inhabitants.

This horizontal bar chart displays fertility rate (births per woman) by capital city using the aggregation average, weighted by population female in Belgium. The data is filtered where the date is 2021. The data is about countries per year.

How many coworking spaces are there in Belgium? According to calculations, there were close to *** coworking centers in the country in 2019. Together, these made up less than *** percent of the total office market in the country. In Brussels, however, the share of flexible workspaces made up more than ** percent of all office take-up, making the Belgian capital one of Europe’s most common cities for coworking.

Brussels leads the charge for office space in Belgium…

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the city with the highest amount of office space in Belgium was Brussels. There were large differences, however, between Brussels and other Belgian cities. It was forecast that Antwerp, for example, would have roughly *** million square meters of office space in 2018, whereas Brussels would have around **** million. Due to the capital’s central location and the presence of European institutions, prime office rents in Brussels were also significantly higher than those found in other Belgian cities.

… but not when it comes to constructing new office space.

One reason why coworking in Brussels might be popular, could be due to construction issues in the Belgian capital. In 2018, there were just ** building permits for newly constructed commercial real estate in the Brussels-Capital Region (which includes the city of Brussels plus its surrounding villages). This same value reached over ***** in the northern, Belgian Dutch-speaking region of Flanders. The vacancy rate of offices in Brussels also reached its lowest value in 2018.

About this dataset

Context

The dataset tabulates the Belgium town Hispanic or Latino population. It includes the distribution of the Hispanic or Latino population, of Belgium town, by their ancestries, as identified by the Census Bureau. The dataset can be utilized to understand the origin of the Hispanic or Latino population of Belgium town.

Key observations

Among the Hispanic population in Belgium town, regardless of the race, the largest group is of Mexican origin, with a population of 8 (61.54% of the total Hispanic population).

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.

Origin for Hispanic or Latino population include:

• Mexican
• Puerto Rican
• Cuban
• Other Hispanic or Latino

Variables / Data Columns

• Origin: This column displays the origin for Hispanic or Latino population for the Belgium town
• Population: The population of the specific origin for Hispanic or Latino population in the Belgium town is shown in this column.
• % of Total Hispanic Population: This column displays the percentage distribution of each Hispanic origin as a proportion of Belgium town total Hispanic or Latino population. Please note that the sum of all percentages may not equal one due to rounding of values.

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for Belgium town Population by Race & Ethnicity. You can refer the same here

Brussels was the home of five Bitcoin ATMs as of June 2020, whereas Amsterdam had more than 20 of these cryptocurrency installations. In general, Bitcoin ATMs were to be found in the bigger cities of the two cities, but they also sporadically appeared in smaller cities. No recent data exists on the market size of Bitcoin in either Belgium or the Netherlands. In the first three quarters of 2017, there were approximately 44,000 transactions in Bitcoin from the Netherlands on a domestic trading platform called BTC Direct. This lack of market data has two reasons. First, the design of the digital currency (meant to provide privacy) makes it is difficult to trace. Second, Bitcoin did not reach the news in the two countries that often after 2017. Approximately 60 percent of the households in the Netherlands who invested in cryptocurrencies started doing so in that year. Data on cryptocurrencies in Belgium and the Netherlands therefore mostly stems from 2017 and 2018, not from 2019.

What can be said about cryptocurrencies in Belgium and the Netherlands?

According to a survey held in Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands in early 2018, Dutch respondents had the highest cryptocurrency ownership. This could be any cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin but also Ethereum or Ripple. However, consumers from the Benelux region held much less blockchain-powered currencies than their European counterparts. Not only that, they also were less likely to buy into the trend of buying cryptocurrencies over time. This might have to do with the steep decline in Bitcoin prices by the time of the survey. The biggest reason for Dutch consumers to invest in the digital money was not because of technology or out of curiosity, but simply to earn money.

Who owns cryptocurrencies in the Netherlands?

Bitcoin was owned in roughly equal amounts by both male (69 percent) as well as female (65 percent) respondents to a 2018 survey in the Netherlands. Ethereum and Litecoin, however, were way more popular amongst male respondents. Women were overall less likely to invest in cryptocurrencies but did show an interest in coins like Ripple and TRON.

About this dataset

Context

The dataset tabulates the data for the Belgium Town, Wisconsin population pyramid, which represents the Belgium town population distribution across age and gender, using estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates. It lists the male and female population for each age group, along with the total population for those age groups. Higher numbers at the bottom of the table suggest population growth, whereas higher numbers at the top indicate declining birth rates. Furthermore, the dataset can be utilized to understand the youth dependency ratio, old-age dependency ratio, total dependency ratio, and potential support ratio.

Key observations

• Youth dependency ratio, which is the number of children aged 0-14 per 100 persons aged 15-64, for Belgium Town, Wisconsin, is 10.6.
• Old-age dependency ratio, which is the number of persons aged 65 or over per 100 persons aged 15-64, for Belgium Town, Wisconsin, is 32.5.
• Total dependency ratio for Belgium Town, Wisconsin is 43.1.
• Potential support ratio, which is the number of youth (working age population) per elderly, for Belgium Town, Wisconsin is 3.1.

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates.

Age groups:

• Under 5 years
• 5 to 9 years
• 10 to 14 years
• 15 to 19 years
• 20 to 24 years
• 25 to 29 years
• 30 to 34 years
• 35 to 39 years
• 40 to 44 years
• 45 to 49 years
• 50 to 54 years
• 55 to 59 years
• 60 to 64 years
• 65 to 69 years
• 70 to 74 years
• 75 to 79 years
• 80 to 84 years
• 85 years and over

Variables / Data Columns

• Age Group: This column displays the age group for the Belgium town population analysis. Total expected values are 18 and are define above in the age groups section.
• Population (Male): The male population in the Belgium town for the selected age group is shown in the following column.
• Population (Female): The female population in the Belgium town for the selected age group is shown in the following column.
• Total Population: The total population of the Belgium town for the selected age group is shown in the following column.

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for Belgium town Population by Age. You can refer the same here

In the year 1500, the share of Western Europe's population living in urban areas was just six percent, but this rose to 31 percent by the end of the 19th century. Despite this drastic change, development was quite slow between 1500 and 1800, and it was not until the industrial revolution when there was a spike in urbanization. As Britain was the first region to undergo the industrial revolution, from around the 1760s until the 1840s, these areas were the most urbanized in Europe by 1890. The Low Countries Prior to the 19th century, Belgium and the Netherlands had been the most urbanized regions due to the legacy of their proto-industrial areas in the medieval period, and then the growth of their port cities during the Netherlands' empirical expansion (Belgium was a part of the Netherlands until the 1830s). Belgium was also quick to industrialize in the 1800s, and saw faster development than its larger, more economically powerful neighbors, France and Germany. Least-urban areas Ireland was the only Western European region with virtually no urbanization in the 16th and 17th century, but the industrial growth of Belfast and Dublin (then major port cities of the British Empire) saw this change by the late-1800s. The region of Scandinavia was the least-urbanized area in Western Europe by 1890, but it saw rapid economic growth in Europe during the first half of the following century.