The statistics on land use contain adapted data, according to a new calculation of the total surface area of administrative entities by the land register of the FPS Finances. The 2018 results are based on the most recent measuring techniques. The adapted calculation is now also in line with international conventions and guidelines from Eurostat, the European statistical office. This is why, for the ten coastal municipalities, the surface area from the coast to the low-water line has been taken into account. The total surface area of Belgium amounts to 30,688 km². The Flemish Region is 13,624 km², the Walloon Region 16,901 km² and the Brussels-Capital Region 162 km².
The statistics on land use give since 1982 an overview of the number of parcels, the surface areas and the non-indexed cadastral income (C.I.) of all parcels and administrative units in Belgium.
Until 2017, the calculation of the total surface area was based on files from the land register of the FPS Finances. The data contained in this database were originally defined during the Napoleonic era (when the land register was created). The cadastral surface areas have been updated until 2017. The new calculation method of 2018 only affects surface areas not included in the land register.