On 1 January 2023, Belgium had 5.1 million private households, including 1.8 million one-person households. This is what emerged from the new results of Statbel, the Belgian statistical office. This is more than a third (36%) of private households. Married couples, with or without children, accounted for 37%. This figure is 15% for unmarried couples with or without children. The Brussels-Capital Region is the region with the most one-person households (47%).
With 47.1%, the Brussels-Capital Region is the region with the most one-person households
The Brussels-Capital Region has 270,891 one-person households, or a total of 47.1%, i.e. almost half of households. This percentage is 37.2% for the Walloon Region, 33.1% for the Flemish Region and 35.9% for Belgium.
Compared to the other regions, the Brussels-Capital Region, with 8.8%, has the lowest number of married couples without children. This percentage is 15.6% for the Walloon Region, 21.8% for the Flemish Region and 18.4% for Belgium.
With 20.3%, Flanders is the region with the most married couples with children, followed by the Brussels-Capital Region with 17.9% and the Walloon Region with 16.8%. This figure is 18.9% at national level.
With 12.2%, single-parent families are most common in the Walloon Region. This percentage is 11.6% for the Brussels-Capital Region and 8.3% for the Flemish Region. This type of household accounts for 9.9% at Belgian level.
Increase in unmarried couples with or without children in Belgium
Between 2013 and 2023, Belgium registered an increase of 7.4% of its households. Unmarried couples with children increased by 38.5% and without children by 32.5%. The other types of household are also on the rise (+31.3%) as well as one-person households (+13.4%) and single-parent families (+9.0%). Married couples with children decrease by 10.5% and, without children, by 1.9%.
The increase in the number of households was the sharpest in the Flemish Region (+8.7%). This increase was 5.8% for the Brussels-Capital Region and 5.6% for the Walloon Region.
Unmarried couples with children increased by 39.5% in Wallonia, followed by Flanders (+38.0%) and the Brussels-Capital Region (+36.8%).
The increase in unmarried couples without children was the sharpest in the Walloon Region (+33.2%), followed by Flanders (+32.2%) and the Brussels-Capital Region (+31.9%).
The other types of household increased in all regions: in the Brussels-Capital Region (+40.7%), in Flanders (+36%) and in Wallonia (+17.9%).
One-person households increased by 17.1% in the Flemish Region, followed by the Walloon Region (+11.7%) and the Brussels-Capital Region (+4.8%).
The Flemish Region registered the sharpest increase in the number of single-parent families (+10.7%), followed by the Brussels-Capital Region (+10.3%) and the Walloon Region (+6.7%).
Married couples without children decreased the most in the Brussels-Capital Region (-15.3%) followed by the Walloon Region (-6%). The Flemish Region registered an increase of 1.1%.
The decrease in married couples with children was the sharpest in the Walloon Region (-15.2%) followed by the Flemish Region (-9.8%), while their number remained stable in the Brussels-Capital Region.