Diversity according to origin in Belgium

On 01/01/2022, 66.6% of the Belgian population was Belgian with a Belgian background, 20.6% was Belgian with a foreign background and 12.8% was non-Belgian. This is what emerges from the figures of Statbel, the Belgian statistical office.

Population according to group of origin

In absolute figures, the Belgian population numbers 7,714,233 Belgians with a Belgian background, 2,386,100 Belgians with a foreign background and 1,483,675 non-Belgians.

The group of Belgians with a foreign background is very diverse:

• 49.6% do not have Belgian nationality as their first registered nationality, but have acquired it in the meantime.
• 50.4% have the Belgian nationality as first registered nationality, including:
  • 20.6% have two parents with a foreign first registered nationality;
  • 29.8% have one parent with a foreign first registered nationality.

There are important differences when comparing the three Belgian regions:

• At Belgian level, approximately two-thirds of the population was Belgian with a Belgian background on 01/01/2022. This ranges from one in four in the Brussels-Capital Region to two in three in the Walloon Region and to three in four in the Flemish Region.
• Overall, one in five was a Belgian with a foreign background. The percentage is lowest in Flanders at 15.2%, rising to 24.0% in Wallonia and ending at 39.8% in the Brussels-Capital Region.
• The proportion of non-Belgians in the Flemish and Walloon regions is around 10%. In the Brussels-Capital Region, the figure is 35.9%.

It is important to note that nationality does not say whether a person has migrated or not: nationality rather provides information about a person's origin. The country of birth is a better indicator of whether someone has migrated to Belgium or not. Nearly all Belgians with a Belgian background (98.4%) were born in Belgium. At the same time, 69.8% of Belgians with a foreign background and 15.9% of non-Belgians were born in Belgium.

In the different origin groups, the proportion of men and women seems to be evenly distributed. Age, on the other hand, is less evenly distributed:

• The share of Belgians with a Belgian background clearly increases with age: it amounts to 53.3% among 0-17-year-olds, 64.6% among 18-64-year-olds and 86.5% among those aged 65 and over.
• It is striking that the minors who belong to the origin group Belgian with a foreign background, are mainly strongly represented in the subcategories where the own first registered nationality is Belgian. Among the 18-64-year-olds, we see the opposite: they more often have a foreign first registered nationality.
• The proportion of non-Belgians is highest among 18-64-year-olds, namely 15.2%. The 0-17-year-olds follow with 11.9% and the people aged 65 and over with 6.4%.

Diversity by origin has increased in Belgium over the past decades:

• The share of Belgians with a Belgian background has decreased from 81.2% in 2002 to 73.4% in 2012 and 66.6% in 2022.
• The share of Belgians with a foreign background increased by 5.4 percentage points between 2002 and 2012. Also in the last decade, this share increased by 4.6 percentage points.
• The proportion of non-Belgians increased from 8.2% in 2002 to 10.6% in 2012 and to 12.8% in 2022.

Population according to nationality of origin

The Belgians with a Belgian background all have a Belgian nationality of origin. Therefore, in this section, we only focus on the Belgians with a foreign background and the non-Belgians.

We distinguish three nationality groups of origin: neighbouring country (France, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, United Kingdom), EU27 and outside the EU27. The largest group of Belgians with a foreign background and non-Belgians, 51.8%, are in the non-EU27 nationality group. This is followed by the nationality group EU27 excluding neighbouring countries (28.2%). Finally, there is the nationality group of neighbouring countries (20%).

There are once again important differences when comparing the three Belgian regions:

• The Flemish Region appears to have a smaller share of people whose nationality group of origin is an EU27 country (excluding neighbouring countries): 21.6% compared to 28.2% at national level. At the same time, Flanders has a larger share of people with a nationality of origin that lies outside the EU27 zone: 57.1% versus 51.8% at Belgian level.
• In the Walloon Region, we see the opposite: compared to the national level, there is a larger share originating from an EU27 country (excluding neighbouring countries): 38.9% and a smaller share coming from a country outside the EU27 zone: 38.4%.
• The Brussels-Capital Region has the smallest proportion of people from a neighbouring country: 13.8% compared to 20.0% at national level. This region also contains the largest proportion of people with a nationality of origin outside the EU27 zone: 60.5%, compared to 57.1% in Flanders and 38.4% in Wallonia.

There have been some shifts in recent decades:

• Over the last 20 years, the share of people belonging to the nationality group of origin of neighbouring countries has decreased: from 27.6% in 2002 to 23.3% in 2012 and to 20.0% in 2022.
• On the other hand, we see an increase in the nationality group of origin outside the EU27 zone, rising from 39.6% in 2002 to 48.1% in 2012 and ending at 51.8% in 2022.

Why and how

Belgium is a diverse country and diversity is increasing. The demand for figures on diversity of the population increases year after year, from both academic world and policy makers. To meet this demand, Statbel decided to produce these tables on the Belgian population by origin. A time series from 2000 to 2022 makes it possible to study the evolution of diversity according to origin.

When compiling this new statistic, Statbel extensively consulted other partners, both experts in demography from the regional partners and experts in the field of international migration. The division into origin groups and the naming of the different groups were checked and resulted in the following consensus.

Statistics on origin are based on the following characteristics: current en first registered nationality and first registered nationality of both parents. On this basis, three major groups of origin are distinguished:

1. Belgian with a Belgian background;
2. Belgian with a foreign background;
3. Non-Belgian.

The second group, Belgians with a foreign background, is very diverse and is therefore further subdivided into a few subgroups:

• Belgian with a foreign background;
  • Belgian first registered nationality
    • One parent with a foreign first registered nationality;
    • Both parents with a foreign first registered nationality;
• Foreign first registered nationality.

In addition, the nationality of origin was determined. It was included in the following nationality groups of origin:

1. Belgian (only people in the group of origin Belgian with Belgian background);
2. Neighbouring country: Germany, France, the Netherlands, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the United Kingdom are considered neighbouring countries;
3. EU27 (excluding Belgium and the neighbouring countries);
4. Outside EU27 (excluding neighbouring countries).

The division of the Belgian population according to the group of origin and the nationality groups of origin is discussed in detail in the documentation and the two decision trees available in the tables.