Statbel, the Belgian statistical office, publishes today for the first time the figures on poverty risk and income inequality at municipal level.
- In 2021, the municipality with the lowest risk of monetary poverty is Horebeke, where 3.2% of the population is below the poverty threshold.
- At the other extreme is Saint-Josse-ten-Node, where 34.6% of the population is at risk of poverty.
- Attert has the highest median income and Saint-Josse-ten-Node the lowest.
- At the same time, income inequality is the highest in Attert and the lowest in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean.
- These figures are in line with those for 2020.
New variable catalyst for municipal poverty rates
Official figures on poverty risk, from national level down to provincial level, are published based on EU-SILC survey. The administrative equivalised disposable income[1] was developed on an administrative basis to correspond as closely as possible to the EU-SILC household and income concepts, and also uses the same definitions. It is therefore possible for the first time to map the risk of monetary poverty at municipal level, but these figures do not replace the national, regional and provincial poverty figures published by Statbel using data from the SILC survey, which complies with a European standard enabling statistics to be compared within the EU.
To enhance readability, “poverty risk” is always used here for the administrative poverty risk, “poverty threshold” for the administrative poverty threshold and “income” for the administrative equivalised disposable income.
Lowest levels of poverty risk in Flemish municipalities, highest in the Brussels-Capital Region
The poverty risk indicates the proportion of the municipal population with an income below the national poverty threshold. The municipalities with the lowest poverty risk are all in the Flemish Region: Horebeke (3.2%), Zwalm (3.4%), Holsbeek (3.5%), Oosterzele (3.7%) and Hoegaarden (3.7%). The municipalities with the highest figures are located in the Brussels-Capital Region: Saint-Josse-ten-Noode (34.6%), Molenbeek-Saint-Jean (32.5%), Anderlecht (28.6%) and Schaerbeek (27.1%). The Walloon municipality Dison (26.9%) joins the top 5 municipalities with the highest poverty risk.
80 municipalities have a risk of poverty lower than 5%. All provinces are represented, except for Walloon Brabant and the Brussels-Capital Region. Flemish Brabant takes the lead with 25 municipalities, followed by East Flanders (20 municipalities), Antwerp (13 municipalities), West Flanders (7 municipalities) and Limburg (6 municipalities). The Walloon provinces are less well represented with Liège (6 municipalities) in the lead, followed by Hainaut, Luxembourg and Namur (1 municipality each). However, 21 municipalities have a risk of poverty above 20%. They are all located in the Brussels-Capital Region (10 municipalities) and the Walloon provinces of Hainaut (6 municipalities) and Liège (5 municipalities).
Attert is the richest municipality, Saint-Josse-ten-Noode the poorest
However, the poverty risk does not necessarily say anything about the wealth of a municipality. For that, we can look at the median income per municipality[1]. It is by far the highest in Attert, with €40,126, followed by Kraainem (€35,642), Messancy (€35,246), Tervuren (€33,546) and Woluwe-Saint-Pierre (€33,473). Of the top 10 richest municipalities, 5 are located in the province of Luxembourg, 4 in Flemish Brabant and 1 in the Brussels-Capital Region. However, none of these municipalities feature in the top 10 municipalities with the lowest risk of poverty. Conversely, there are similarities in the lower part of the breakdown. Of the 10 municipalities with the lowest median income, 9 were among the 10 municipalities with the highest risk of poverty. The lowest median income can be found in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode with €18,341, followed by Molenbeek-Saint-Jean (€18,533), Anderlecht (€19,517), Farciennes (€20,018) and Koekelberg (€20,230).
| Median | Poverty risk | Median | Poverty risk | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attert | 40,126 euro | 4.2% | Saint-Josse-ten-Noode | 18,341 euro | 34.6% |
| Kraainem | 35,642 euro | 6.2% | Molenbeek-Saint-Jean | 18,533 euro | 32.5% |
| Messancy | 35,246 euro | 6.2% | Anderlecht | 19,517 euro | 28.6% |
| Tervuren | 33,546 euro | 5.4% | Farciennes | 20,018 euro | 25.5% |
| Woluwe-Saint-Pierre | 33,473 euro | 8.7% | Koekelberg | 20,230 euro | 26.0% |
| Wezembeek-Oppem | 33,070 euro | 6.5% | Charleroi | 20,319 euro | 25.9% |
| Etalle | 32,932 euro | 5.3% | Schaerbeek | 20,569 euro | 27.1% |
| Arlon | 32,856 euro | 9.3% | Dison | 20,711 euro | 26.9% |
| Saint-Léger | 32,520 euro | 7.6% | Brussels | 20,806 euro | 25.1% |
| Overijse | 32,424 euro | 5.5% | Seraing | 21,052 euro | 22.5% |
50 municipalities have a median income that is higher than €30,000. This means that more than half of the inhabitants of these municipalities have an administrative equivalised disposable income higher than €30,000. It is striking that 23 of these municipalities, or just under half, are located in Flemish Brabant. The other provinces are also represented, with the exception of West Flanders and Limburg: Luxembourg (8 municipalities), East Flanders (6 municipalities), Walloon Brabant (5 municipalities), Antwerp (3 municipalities), Liège (2 municipalities), and Hainaut, Namur and the Brussels-Capital Region (1 municipality each).
Lowest inequality in poorest municipalities
The new figures also give us a better understanding of the extent of income inequality in Belgian municipalities with the interquartile range. For this measure, the difference between the third and first quartile of income is calculated for each municipality and expressed in euros. 50% of the municipal population is between these limits. The smaller the difference (expressed in euros), the less income inequality there is. This does not say anything about wealth or poverty, but provides insight into the degree of income diversity among the municipal population. Based on this measure, we get a completely different picture from the one above. The municipality with the lowest income inequality is Molenbeek-Saint-Jean (€10,048), followed by Saint-Josse-ten-Noode (€10,268), Farciennes (€10,293), Mesen (€10,422) and Saint-Nicolas (€10,820). These are all municipalities with poor results in terms of poverty risk and median income, i.e. municipalities with high poverty rates and low income.
In contrast, Attert is the municipality with the highest income inequality with an interquartile range of €26,803, followed by Arlon (€25,699), Messancy (€24,464), Ixelles (€23,658)[2][3] and Uccle (€22,315). A comparison with the poverty indicators above is not so obvious here. Attert and Messancy have lower poverty risks and higher median income, Arlon is in between with a high median income and a rather high risk of poverty, while Ixelles and Uccle have a high poverty risk and a low median income.
Figures from 2015 to 2020 also available
Statbel also publishes today a time series going back to 2015. Because of an improved methodology, figures up to 2019 are only marginally comparable with those from 2020 onwards.
There are no major shifts between the income 2020 and the income 2021. In 2020, the top 5 municipalities with the lowest risk of poverty consisted of Zemst (3.8%), Zwalm (4.0%), Galmaarden (4.1%), De Pinte (4.1%) and Rotselaar (4.3%), all located in the Flemish Region. With the exception of Zwalm, these are different municipalities from 2021, but the figures are close. In 2020, Horebeke had a poverty risk of 4.3%, Oosterzele of 4.4% and Holsbeek and Hoegaarden of 4.5%. Among the municipalities with poor results, we find again Saint-Josse-ten-Noode (36.6%), Molenbeek-Saint-Jean (34.6%), Anderlecht (30.1%) and Schaerbeek (29.3%), as well as Farciennes (28.2%).
The top 5 municipalities with the highest median income in 2020 also included Attert (€38,869), Kraainem (€34,679), Messancy (€33,684) and Tervuren (€33,077), as well as Wezembeek-Oppem (€33,244). At the bottom of the ranking, we find the same municipalities in 2020 as in 2021: Saint-Josse-ten-Noode (€17,416), Molenbeek-Saint-Jean (€17,886), Anderlecht (€18,831), Farciennes (€19,183) and Koekelberg (€19,611).
Also, 4 of the 5 municipalities with the lowest income inequality are the same in 2020 as in 2021: Saint-Josse-ten-Noode (€9,978), Molenbeek-Saint-Jean (€10,090), Farciennes (€10,519) and Mesen (€10,694), as well as Houthulst (€10,649). Municipalities with the highest income inequality remain the same. Income inequality was also the highest in Attert in 2020 with an interquartile range of €25,718, followed by Arlon (€25,122), Messancy (€23,875), Ixelles (€23,453)[2][3] and Wezembeek-Oppem (€22,216)[3].
[1] For the whole population, both taxable and non-taxable (net) income are taken into account (professional income, social benefits, pensions, social integration allowance, rental income, capital income, family allowances, maintenance allowances received, etc.). They are added together for all household members to obtain an administrative disposable income for the household. After adjusting for household composition, the “administrative equivalised disposable income” variable is calculated. It can then be used to calculate figures on income and the risk of poverty at municipal level. For more information, see the tab “Documents”
[2] The percentage of persons not taken into account is between 10% and 15%. This figure should be interpreted with caution. For more information, see the tab “Documents”
[3] 2 The percentage of persons whose income is imputed because of international employment is between 10% and 15%. This figure should be interpreted with caution. For more information, see the tab “Documents”