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Geographical breakdowns

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58% of the Belgian population lives in a 5-kilometre radius of a hospital

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58% of the Belgian population lives in a 5-kilometre radius of a hospital

Statbel, the Belgian statistical office, publishes today an update of the geographical breakdowns based on the population figures on 01/01/2024. These figures provide information on the proximity of essential infrastructure for Belgian citizens (hospital, railway station, border, motorway or slip road, school or nursing home).

This publication focuses on hospitals and railway stations to illustrate the data available from national down to municipal level.

58% of the Belgian population lives in a 5-kilometre radius of a hospital. This percentage increases to 87% for 10 km and to 99% for 20 km.

All the inhabitants in the Brussels-Capital Region live within 5 km of a hospital. This percentage drops to 53% in the Flemish Region and to 51% in the Walloon Region.

The provinces where the share of inhabitants living within 5 km of a hospital is the lowest are Luxembourg (22%), Namur (34%) and Limburg (35%).

The provinces where the share of inhabitants living within 5 km of a hospital is the highest are Antwerp (66%), Liège (63%) and Hainaut (58%).

In 6 Belgian municipalities, all residents live more than 20 km away from the first hospital: Daverdisse, Meix-devant-Virton, Rouvroy, Bièvre, Gedinne and Vresse-sur-Semois.

When the distance is reduced to 10 km, 48 municipalities still have no hospital nearby. This figure sharply increases for the 5 km radius, with 194 municipalities having no immediate access to a hospital.

On the other hand, in 43 municipalities, all inhabitants have a hospital within 5 km. For 10 km, this is 275 municipalities and for 20 km, 541 municipalities.

82% of the population lives within 5 km of a railway station

82% of Belgians live less than 5 km from a railway station. This share rises to 96% for a distance of 10 km and reaches 99% for a 20 km radius.

All the inhabitants in the Brussels-Capital Region live less than 5 km from a railway station. This percentage is almost identical in Flanders and Wallonia, with 79% for the former and 80% for the latter.

The provinces with the fewest railway stations within a 5 km radius are Luxembourg (57%), Limburg (60%) and Namur (74%).

The provinces with the most railway stations within a 5 km radius are Hainaut (89%), Flemish Brabant (87%) and East Flanders (87%).

In Belgium, only 1 municipality has less than one railway station within a 20 km radius for its residents: Büllingen.

When the distance is reduced to 10 km, 19 municipalities still have no railway station nearby. This figure increases to 66 municipalities for a 5 km radius.

On the other hand, 149 municipalitieshave a station within a 5 km radius for all their inhabitants. For 10 km, this is 434 municipalities and for 20 km, 562 municipalities.

Data used:

Situation on 01/01/2024.

For slip roads, the file Open Street Map 2024 (motorway et motorway_link) has been used and contains 765 slip roads in Belgium.

For slip roads, areas of 5 km, 10 km and 20 km have been created, and for motorways, areas of 200 m, 500 m and 1000 m.

Data used

Hospitals

This concerns 124 hospitals with an emergency department in Belgium, based on the institutions with initial emergency care (01-02-2024) and specialised emergency care services (01-02-2024) of the FPS Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment - DG Health Care - Department Data Management (https://www.health.belgium.be/fr/sante/organisation-des-soins-de-sante/…).

Motorway entrances

For motorway entrances, the file Open Street Map 2024 (motorway et motorway_link) has been used and contains 771 motorway entrances in Belgium.

Train stations

The 554 train stations in Belgium are active stations, i.e. stations with travellers counts (figures travellers on board (counts October 2023) - SNCB).

Schools:

This concerns 6,326 primary school locations and 1,747 secondary school locations in Belgium, based on recognised educational establishments [ordinary basic education (pre-primary and primary education) and ordinary secondary education] in Flanders, Brussels, Wallonia and the German-speaking Community.

Senior care facilities

This concerns 1,525 senior care facilities in Belgium, based on rest homes and nursing homes of the Agentschap Zorg en Gezondheid Vlaanderen, Wallonia AVIQ: familles santé handicap, Brussels Iriscare and Ostbelgien Live: Wohn- und Pflegezentren für Senioren.

Stations and stops of public transport:

It concerns 64,943 stations and stops of public transport (bus, tram, metro) in Belgium based on the active stations, i.e. stations with travellers counts (figures travellers on board (counts October 2023) - SNCB), and the stops in Flanders (stops from the Flemish transport company De Lijn, situation on 30/05/2024), Brussels (location of stops (stations) of the STIB) and Wallonia (Walloonia TEC GTFS data set).

Buffers of 200 m, 500 m and 1000 m were created around the points of public transport stations and stops.