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41,000 move from Brussels to other regions - 25,000 the other way

12:42 22/12/2020

About 16,000 more people moved from Brussels to Wallonia or Flanders last year than in the opposite direction, new figures reveal.

In 2019, some 15,000 Brussels residents quit the region for Wallonia and another 26,000 moved to Flanders, according to the stats from Brussels statistics institute IBSA.

Nearly half of all the people who left Brussels last year for another part of Belgium - 19,000 - chose to settle in Flemish Brabant, in search of bigger and more affordable properties in less densely populated areas. This figure is up from 15,000 a decade ago.

Sven Gatz, the regional minister in charge of promoting Brussels' image, said: "2019 shows an upward trend for departures from Brussels to Flanders, and specifically Flemish Brabant. It is much less evident towards Wallonia."

Meanwhile, in 2019, about 25,000 made the reverse journey, moving home from another part of Belgium to the Brussels region - 11,000 from Wallonia and almost 14,000 from Flanders.

This would mean a net population loss for Brussels of about 16,000 - were in not for international migration towards the Belgian capital, which continues to grow.

The latest figures cover 2019, pre-coronavirus. The effects of the Covid-19 crisis on migration to and from Brussels will not be published until summer 2021.

However, the Federal Planning Bureau forecasts that the move to Brussels' periphery could continue, "due to a increased desire for gardens and green spaces that the region cannot offer".

Written by The Bulletin