Activity rate of non-EU citizens lowest in Belgium

The number of working non-EU citizens in 2015 was the lowest in Belgium compared to all the EU countries, writes Het Laatste Nieuws, according to figures from Eurostat.

About 59.4% of Belgium's non-EU citizens between the ages of 20 and 64 in 2015 were working or looking for a job, compared to 74% of Belgian nationals. The number is well below the European average of 69.8% active non-EU citizens, versus 77.3% of EU nationals.

The figures show that only Greece, Slovenia, Slovakia, Italy, Spain, Cyprus, Portugal, Czech Republic and Hungary had proportionately more working non-EU citizens than nationals.

Belgium also scores below average when it comes to the economic activity rate of foreigners from another EU country, with 74.6% of them working, compared to 81.6% on average across the EU.