One in 10 independents in Belgium is foreign, says Unizo

Employers' organization Unizo announced an increase in the number of foreign independents in Belgium, with Romanians as the most strongly represented group. 

Unizo based its conclusion on figures from the National Institute for the Social Security of the Self-Employed (NISSE), which show that Belgium last year had 103,630 self-employed with a foreign nationality, or one in 10. This is an increase of 1.67% compared with 2013, but a doubling compared with 2006.

Four out of 10 foreign independents in Belgium live in Flanders, as many in Brussels and one in five in Wallonia.

Romanians make up the biggest group of foreign independents in Belgium (18,035), followed by Dutch (16,086), French (11,822), Italians (10,601), Poles (8,248) and Bulgarians (5,269).