On 1 January 2024, the population of Brussels stood at 1.25 million for the first time. Never before have so many people lived in the Brussels-Capital Region. The latest figures show a population growth of 8,400 people. Most new Brussels residents hail from abroad.
Brussels breaks through the 1.25 million barrier: most new residents hail from abroad
Colin Clapson
Published:
The figure comes from Bisa, the Brussels institute for statistics and analysis. During the course of 2023, the population of the Brussels Region grew by some 8,400 units, mainly due to new Brussels residents arriving from abroad.
Last year, more than 56,000 people from abroad came to live in the Brussels Region. This is a slight decrease compared to 2022. In that year there was an influx of refugees from Ukraine. In 2023, more than 34,000 people made the move in reverse and went to live abroad.
Some municipalities see populations decline
25,000 people from Flanders and Wallonia also moved to Brussels. 43,000 residents left for another Belgian region. 15 of the 19 Brussels municipalities gained inhabitants. Only Sint-Joost, Watermaal-Bosvoorde, Schaarbeek and Sint-Gillis saw their population decrease. The biggest growth was recorded in the boroughs of Evere, Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe and Sint-Agatha-Berchem.