Over a third of the population of Belgium today has a non-Belgian background. Of Belgium’s nearly 11.87 million inhabitants, 4.34 million do not have a Belgian background: 2.71 million, or 22.8 per cent, have a foreign background (but are Belgian citizens) and 1.64 million (13.8 per cent) are foreign nationals.
The figures come from the diversity and origin statistics published by the Belgian statistics agency Statbel. The agency is only providing these figures (which relate to the situation on 1 January 2026) for the second time. Demand for such figures from the worlds of academe and politics has grown of late.
Just over half (51 per cent) of the group that Statbel defines as ‘of foreign origin’ were not born Belgian but acquired Belgian nationality.
The other half were Belgian-born, with 21 per cent having two parents whose first-registered nationality was foreign and 28 per cent having one parent with a first-registered nationality that was foreign.
Just over a fifth of the population are Belgians with a foreign roots
Across Belgium as a whole, two in three people have a Belgian background, but at regional level this figure varies significantly, ranging from 22 per cent in Brussels to 63 per cent in the Walloon Region and 71 per cent in Flanders.
Overall, just over a fifth of the population are Belgians with a foreign background, but here too there are significant differences between the regions: 18 per cent in Flanders, 26 per cent in Wallonia and 42 per cent in Brussels.
The proportion of non-Belgians is around 11 per cent in both Flanders and Wallonia, whilst in Brussels it stands at 37 per cent.
Nationality does not indicate whether a person came to Belgium as a migrant
Statbel emphasises that it is important to note that nationality does not indicate whether or not a person came to Belgium as a migrant. Nationality provides information about a person’s origin.
Country of birth is a better indicator of whether or not someone has migrated to Belgium.
Almost all Belgians with a Belgian background (98.4%) were born in Belgium. At the same time, 67.7% of Belgians with a foreign background and 14.2% of non-Belgians were also born in Belgium.
Diversity in Belgium has increased over recent decades
Diversity in Belgium has increased over recent decades. In 2005, 79 per cent of Belgians had a Belgian background; in 2015, this figure was 71 per cent; and this year, it stands at 63 per cent.
The proportion of Belgians with a foreign background increased from 12.4 per cent in 2005 to 17 per cent in 2015 and 23 per cent in 2026.
The proportion of Belgians with a Belgian background increases significantly with age: among 0- to 17-year-olds, it is just over half (51 per cent); among 18- to 64-year-olds, it is 60 per cent; and among those aged 65 and over, it is 85 per cent.
More than half of the population without a Belgian background (55 per cent) has a nationality from outside the European Union. The EU excluding neighbouring countries accounts for 27 per cent of that group, and neighbouring countries for 18 per cent.