Brussels attracts most migrants, almost one third settle in the capital

The province of Antwerp (17 per cent) is also popular. By contrast, the provinces of Namur and Luxembourg are the least popular places to live for migrants.

In 2024, a total of 171,706 foreigners immigrated to Belgium. This figure has remained stable compared with 2023 but is higher than before the coronavirus pandemic.

Almost half of all migrants come from an EU country. A further 14 per cent come from a European country outside the EU, 17 per cent from Asia, 16 per cent from Africa and 5 per cent from the Americas.

Romanians top the list

Romanians top the list with 18,845 migrants – mainly men. Work is the main reason for their arrival. Further down the list come France, Ukraine, the Netherlands, Spain and Morocco. Notably, France accounts for the largest number of female migrants. We also see significantly more women than men among migrants from Latin America, the Caribbean and East Asia.

At the same time, 91,866 foreign nationals left Belgium in 2024. That figure also remains stable, but when we look solely at EU citizens, we see a large proportion of departures. In total, 61,338 EU citizens left Belgium, the highest number ever recorded. In terms of numbers, the top three nationalities are Romanians (15,414), French (10,442) and Dutch (6,256).

“Emigration of EU citizens is a complex phenomenon that depends on the mobility strategies of each nationality,” says Myria. “The dynamics are variable and difficult to predict because they are also linked to the initial reasons why these groups came here.” It is therefore impossible to pinpoint a single factor as an explanation, the organisation said.

Fewer new Ukrainian refugees

Furthermore, in 2024, 139,406 residence permits (the official document authorising non-Belgians to reside in Belgium) were issued to people not born in Belgium. That figure fell sharply (by 17 per cent) between 2022 and 2024 due to the decline in the number of Ukrainian war refugees.

For EU citizens (58,830  residence permits), work, family and study are the main reasons for coming to Belgium. For third-country nationals (80,576  residence permits), family reasons are the primary factor, followed by international and temporary protection, study and work.

Myria also examined the demographic composition of Belgium. On 1 January 2025, 11,825,551 people were officially resident in Belgium, including 1,634,924 foreign nationals and 10,190,627 Belgians. Of the latter, the vast majority (7,571,338 people) were of Belgian origin, whilst 2,619,289 were of foreign origin, accounting for 22 per cent of the total population.