The Flemish region has 6.8 million inhabitants: the population is growing the most in these municipalities | Interior

As a result, the population in Flanders grew by 1.1 percent between 2022 and 2023. This growth is strongest in a number of municipalities around Brussels: Wemmel, Zaventem, Halle, Machelen and Vilvoorde. There, the population grew by more than 6 percent between 2018 and 2023. There is also a large population increase in Boortmeerbeek, Haacht, Tielt-Winge and Asse in Flemish Brabant. Baarle-Hertog, Oud-Turnhout and Wijnegem stand out in the province of Antwerp and Zelzate in East Flanders.

There is more limited growth in large parts of West Flanders, the Flemish Ardennes, the region around Dendermonde, the center of the province of Antwerp, the eastern part of Flemish Brabant and the east and south of Limburg.

The population has shrunk in fifteen municipalities in recent years. In addition, several municipalities from the Westhoek, such as Lo-Reninge (-2.2 percent) or Alveringem (-0.9 percent). In Herstappe, already the smallest municipality in Belgium, the population fell by 11 percent between 2018 and 2023.

Most inhabitants live in the Flemish diamond, the central area between Ghent, Antwerp, Leuven and Brussels. The population density is the highest there. But the population density is also high in some coastal municipalities (Ostend, Bredene, Blankenberge), Bruges, Kortrijk, Roeselare, Hasselt and Genk. The average population density in Flanders has increased from 436 inhabitants per square kilometer in 2000 to 497 in 2023.

The Flemish community – that is not only all inhabitants of Flanders, but also the Flemish inhabitants of Brussels – is estimated by Statistics Flanders at just over 7.2 million people. This is based on the ‘Brussels standard’, in which one third of the inhabitants of the Brussels region is regarded as a potential target group for Flemish policy.