Record number of people moved from one region to another in Belgium in 2023
Never before did so many people moved from one region to another in Belgium as in 2023. Last year, no fewer than 73,870 people in Belgium moved to a new home in a different region. The figures for inter-regional migration were published on Thursday by the estate agents’ federation CIB.
Outward migration was highest from the Brussels-Capital Region. Last year 37,613 people left Brussels to go and live in either Flanders or Wallonia. CIB’s spokesman Kristophe Thijs explains that "Most people who move from Brussels to Flanders or Wallonia do so because their money goes further there. Houses are much more expensive in Brussels, sometimes costing up to a third more"
The lion’s share of those that leave Brussels set up home in municipalities in Flemish or Walloon Brabant that are close to the capital. While some leave Brussels in search of a property elsewhere, others move to Brussels from the country’s two other regions.
Last year 10,856 Flemings moved from Flanders to Brussels, while 8,532 Walloons left Wallonia to set up home in the Brussels-Capital Region. According to Kristophe Thijs “These are people that above all want to live closer to their place of work”.
Although the population of the Brussels-Capital Region continues to rise and, since the coronavirus crisis, more and more Flemings and Walloons are settling in Brussels, the exodus of those already living in the capital continues. In 2023 18,225 people that had hitherto been living in Brussels left to go and live in Flanders or Wallonia. This figure has remained more or less stable since 2021.
Flanders and Wallonia
Last year 7,496 Flemings moved from Flanders to Wallonia, while 9,373 Walloons moved to Flanders. "Flemings who move to Wallonia do so mainly because of the lower property prices there," Kristophe Thijs explains.