MigrantoMigration trends in Belgium
Europe
Belgium takes in more people than it loses: 2.2M immigrants against 521.9K emigrants. Net balance +1.7M — 14% of the country's population
11.9M
Population
2.2M
Immigrants
521.9K
Emigrants
+1.7M
Inflow
1 in 5 residents of Belgium was born abroad — and 1 in 24 people born in Belgium lives abroad
#32 in the world by net migration gain
Top corridors
The largest migration flows in Belgium
Key moments
How migration has changed since 1990
1990
876.5K immigrants · 312.7K emigrants
1995
- France overtook Italy as the largest source of new arrivals
2000
- The foreign-born population passed 1M residents
2005
- Roughly 1 in 10 residents was now foreign-born
2010
- Morocco overtook France as the largest source of new arrivals
2015
- Migration accounted for 61% of the country's population growth
Today
- Migration accounted for 99% of the country's population growth
- The diaspora passed 500K people
- A significant migration corridor emerged from Ukraine — 83K new residents
- Since 1990: 1.3M more foreign-born residents and 209.2K more emigrants
Data source: International Migrant Stock 2024 (UN DESA, Population Division)
Ask Migo
Tap a question — our AI assistant answers it in chat, with real migration data
Where to live?
Score countries, regions and cities by what matters to you
Living in Belgium
See the full country overview