Brussels residents continue to move out of the city in favour of more rural pastures in Flanders or Wallonia.
New figures, published on Thursday by the Ministry of Economy and analysed by the Flemish property federation CIB, show that inter-regional moves have remained at a high level for several years.
Last year, a total of 74,882 Belgian residents moved to another region of the country, down 1% on the record 75,658 in 2024.
The figures are still far above the 56,824 recorded in 2011, with Flanders remaining the main destination while the amount of people fleeing Brussels remains high.
The exodus from Brussels remains particularly marked. Last year, 37,000 residents left the capital to settle in Flanders or Wallonia, while only 19,000 people moved in the opposite direction.
That left Brussels with a negative migration balance of 18,000 residents.
Looking for space
Kristophe Thijs, CIB’s communications director, said Brussels remained attractive for studying, working and building a career.
However, he said many people look to neighbouring regions once they start a family or need a larger home, adding that the trend has been visible for years and continues to intensify.
Many experts have previously pointed to the lack of good quality and affordable housing in the city for middle-class families.
Flanders remains the region of choice for people wanting to leave Brussels, helped by its geographical location as the periphery of Belgium's capital.
For years, more than 23,000 residents from the Brussels region have moved to Flanders every year.
Construction of new houses in Flemish Brabant in 1999. Credit: Belga Archives
Flanders and Wallonia
The inflow from Wallonia is also rising, with more than 10,000 people from the south of the country moving to Flanders for the first time.
At the same time, the number of people leaving Flanders for Wallonia reached a record high of 8,771 this year.
According to CIB, working from home is playing a major role alongside the cost of living and housing size.
Thijs said home working had changed the picture, as daily commuting now weighs less heavily than it did a few years ago.
As a result, he said, people are increasingly choosing homes that better suit their needs and budgets, even if they are in another region, helping to drive year-on-year growth in inter-regional mobility.
