Young families from Brussels continue their exodus towards Flanders, especially in the outskirts surrounding Brussels, reports Flemish media De Standaard on Friday.
A new study on the population in Flemish Brabant considered growth and migration in the region, with its three sections focusing on figures, population and family structures.
"Flemish Brabant is the fastest growing Flemish province," Filip De Maesschalk, a data researcher at KU Leuven, told De Standaard.
"Since 1990, an average of 6,614 inhabitants have been added each year. With even an outlier of 11,151 inhabitants. In detail, we see that the inflow from the Brussels region and abroad is the largest while we ourselves are losing residents to other Flemish provinces and the Wallonia Region."
Greater influx from Brussels than to the capital
Last year, 19,923 people moved from the Brussels Region to Flemish Brabant, while 8,835 people made the opposite move.
"In Flemish Brabant, we see a huge influx from Brussels. If we look at municipalities a bit further away, then we see that the inflow is more limited. Compared to the Flemish Region, migration from abroad is is also relatively small in our province. Here too, Brussels plays a role because a lot of foreign migration is accommodated by the Brussels Capital Region."
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Leuven city sees a lot of migration as lots of young families move to its outskirts. The population of Leuven is growing as is diversity in the city due to people moving from Brussels.
"What is also striking is that the movers are mostly young," said De Maesschalk argues. 'Young people leave for the city and once they start a family they often move back to the outskirts."
"This ensures that the periphery around Brussels has an increasingly younger population, especially compared to the Flemish Region. If we look deeper into the Pajottenland and the Hageland, we see an older population. The families in our province are also getting smaller, although not as fast as in the Flemish Region."
