The transformation of demographic structures and the geography of Europeans in Brussels between 2000 and 2018

Charlotte Casier

doi:10.4000/brussels.2932

Abstract

In 2018, European Union nationals represented 275 000 individuals in the Brussels-Capital Region, i.e. 23 % of the population domiciled there. This is the result of the continuous increase in the number of people in this group between 2000 and 2018, linked to significant immigration from the new member states, the continued growth in the number of French nationals and the resumption of emigration from southern Europe from 2008 onwards. In geographical terms, the presence of Europeans was strengthened between 2000 and 2015 in the south-east of the inner urban ring, although at the same time, the significant increase in the number of Polish, Romanian and Bulgarian nationals has contributed to increasing the European presence in certain neighbourhoods in the western part of Brussels.

Highlights

Brussels Studies, Collection générale shall present a general overview covering all nationals, as well as present specific details according to nationality, with a special focus on significant changes between 2000 and 2018
The case of Europeans studying in higher education in Brussels illustrates this gap, if it is looked at in other statistics
During the 2013-2014 academic year, there were 5550, 250 and 1550 students from the European Union outside Belgium registered at Université libre de Bruxelles, Université Saint-Louis and the medical field7 of Université catholique de Louvain respectively, i.e. 23 %, 9 % and 28 % of registrations (CREF data)

Summary

Introduction

Brussels Studies , Collection générale shall present a general overview covering all nationals, as well as present specific details according to nationality, with a special focus on significant changes between 2000 and 2018. This study is essentially descriptive in nature and is based exclusively on data from the National Register, described below. I shall try to provide interpretations of these phenomena by examining them with respect to elements in the literature on European migration in Belgium or in the EU

A major contribution to the growth of the Brussels population

Contrasting demographic structures between European nationalities

Conclusion

Findings

10. Respectively