Half of all under 18’s in ‘Vlaamse Rand’ of foreign descent

In 2005, at the start of the decade under consideration, the number of Brusselers moving to the ‘Vlaamse Rand’ stood at 11.043. By the end of this decade in 2015 13,686 people had quit the capital for pastures green in the ‘Vlaamse Rand’.

The urge to leave the Belgian capital and head for the ‘Vlaamse Rand’ is stronger among non-Belgians than among Belgians. Between 2006 and 2016 the population of the ‘Vlaamse Rand’ rose by over 31,000 to top 424,000.

Machelen (18.1%), Zaventem (15.3%) and Vilvoorde (15.3%) saw the greatest increase in population. Asse and Drogenbos too put figures down of over ten percent. By 2016 14.8% of the population (nearly 63,000 people in all) of the ‘Vlaamse Rand’ was a foreign national. 35.3% of inhabitants of the ‘Vlaamse Rand’ is of foreign descent. Among under 18’s the figure is around half.

Flandersnews.be / Expatica