Largest cities in Belgium by population
The 8 cities the United Nations Demographic Yearbook 2024 lists for Belgium: the capital and every city of 100,000 or more, with the latest figure the country reported. The largest is Bruxelles with 1,253,178 people.
Who runs cities in Belgium?
Municipalities (565 since 2025): Municipal council elected for six years (last October 2024); mayor (bourgmestre/burgemeester) formally appointed by the region from the elected councillors. Local roads, civil status, local police (in police zones), social welfare centres (CPAS/OCMW), primary schools, planning.
How local power works in Belgium · Level 3: local councils worldwide
| # | City | Population | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bruxelles (capital) | 1,253,178 | 1 January 2023 |
| 2 | Antwerpen | 541,122 | 1 January 2023 |
| 3 | Liège | 408,069 | 1 January 2023 |
| 4 | Gent | 268,335 | 1 January 2023 |
| 5 | Charleroi | 240,402 | 1 January 2023 |
| 6 | Brugge | 119,761 | 1 January 2023 |
| 7 | Namur | 114,733 | 1 January 2023 |
| 8 | Louvain | 102,477 | 1 January 2023 |
Countries define a city in different ways (the city proper, or the wider urban area) and report in different years, so cities in different countries are not always comparable.
More on Belgium: official statistics · government and power · regions
Sources
- United Nations Statistics Division: Demographic Yearbook 2024, Table 8: Population of capital cities and cities of 100 000 or more inhabitants, latest available year, 2005-2024, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0c6784df022e…)
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