Editing Brussels (section)

==Demographics==
{{Main|Demographics of Brussels}}

===Population===
[[File:EU NUTS 2 population density 2007.svg|thumb|[[Population density]] of Europe. Brussels is located between the largest urban centres.]]

Brussels is located in one of the most [[Blue Banana|urbanised regions of Europe]], between [[Paris]], [[London]], the [[Rhine-Ruhr]] (Germany), and the [[Randstad]] (Netherlands). The Brussels-Capital Region has a population of around 1.2&nbsp;million and has witnessed, in recent years, a remarkable increase in its population. In general, the population of Brussels is younger than the national average, and the gap between rich and poor is wider.<ref>{{cite web|title=Très riches et très pauvres|url=http://www.lalibre.be/actu/bruxelles/article/616278/tres-riches-et-tres-pauvres.html|access-date=12 March 2013|publisher=Lalibre.be}}</ref>

Brussels is the core of a built-up area that extends well beyond the region's limits. Sometimes referred to as the urban area of Brussels ({{langx|fr|aire urbaine de Bruxelles|link=no}}, {{langx|nl|stedelijk gebied van Brussel|link=no}}) or Greater Brussels ({{langx|fr|Grand-Bruxelles|link=no}}, {{langx|nl|Groot-Brussel|link=no}}), this area extends over a large part of the two Brabant provinces, including much of the surrounding [[arrondissement of Halle-Vilvoorde]] and some small parts of the [[arrondissement of Leuven]] in [[Flemish Brabant]], as well as the northern part of [[Walloon Brabant]].

The metropolitan area of Brussels is divided into three levels. Firstly, the central agglomeration (within the regional borders), with a population of 1,218,255 inhabitants.<ref name=":8" /> Adding the closest suburbs ({{langx|fr|banlieues|link=no}}, {{langx|nl|buitenwijken|link=no}}) gives a total population of 1,831,496. Including the outer [[commuter]] zone ([[Brussels Regional Express Network]] (RER/GEN) area), the population is 2,676,701.<ref name="BelMetr" /><ref name=":5" /> Brussels is also part of a wider [[Flemish Diamond|diamond-shaped]] [[conurbation]], with [[Ghent]], [[Antwerp]] and [[Leuven]], which has about 4.4&nbsp;million inhabitants (a little more than 40% of the Belgium's total population).{{sfn|Van Meeteren|Boussauw|Derudder|Witlox|2016}}<ref name="Meijers-2007">{{Cite book|last=Meijers|first=Evert J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UhMjzogIa_UC&q=Flemish+Diamond&pg=PT62|title=Synergy in Polycentric Urban Regions: Complementarity, Organising Capacity and Critical Mass|date=2007|publisher=IOS Press|isbn=9781586037246|page=54|access-date=25 October 2020|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414232106/https://books.google.com/books?id=UhMjzogIa_UC&q=Flemish+Diamond&pg=PT62|url-status=live}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
!{{Verify source|date=February 2018}}
!01-07-2004<ref name="statbe12">{{cite web|title=Language selection – Statbel|url=http://www.statbel.fgov.be/figures/download_fr.asp#2|access-date=29 October 2018|website=statbel.fgov.be|archive-date=30 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430065554/http://www.statbel.fgov.be/figures/download_fr.asp#2|url-status=live}}</ref>
!01-07-2005<ref name="statbe12" />
!01-07-2006<ref name="statbe12" />
!01-01-2008<ref name="statbe12" />
!01-01-2015<ref name="statbe12" />
!01-01-2019<ref name="statbe12" />
!01-01-2020<ref name="statbe12" />
|-
|'''Brussels-Capital Region<ref name="statbe12" />'''{{Verify source|date=January 2019}}
| style="text-align:right;"|1,004,239
| style="text-align:right;"|1,012,258
| style="text-align:right;"|1,024,492
| style="text-align:right;"|1,048,491
| style="text-align:right;"|1,181,272
| style="text-align:right;"|1,208,542
| style="text-align:right;"|1,218,255
|-
|''-- of which legal immigrants<ref name="statbe12" />''{{Verify source|date=January 2019}}
| style="text-align:right;"|''262,943''
| style="text-align:right;"|''268,009''
| style="text-align:right;"|''277,682''
| style="text-align:right;"|''295,043''
| style="text-align:right;"|''385,381''
| style="text-align:right;"|''450,000''
| style="text-align:right;"|''?''
|}

===Nationalities===
{| class="wikitable floatright"
|+Largest groups of foreign residents (2022)<ref>{{Cite report|url=https://ibsa.brussels/sites/default/files/documents/1.3_population_Nationalit%C3%A9s_20220926_0.xlsx|title=Population – Nationalités|publisher=Brussels Institute for Statistics and Analysis|language=fr|access-date=24 September 2023|format=XLS|at=Tabel 1.3.1.4 – Principales nationalités actuelles : 2022 (au 1er janvier)|archive-date=17 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231017125020/https://ibsa.brussels/sites/default/files/documents/1.3_population_Nationalit%C3%A9s_20220926_0.xlsx|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
|{{flagu|France}} || 68,418
|-
|{{flagu|Romania}} || 45,243
|-
|{{flagu|Italy}} || 35,154
|-
|{{flagu|Morocco}} || 33,955
|-
|{{flagu|Spain}} || 30,609
|-
|{{flagu|Poland}} || 20,060
|-
|{{flagu|Portugal}} || 18,968
|-
|{{flagu|Bulgaria}} || 13,104
|-
|{{flagu|Germany}} || 10,927
|-
|{{flagu|Greece}} || 9,675
{{collapsed infobox section begin|Other countries}}
|-
|{{flagu|Syria}} || 9,555
|-
|{{flagu|Turkey}} || 8,494
|-
|{{flagu|Netherlands}} || 8,287
|-
|{{flagu|Democratic Republic of the Congo}} || 7,836
|-
|{{flagu|India}} || 7,273
|-
|{{flagu|United Kingdom}} || 5,322
|-
|{{flagu|Guinea}} || 5,231
|-
|{{flagu|Brazil}} || 4,834
|-
|{{flagu|Cameroon}} || 4,473
|-
|{{flagu|Algeria}} || 2,996
{{collapsed infobox section end}}
|}

There have been numerous migrations towards Brussels since the end of the 18th century, when the city acted as a common destination for [[political refugees]] from neighbouring or more distant countries, particularly France.{{sfn|Dumont|1996|pp=307–8; 312; 319}} From 1871, many of the [[Communards|Paris Communards]] fled to Brussels, where they received political asylum. Other notable international exiles living in Brussels at the time included [[Victor Hugo]], [[Karl Marx]], [[Pierre-Joseph Proudhon]], [[Georges Boulanger]], [[Paul Verlaine]], [[Arthur Rimbaud]], and [[Léon Daudet]], to name a few.{{sfn|Dumont|1996|pp=307–8; 312; 319}}<ref>''[[Historia (newspaper)|Historia]]'', no. 680, August 2003, p. 36–37</ref> Attracted by the industrial opportunities, many workers moved in, first from the other [[Belgian provinces]] (mainly rural residents from [[Flanders]]){{sfn|Buron|2016|p=80–82}} and France, then from [[Southern Europe]]an, and more recently from [[Eastern Europe]]an and [[Africa]]n countries.

Since the second half of the 20th century, Brussels has been home to a large number of immigrants and [[émigré]] communities, as well as labour migrants, former foreign students or [[expatriate]]s, and many Belgian families in Brussels can claim at least one foreign grandparent. At the last Belgian census in 1991, 63.7% of inhabitants in Brussels-Capital Region answered that they were Belgian citizens, born as such in Belgium, indicating that more than a third of residents had not been born in the country.<ref name="philippevanparijs">{{cite journal|title=Belgium's new linguistic challenges|author-link=Philippe Van Parijs|author=Van Parijs, Philippe|journal=KVS Express (Supplement to Newspaper de Morgen) March–April 2007|pages=Article from [http://www.kvs.be/kvs_express/KVS_EXPRESS_13_WEB.pdf original source (pdf 4.9&nbsp;MB)] pages 34–36 republished by the Belgian Federal Government Service (ministry) of Economy – Directorate–general Statistics Belgium|url=http://www.statbel.fgov.be/studies/ac699_en.pdf|format=pdf 0.7&nbsp;MB|access-date=5 May 2007|no-pp=true|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613234540/http://www.statbel.fgov.be/studies/ac699_en.pdf|archive-date=13 June 2007}} – The linguistic situation in Belgium (and in particular various estimations of the population speaking French and Dutch in Brussels) is discussed in detail.{{cite web|title=Hier ging iets mis &#124; KVS|url=http://www.kvs.be/kvs_express/KVS_EXPRESS_13_WEB.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325104118/http://www.kvs.be/kvs_express/KVS_EXPRESS_13_WEB.pdf|archive-date=25 March 2009|access-date=11 July 2008}}</ref><ref name="ibsa">{{cite web|title=Population et ménages|url=http://www.bruxelles.irisnet.be/cmsmedia/fr/is_2006_population_menages.pdf?uri=43742a9611346ccd0111374fb94f0351|access-date=5 May 2007|publisher=IBSA Cellule statistique – Min. Région Bruxelles-Capitale (Statistical cell – Ministry of the Brussels-Capital Region)|language=French}}{{dead link|date=March 2016}}</ref> According to [[Statbel]] (the Belgian Statistical Office), in 2020, taking into account the nationality of birth of the parents, 74.3% of the population of the Brussels-Capital Region was of foreign origin and 41.8% was of non-European origin (including 28.7% of African origin). Among those aged under 18, 88% were of foreign origin and 57% of non-European origin (including 42.4% of African origin).<ref name="micheletribalat.fr"/>

This large concentration of immigrants and their descendants includes many of [[Moroccans in Belgium|Moroccan]] (mainly [[Riffian people|Riffian]] and other [[Berbers]]) and [[Turkey|Turkish]] ancestry, together with French-speaking black Africans from former [[Belgian overseas colonies|Belgian colonies]], such as the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], [[Rwanda]] and [[Burundi]]. Many immigrants were [[naturalised]] following the great 1991 reform of the naturalisation process. In 2012, about 32% of city residents were of non-Belgian [[Europe]]an origin (mainly expatriates from France, Romania, Italy, Spain, Poland, and Portugal) and 36% were of another background, mostly from Morocco, Turkey and [[Sub-Saharan Africa]]. Among all major migrant groups from outside the EU, a majority of the permanent residents have acquired Belgian nationality.<ref>{{cite web|title=2.738.486 inwoners van vreemde afkomst in België op 01/01/2012|trans-title=2,738,486 inhabitants of foreign origin in Belgium on 01/01/2012|url=http://www.npdata.be/BuG/155-Vreemde-afkomst/Vreemde-afkomst.htm|access-date=12 March 2013|website=Npdata.be|language=nl|archive-date=22 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191022180710/http://www.npdata.be/BuG/155-Vreemde-afkomst/Vreemde-afkomst.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Languages===
{{See also|Francization of Brussels}}
[[File:Languages spoken at home in the Brussels Capital Region (2013).PNG|thumb|right|Languages spoken at home in the Brussels-Capital Region (2013)<ref name="brio2013">{{Cite book|last=Janssens|first=Rudi|url=http://www.briobrussel.be/assets/onderzoeksprojecten/brio_taalbarometer_3_brussel_2013.pdf|title=BRIO-taalbarometer 3: diversiteit als norm|publisher=Brussels Informatie-, Documentatie- en Onderzoekscentrum|year=2013|language=nl|trans-title=BRIO language barometer 3: diversity as standard|access-date=26 May 2015|archive-date=15 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181015061651/http://www.briobrussel.be/assets/onderzoeksprojecten/brio_taalbarometer_3_brussel_2013.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><br />{{legend|#9999FF|French}}{{legend|#CCCCFF|French and Dutch}}{{legend|#CCFFFF|Dutch}}{{legend|#99CCFF|French and other language}}{{legend|#FFFFCC|Neither French nor Dutch}}]]

Brussels was historically [[Dutch-speaking]], using the [[Brabantian dialect]],<ref name="tokyo">{{Cite book|last=Backhaus|first=Peter|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nl0mPajCyxsC|title=Linguistic Landscapes: A Comparative Study of Urban Multilingualism in Tokyo|publisher=Multilingual Matters Ltd|year=2007|isbn=9781853599460|page=158|access-date=2013-03-26|archive-date=15 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415012552/https://books.google.com/books?id=Nl0mPajCyxsC|url-status=live}}</ref><!--see page 13--><ref name="jaumain">{{Cite book|last=Jaumain|first=Serge|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KHsk_ht_UqEC|title=Vivre en Ville: Bruxelles et Montréal aux XIXe et XXe siècles|publisher=Peter Lang|year=2006|isbn=9789052013343|edition=Études Canadiennes Series nº9|page=375|language=French|access-date=2013-04-26|archive-date=28 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128005647/https://books.google.com/books?id=KHsk_ht_UqEC|url-status=live}}</ref><!--see page 47--><ref name="roegiest">{{Cite book|last=Roegiest|first=Eugeen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K7FeNc7B3EYC|title=Vers les sources des langues romanes. Un itinéraire linguistique à travers la Romania|publisher=ACCO|year=2009|isbn=9789033473807|page=272|language=French|access-date=2013-04-26|archive-date=28 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128005705/https://books.google.com/books?id=K7FeNc7B3EYC|url-status=live}}</ref><!--see page 184--> but since the 19th century<ref name="tokyo" /><!--see page 13--><ref name="marynissen">{{Cite book|last=Janssens|first=Guy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JOo9oNIUcFUC|title=Het Nederlands vroeger en nu|publisher=ACCO|year=2005|isbn=9033457822|language=Dutch|access-date=2013-04-26|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414232050/https://books.google.com/books?id=JOo9oNIUcFUC|url-status=live}}</ref><!--see page 227--> [[Belgian French|French]] has become the predominant language of the city.<ref name="rudi3">{{Cite book|last=Janssens|first=Rudi|url=http://www.brusselsstudies.be/medias/publications/NL_51_BruS13NL.pdf|title=Taalgebruik in Brussel en de plaats van het Nederlands — Enkele recente bevindingen|year=2008|edition=Brussels Studies, nº13|language=Dutch|access-date=2013-04-26|archive-date=15 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315062310/http://brusselsstudies.be/medias/publications/NL_51_BruS13NL.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The main cause of this transition was the rapid [[Cultural assimilation|assimilation]] of the local [[Flemish people|Flemish population]],<ref name="kramer">{{Cite book|last=Kramer|first=Johannes|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rHZtibOQnnQC|title=Zweisprachigkeit in den Benelux-ländern|publisher=Buske Verlag|year=1984|isbn=3871185973|access-date=2013-04-26}}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><!--see page 99-100--><ref name="tokyo" /><!--see page 13--><ref name="baetens">{{Cite book|last=Baetens Beardsmore|first=Hugo|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DX1JcMNgz7AC|title=Bilingualism: Basic Principles (2nd Ed.)|publisher=Multilingual Matters Ltd|year=1986|isbn=9780905028637|edition=Multiligual Matters Series|page=205|access-date=2013-04-26|archive-date=28 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128043131/https://books.google.com/books?id=DX1JcMNgz7AC|url-status=live}}</ref><!--see page 103--><ref name="ernst">{{Cite book|last=Ernst|first=Gerhard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=07wyfaQQ_akC|title=Histoire des langues romanes|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|year=2006|isbn=9783110171501|edition=Manuel international sur l'histoire et l'étude linguistique des langues romanes|page=1166|language=French|access-date=2013-04-26|archive-date=28 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128005638/https://books.google.com/books?id=07wyfaQQ_akC|url-status=live}}</ref><!--see page 1686--><ref name="roegiest" /><!--see page 184--> amplified by immigration from [[France]] and [[Wallonia]].<ref name="tokyo" /><ref name="vermeersch">{{Cite book|last=Vermeersch|first=Arthur J.|url=http://www.briobrussel.be/assets/Taal_sociale_integr_4.pdf|title=De taalsituatie tijdens het Verenigd Koninkrijk der Nederlanden (1814–1830)|publisher=[[Vrije Universiteit Brussel]] (VUB)|year=1981|edition=Taal en Sociale Integratie, IV|pages=389–404|language=Dutch|access-date=2013-04-26|archive-date=11 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411072853/http://www.briobrussel.be/assets/Taal_sociale_integr_4.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><!--see page 390--> The [[Francization|rise of French]] in public life gradually began by the end of the 18th century,<ref name="poirier">{{Cite book|last=Poirier|first=Johanne|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8skGPQAACAAJ|title=Choix, statut et mission d'une capitale fédérale: Bruxelles au regard du droit comparé|publisher=De Boeck & Larcier|year=1999|isbn=2-8044-0525-7|edition=Het statuut van Brussel / Bruxelles et son statut [61-97]|location=Brussel|page=817|language=French|access-date=11 February 2021|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414225513/https://books.google.com/books?id=8skGPQAACAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><!--see page 71--><ref name="rousseaux">{{Cite book|last=Rousseaux|first=Xavier|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WW_8JY3TTg0C|title=Le pénal dans tous ses états: justice, États et sociétés en Europe|publisher=Publications des Fac. St Louis|year=1997|isbn=9782802801153|edition=Volume 74|page=462|language=French|access-date=2013-04-26|archive-date=28 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128024057/https://books.google.com/books?id=WW_8JY3TTg0C|url-status=live}}</ref><!--see page 226--> quickly accelerating after [[Belgian independence]].<ref name="degroof">{{Cite book|last=De Groof|first=Roel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ReVcRnqeon0C|title=De kwestie Groot-Brussel en de politieke metropolisering van de hoofdstad (1830–1940). Een analyse van de besluitvorming en de politiek-institutionele aspecten van de voorstellen tot hereniging, annexatie, fusie, federatie en districtvorming van Brussel en zijn voorsteden.|publisher=De Boeck & Larcier|year=2003|isbn=2-8044-1216-4|edition=De Brusselse negentien gemeenten en het Brussels model / Les dix-neuf communes bruxelloises et le modèle bruxellois [3-56]|location=Brussel, Gent|page=754|language=Dutch|access-date=11 February 2021|archive-date=15 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220615032353/https://books.google.com/books?id=ReVcRnqeon0C|url-status=live}}</ref><!--see page 54--><ref name="gubin">{{Cite book|last=Gubin|first=Eliane|author-link1=Éliane Gubin|url=http://www.briobrussel.be/assets/Taal_sociale_integr_1.pdf|title=La situation des langues à Bruxelles au 19ième siècle à la lumière d'un examen critique des statistiques|publisher=[[Université Libre de Bruxelles]]|year=1978|edition=Taal en Sociale Integratie, I|pages=33–80|language=French|access-date=2013-04-26|archive-date=11 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411072846/http://www.briobrussel.be/assets/Taal_sociale_integr_1.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><!--see page 51--> Dutch — of which [[Standard language|standardisation]] in Belgium was still very weak<ref name="balans">{{Cite book|last=Witte|first=Els|url=http://www.briobrussel.be/assets/taal%20&%20politiek_nl.pdf|title=Taal en politiek: De Belgische casus in een historisch perspectief|publisher=VUBPress ([[Vrije Universiteit Brussel]])|year=1998|isbn=9789054871774|edition=Balansreeks|location=Brussel|page=180|language=Dutch|access-date=15 June 2022|archive-date=26 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526142926/https://www.briobrussel.be/assets/taal%20%26%20politiek_nl.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><!--see page 17--><ref name="busekist">{{Cite book|last=Von Busekist|first=Astrid|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kUSlh1z8okQC|title=Nationalisme contre bilinguisme: le cas belge|publisher=Éditions KARTHALA|year=2002|isbn=9782845862401|edition=La Politique de Babel: du monolinguisme d'État au plurilinguisme des peuples [191-226]|page=348|language=French|access-date=2013-04-26|archive-date=28 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128005632/https://books.google.com/books?id=kUSlh1z8okQC|url-status=live}}</ref><!--see page 191--><ref name="gubin" /><!--see page 47--> — could not compete with French, which was the exclusive language of the judiciary, the administration, the army, education, cultural life and the media, and thus necessary for [[social mobility]].<ref name="bitsch">{{Cite book|last=Bitsch|first=Marie-Thérèse|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=keh_JJginLwC|title=Histoire de la Belgique: De l'Antiquité à nos jours|publisher=Éditions Complexe|year=2004|isbn=9782804800239|page=299|language=French|access-date=2013-04-26|archive-date=28 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128005624/https://books.google.com/books?id=keh_JJginLwC|url-status=live}}</ref><!--see page 120--><ref name="tétart"/><!--see page 31--><ref name="jaumain" /><!--see page 47--><ref name="kok">{{Cite book|last=Kok Escalle|first=Marie-Christine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HjhQ-LTpD_0C|title=Changements politiques et statut des langues: histoire et épistémologie 1780-1945|publisher=Rodopi|year=2001|isbn=9789042013759|edition=Faux Titre (volume 206)|page=374|language=French|access-date=2013-04-26|archive-date=28 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128005657/https://books.google.com/books?id=HjhQ-LTpD_0C|url-status=live}}</ref><!--see page 369--><ref name="marynissen" /><!--see page 143--> The value and prestige of the French language was universally acknowledged<ref name="jaumain" /><!--see page 48--><ref name="bogaert" /><!--see page 118--><ref name="kramer" /><!--see page 112--><ref name="gubin" /><!--see page 50--><ref name="hasquin2">{{Cite book|last=Hasquin|first=Hervé|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9VBMP2Qi9kgC|title=Bruxelles, ville frontière. Le point de vue d'un historien francophone|publisher=Éditions Complexe|year=1996|isbn=9782870276631|edition=Europe et ses ville-frontières [205-230]|location=Bruxelles|page=329|language=French|access-date=2013-04-26|archive-date=28 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128043142/https://books.google.com/books?id=9VBMP2Qi9kgC|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="vrints">{{Cite book|last=Vrints|first=Antoon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AWohT1yErb0C|title=Het theater van de Straat: Publiek geweld in Antwerpen tijdens de eerste helft van de twintigste Eeuw|publisher=Amsterdam University Press|year=2011|isbn=978-9089643407|edition=Studies Stadsgeschiedenis Series|location=Amsterdam|page=223|language=Dutch|access-date=2013-04-26|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414225514/https://books.google.com/books?id=AWohT1yErb0C|url-status=live}}</ref><!--see page 209--> to such an extent that after 1880,<ref name="veron"/><!--see pages 77 en 257--><ref name="velthoven">{{Cite book|last=van Velthoven|first=Harry|url=http://www.briobrussel.be/assets/Taal_sociale_integr_4.pdf|title=Taal- en onderwijspolitiek te Brussel (1878-1914)|publisher=[[Vrije Universiteit Brussel]] (VUB)|year=1981|edition=Taal en Sociale Integratie, IV|pages=261–387|language=Dutch|access-date=2013-04-26|archive-date=11 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411072853/http://www.briobrussel.be/assets/Taal_sociale_integr_4.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><!--see page 283--><ref name="balans" /><!--see page 84--> and more particularly after the turn of the 20th century,<ref name="gubin" /><!--see page 70--> proficiency in French among Dutch-speakers in Brussels increased spectacularly.<ref name="blampain" /><!--see page 247-->

Although a majority of the population remained bilingual until the second half of the 20th century,<ref name="blampain" /><!--see page 248--><ref name="kramer" /><!--see page 103--> family transmission of the historic Brabantian dialect<ref name="witte">{{Cite book|last=Witte|first=Els|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8skGPQAACAAJ|title=Analyse du statut de Bruxelles (1989-1999)|publisher=De Boeck & Larcier|year=1999|isbn=2-8044-0525-7|edition=Het statuut van Brussel / Bruxelles et son statut [19-33]|location=Brussel|page=817|language=French|access-date=11 February 2021|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414225513/https://books.google.com/books?id=8skGPQAACAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><!--see page 19--> declined,{{sfn|Treffers-Daller|1994}} leading to an increase of monolingual French-speakers from 1910 onwards.<ref name="bogaert">{{Cite book|last=Bogaert-Damin|first=Anne Marie|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lfcGiuMtz7UC|title=Bruxelles: développement de l'ensemble urbain 1846–1961|publisher=Presses universitaires de Namur|year=1978|isbn=9782870370896|page=337|language=French|access-date=2013-04-26|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414232945/https://books.google.com/books?id=lfcGiuMtz7UC|url-status=live}}</ref><!--see page 117--><ref name="metsenaere-thuis">{{Cite book|last=de Metsenaere|first=Machteld|url=http://www.briobrussel.be/assets/andere%20publicaties/btng-rbhc,%2021,%201990,%203-4,%20pp%20383-412.pdf|title=Thuis in gescheiden werelden — De migratoire en sociale aspecten van verfransing te Brussel in het midden van de 19e eeuw|publisher=[[Vrije Universiteit Brussel]] (VUB)|year=1990|edition=BTNG-RBHC, XXI, 1990, nº 3–4 [383–412]|language=Dutch|access-date=2013-04-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181015023229/http://www.briobrussel.be/assets/andere%20publicaties/btng-rbhc,%2021,%201990,%203-4,%20pp%20383-412.pdf|archive-date=15 October 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><!--see page 392--> From the mid-20th century, the number of monolingual French-speakers surpassed the number of mostly bilingual Flemish inhabitants.<ref name="brio4">{{Cite journal|last=Machteld de Metsenaere|year=1990|title=Thuis in gescheiden werelden – De migratoire en sociale aspecten van verfransing te Brussel in het midden van de 19e eeuw|trans-title=Home in separate worlds – The migratory and social aspects of Francization in Brussels in the middle of the 19th century|url=http://www.briobrussel.be/assets/andere%20publicaties/btng-rbhc,%2021,%201990,%203-4,%20pp%20383-412.pdf|url-status=dead|journal=[[BTNG-RBHC]]|language=nl|volume=XXI|issue=3–4|pages=383–412|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181015023229/http://www.briobrussel.be/assets/andere%20publicaties/btng-rbhc,%2021,%201990,%203-4,%20pp%20383-412.pdf|archive-date=15 October 2018|access-date=23 December 2018}}</ref> This process of assimilation weakened after the 1960s,<ref name="blampain">{{Cite book|last=Blampain|first=Daniel|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fl1trFhoYFwC|title=Le français en Belgique: Une communauté, une langue|publisher=De Boeck Université|year=1997|isbn=2801111260|language=French|access-date=2013-04-26|archive-date=11 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511212204/http://books.google.fr/books?id=fl1trFhoYFwC&dq|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="mares">{{Cite book|last=Mares|first=Ann|url=http://www.briobrussel.be/assets/andere%20publicaties/brusselse_thema%27s_7.pdf|title=Begin van het einde van de nationale partijen. Onderzoek naar de Vlaamse Beweging(en) en de Vlaamse politieke partijen in Brussel: de Rode Leeuwen|publisher=VUBPress ([[Vrije Universiteit Brussel]])|year=2001|isbn=9054872926|edition=19 keer Brussel; Brusselse Thema's (7) [157-185]|language=Dutch|access-date=2013-04-26|archive-date=15 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181015023227/http://www.briobrussel.be/assets/andere%20publicaties/brusselse_thema%27s_7.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> as the [[language border]] was fixed, the status of Dutch as an official language of Belgium was reinforced,<ref name="depré">{{Cite book|last=Depré|first=Leen|url=http://www.briobrussel.be/assets/andere%20publicaties/brusselse_thema%27s_7.pdf|title=Tien jaar persberichtgeving over de faciliteitenproblematiek in de Brusselse Rand. Een inhoudsanalystisch onderzoek|publisher=VUBPress ([[Vrije Universiteit Brussel]])|year=2001|isbn=9054872926|edition=19 keer Brussel; Brusselse Thema's (7) [281-336]|page=281|language=Dutch|access-date=2013-04-26|archive-date=15 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181015023227/http://www.briobrussel.be/assets/andere%20publicaties/brusselse_thema%27s_7.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the economic centre of gravity shifted northward to [[Flanders]].<ref name="balans" /><!--see pages 25 and 38--><ref name="veron"/> However, with the continuing arrival of immigrants and the post-war emergence of Brussels as a [[Brussels and the European Union|centre of international politics]], the relative position of Dutch continued to decline.<ref name="brusselsstudies">{{Cite journal|last=Janssens|first=Rudi|url=https://journals.openedition.org/brussels/520|title=Language use in Brussels and the position of Dutch|journal=Brussels Studies|publisher=Brussels Studies [Online]|year=2008|doi=10.4000/brussels.520|access-date=17 July 2018|archive-date=17 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717184225/https://journals.openedition.org/brussels/520|url-status=live|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="marynissen" /><!--see page 230--><ref name="janssens">{{Cite book|last=Janssens|first=Rudi|url=http://www.briobrussel.be/assets/andere%20publicaties/brusselse_thema%27s_7.pdf|title=Over Brusselse Vlamingen en het Nederlands in Brussel|publisher=VUBPress ([[Vrije Universiteit Brussel]])|year=2001|isbn=9054872926|edition=19 keer Brussel; Brusselse Thema's (7) [41-84]|page=60|language=Dutch|access-date=2013-04-26|archive-date=15 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181015023227/http://www.briobrussel.be/assets/andere%20publicaties/brusselse_thema%27s_7.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="detant">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8skGPQAACAAJ|publisher=De Boeck & Larcier|edition=Het statuut van Brussel / Bruxelles et son statut [411–438]|title=Kunnen taalvrijheid en officiële tweetaligheid verzoend worden? De toepassing van de taalwetgeving in het Brussels Hoofdstedelijke Gewest en de 19 gemeenten|first=Anja|last=Detant|language=Dutch|location=Brussel|year=1999|page=817|isbn=2-8044-0525-7|access-date=11 February 2021|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414225513/https://books.google.com/books?id=8skGPQAACAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><!--see page 415--><ref name="blampain" /><!--see page 251-->{{sfn|Treffers-Daller|1994}} Furthermore, as Brussels' urban area expanded,<ref name="meynen">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=adTkPQAACAAJ|publisher=Standaard Uitgeverij|title=De Geschiedenis van België na 1945|first=Els|last=Witte|language=Dutch|location=Antwerpen|year=2006|page=576|isbn=9789002219634|access-date=11 February 2021|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414225010/https://books.google.com/books?id=adTkPQAACAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> a further number of Dutch-speaking municipalities in the [[Brussels Periphery|Brussels periphery]] also became predominantly French-speaking.<ref name="depré" /><ref name="klinkenberg">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NpJqZxm672sC|publisher=De Boeck Supérieur|edition=Champs linguistiques|title=Des langues romanes: Introduction aux études de linguistique romane|first=Jean-Marie|last=Klinkenberg|language=French|year=1999|page=316|isbn=9782801112274|access-date=2013-04-26|archive-date=28 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128024046/https://books.google.com/books?id=NpJqZxm672sC|url-status=live}}</ref><!--see page 254--> This phenomenon of expanding Francisation — dubbed "oil slick" by its opponents<ref name="kramer" /><!--see page 110--><ref name="kesteloot">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DGOfCPvoyWcC|publisher=Éditions Complexe|edition=Histoires contemporaines|title=Au nom de la Wallonie et de Bruxelles français: Les origines du FDF|first=Chantal|last=Kesteloot|language=French|year=2004|page=375|isbn=9782870279878|access-date=2013-04-26|archive-date=28 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128005651/https://books.google.com/books?id=DGOfCPvoyWcC|url-status=live}}</ref><!--see page 69--><ref name="blampain" /><!--see page 248--> — is, together with the future of Brussels,<ref name="frognier">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8skGPQAACAAJ|publisher=De Boeck & Larcier|edition=Het statuut van Brussel / Bruxelles et son statut [705-720]|title=Les interactions stratégiques dans la problématique communautaire et la question bruxelloise|first=André-Paul|last=Frognier|language=French|location=Brussel|year=1999|page=817|isbn=2-8044-0525-7|access-date=11 February 2021|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414225513/https://books.google.com/books?id=8skGPQAACAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> one of the most controversial topics in [[Belgian politics]].<ref name="veron">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nIKV9oOdpgIC|title=La dualité démographique de la Belgique : mythe ou réalité?|edition=Régimes démographiques et territoires: les frontières en question [255–278]|first=Catherine|last=Capron|language=French|year=2000|publisher=INED|isbn=2950935680|access-date=2013-04-26|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414225008/https://books.google.com/books?id=nIKV9oOdpgIC|url-status=live}}</ref><!--see page 258--><ref name="tétart">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WpbjQSwEhGgC|publisher=De Boeck Supérieur|title=Nationalismes régionaux: Un défi pour l'Europe|first=Frank|last=Tétart|language=French|year=2009|page=112|isbn=9782804117818|access-date=2013-04-26|archive-date=28 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128024103/https://books.google.com/books?id=WpbjQSwEhGgC|url-status=live}}</ref><!--see page 22-->

[[File:Brussels signs.jpg|thumb|left|[[Multilingualism|Bilingual]] French and Dutch street signs in Brussels]]

Since its creation in 1989, the Brussels-Capital Region has been legally bilingual, with both French and Dutch having official status,<ref name="constitution">{{cite web|url=http://www.senate.be/doc/const_fr.html|title=La Constitution belge (Art. 4)|date=May 2007|publisher=the [[Belgian Senate]]|quote=La Belgique comprend quatre régions linguistiques : la région de langue française, la région de langue néerlandaise, la région bilingue de Bruxelles-Capitale et la région de langue allemande.|access-date=2009-01-18|language=fr|archive-date=17 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117014848/http://www.senate.be/doc/const_fr.html|url-status=live}}</ref> as is the administration of the 19 municipalities.<ref name="brusselsstudies" /> The creation of this bilingual, full-fledged region, with its own competencies and jurisdiction, had long been hampered by different visions of Belgian federalism. Nevertheless, some communitarian issues remain.<ref name="jacobs">{{cite book|publisher=De Boeck & Larcier|title=De toekomst van Brussel als meertalige en multiculturele stad. Hebt u al een partijstandpunt? ''in'' Het statuut van Brussel / Bruxelles et son statut|author=Dirk Jacobs|location=Brussels|year=1999|pages=661–703|isbn=2-8044-0525-7|language=nl}}</ref><ref name="debruycker">{{cite book|publisher=De Boeck & Larcier|title=Le défi de l'unité bruxelloise ''in'' Het statuut van Brussel / Bruxelles et son statut|author=Philippe De Bruycker|location=Brussels|year=1999|pages=465–472|isbn=2-8044-0525-7|language=fr}}</ref> Flemish political parties demanded, for decades, that the Flemish part of [[Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde]] (BHV) ''arrondissement'' be separated from the Brussels Region (which made Halle-Vilvoorde a monolingual Flemish electoral and judicial district). BHV was divided mid-2012. The French-speaking population regards the language border as artificial<ref>{{Cite news|date=28 May 2006|title=La Flandre ne prendra pas Bruxelles...|language=fr|work=La Libre Belgique|url=http://www.lalibre.be/article.phtml?id=10&subid=90&art_id=283113|access-date=3 September 2008|archive-date=15 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210215002609/https://www.lalibre.be/belgique/la-flandre-ne-prendra-pas-bruxelles-51b88e6ae4b0de6db9adde77|url-status=live}}</ref> and demands the extension of the bilingual region to at least all six [[municipalities with language facilities]] in the surroundings of Brussels.{{efn|1=The six municipalities with language facilities around Brussels are [[Wemmel]], [[Kraainem]], [[Wezembeek-Oppem]], [[Sint-Genesius-Rode]], [[Linkebeek]] and [[Drogenbos]].}} Flemish politicians have strongly rejected these proposals.<ref name="question">{{Cite news|date=24 January 2005|title=Une question: partir ou rester?|language=fr|work=[[La Libre Belgique]]|url=http://www.lalibre.be/article.phtml?id=10&subid=90&art_id=202792|access-date=3 September 2008|archive-date=28 November 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051128225333/http://www.lalibre.be/article.phtml?id=10&subid=90&art_id=202792|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Position commune des partis démocratiques francophones|url=http://www.uniondesfrancophones.be/|access-date=22 July 2009|publisher=[[Union des Francophones]] (UF), Province of [[Flemish Brabant]]|language=fr|archive-date=23 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723223959/http://www.uniondesfrancophones.be/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=14 November 2007|title=Bruxelles-capitale: une forte identité|url=http://info.france2.fr/dossiers/europe/34025346-fr.php?page=7|access-date=22 July 2009|publisher=[[France 2]]|language=fr|archive-date=11 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011111301/http://info.france2.fr/dossiers/europe/34025346-fr.php?page=7|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Arrondissement Brussels-Periphery Belgium Map.PNG|thumb|right|The [[municipalities with language facilities]] (in red) near Brussels]]

Owing to migration and to its international role, Brussels is home to a large number of native speakers of languages other than French or Dutch. Currently, about half of the population speaks a home language other than these two.<ref name="standaard">{{cite news|title=Van autochtoon naar allochtoon|quote=Meer dan de helft van de Brusselse bevolking is van vreemde afkomst. In 1961 was dat slechts 7 procent. [More than half of the Brussels' population is of foreign origin. In 1961 this was only 7 percent.]|newspaper=[[De Standaard]]|language=Dutch|url=http://www.standaard.be/Artikel/Detail.aspx?artikelId=641B1LAQ&word=brussel+bevolking|access-date=5 May 2007|archive-date=2 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802031545/https://www.standaard.be/cnt/641b1laq?word=brussel%20bevolking|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2013, academic research showed that approximately 17% of families spoke none of the official languages in the home, while in a further 23% a foreign language was used alongside French. The share of unilingual French-speaking families had fallen to 38% and that of Dutch-speaking families to 5%, while the percentage of bilingual Dutch-French families reached 17%. At the same time, French remains widely spoken: in 2013, French was spoken "well to perfectly" by 88% of the population, while for Dutch this percentage was only 23% (down from 33% in 2000);<ref name="brusselsstudies" /> the other most commonly known languages were English (30%), Arabic (18%), Spanish (9%), German (7%) and Italian and Turkish (5% each).<ref name="brio2013" /> Meanwhile, surveys from 2023 to 2024 suggest that 29% of the population speaks only languages other than French and Dutch in the home, while residents speak a total of 104 languages, up from 72 in 2001.<ref name="u275">{{cite web | last=Diehn | first=Sonya Angelica | title=Brussels is bursting out of its borders. That's helping the rise of the right. | website=POLITICO | date=2024-11-03 | url=https://www.politico.eu/article/brussels-borders-french-language-flanders-wallonia-vub-culture-diversity-migration/ | access-date=2024-12-26}}</ref> Despite the rise of English as a second language in Brussels, including as an unofficial compromise language between French and Dutch, as well as the working language for some of its international businesses and institutions, French remains the ''lingua franca'' and all public services are conducted exclusively in French or Dutch.<ref name="brusselsstudies" />

The original dialect of Brussels (known as [[Brusselian dialect|Brusselian]], and also sometimes referred to as Marols or Marollien),{{sfn|Treffers-Daller|1994|p=25}} a form of [[Brabantic]] (the variant of Dutch spoken in the ancient [[Duchy of Brabant]]) with a significant number of loanwords from French, still survives among a small minority of inhabitants called ''Brusseleers''<ref name="evans">Mary Anne Evans, ''Frommer's Brussels and Bruges Day by Day. First Edition'' (Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2008), 71.</ref> (or ''Brusseleirs''), many of them quite bi- and multilingual, or educated in French and not writing in Dutch.<ref name="winkler">{{cite web|url=https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/wink007alge02_01/wink007alge02_01_0067.php|title=De stad Brussel|author=Johan Winkler|year=1874|work=Algemeen Nederduitsch en Friesch Dialecticon|pages=264–272|publisher=Digitale Bibliotheek voor de Nederlandse Letteren|access-date=March 1, 2022|language=nl|archive-date=1 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220301161800/https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/wink007alge02_01/wink007alge02_01_0067.php|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Treffers-Daller|1994|p=25}} The ethnic and national self-identification of Brussels' inhabitants is nonetheless sometimes quite distinct from the French and Dutch-speaking communities. For the French-speakers, it can vary from Francophone Belgian, {{lang|fr|Bruxellois}}<ref name="Lerond, 1980 pp. 477" /> (French [[demonym]] for an inhabitant of Brussels), [[Walloons|Walloon]] (for people who migrated from the Walloon Region at an adult age); for Flemings living in Brussels, it is mainly either Dutch-speaking Belgian, Flemish or {{lang|nl|Brusselaar}} (Dutch demonym for an inhabitant), and often both. For the ''Brusseleers'', many simply consider themselves as belonging to Brussels.{{sfn|Treffers-Daller|1994|p=25}}

===Religions===
{{Further|Religion in Belgium}}
{{Pie chart
|thumb = right
|caption = Religions in the Brussels-Capital Region (2016)<ref name=2016religion/>
|label1 = [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]]
|value1 = 40
|color1 = Blue
|label5 = Non-religious
|value5 = 30
|color5 = Gray
|label2 = [[Islam]]
|value2 = 23
|color2 = Green
|label3 = [[Protestantism]]
|value3 = 3
|color3 = dodgerblue
|label4 = Other religions
|value4 = 4
|color4 = yellow
}}

Historically, Brussels has been predominantly [[Catholic Church|Catholic]], especially since the expulsion of [[Protestants]] in the 16th century. This is clear from the large number of historical churches in the region, particularly in the [[City of Brussels]]. The pre-eminent Catholic [[cathedral]] in Brussels is the [[Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula]], serving as the [[co-cathedral]] of the [[Archdiocese of Mechelen–Brussels]]. On the north-western side of the region, the [[Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Brussels|National Basilica of the Sacred Heart]] is a [[Minor Basilica]] and [[parish church]], as well as one of the [[List of largest church buildings|largest churches by area in the world]].{{sfn|Stéphany|2006|p=63}} The [[Church of Our Lady of Laeken]] holds the tombs of many members of the [[Monarchy of Belgium|Belgian royal family]], including all the former [[Belgian monarchs]], within the [[Royal Crypt (Belgium)|Royal Crypt]].{{sfn|State|2004|p=218}}<ref>{{Cite web|title=Royal Crypt in Laeken|url=https://www.monarchie.be/|access-date=2024-01-20|website=The Belgian Monarchy|archive-date=17 April 2001|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010417090603/https://www.monarchie.be/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Bruxelles - Basilique Nationale du Sacré-Cœur à Koekelberg (5).jpg|thumb|The [[Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Brussels|National Basilica of the Sacred Heart]] in [[Koekelberg]]]]

In reflection of its multicultural makeup, Brussels hosts a variety of religious communities, as well as large numbers of [[atheists]] and [[agnostics]]. Minority faiths include Islam, [[Anglicanism]], [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodoxy]], [[Judaism]], and Buddhism. According to a 2016 survey, approximately 40% of residents of Brussels declared themselves Catholics (12% were practising Catholics and 28% were non-practising Catholics), 30% were [[non-religious]], 23% were [[Muslim]] (19% practising, 4% non-practising), 3% were Protestants and 4% were of another religion.<ref name="2016religion">{{Cite news|last=Elodie Blogie|date=28 January 2016|title=75% des francophones revendiquent une identité religieuse|language=fr|work=Le Soir.be|url=http://www.lesoir.be/1106186/article/actualite/belgique/2016-01-28/75-des-francophones-revendiquent-une-identite-religieuse|access-date=5 June 2017|archive-date=31 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160131090919/http://www.lesoir.be/1106186/article/actualite/belgique/2016-01-28/75-des-francophones-revendiquent-une-identite-religieuse|url-status=live}}</ref>

As guaranteed by Belgian law, recognised religions and non-religious philosophical organisations ({{langx|fr|organisations laïques|link=no}}, {{langx|nl|vrijzinnige levensbeschouwelijke organisaties|link=no}})<ref name=berkley>{{cite web|title=Religious Freedom in Belgium|url=http://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/essays/religious-freedom-in-belgium|website=Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs|publisher=Georgetown University|access-date=21 June 2015|archive-date=21 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150621064255/http://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/essays/religious-freedom-in-belgium|url-status=dead}}</ref> enjoy public funding and school courses. It was once the case that every pupil in an official school from 6 to 18 years old had to choose two hours per week of compulsory religious—or non-religious-inspired morals—courses. However, in 2015, the [[Belgian Constitutional Court]] ruled religious studies could no longer be required in the [[Primary school|primary]] and [[Secondary school|secondary]] educational systems.<ref>{{cite web|last=Andy Furniere|date=13 March 2015|title=Lessons in religion no longer obligatory in Belgium|url=http://www.flanderstoday.eu/education/lessons-religion-no-longer-obligatory-belgium|access-date=9 June 2017|website=Flanders Today|archive-date=2 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170602044315/http://www.flanderstoday.eu/education/lessons-religion-no-longer-obligatory-belgium|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Great Mosque of Brussels.jpg|thumb|The [[Great Mosque of Brussels]], former seat of the Islamic and Cultural Centre of Belgium]]

Brussels has a large concentration of [[Islam in Belgium|Muslims]], mostly of Moroccan, Turkish, Syrian and Guinean ancestry. The [[Great Mosque of Brussels]], located in the [[Cinquantenaire|Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark]], is the oldest [[mosque]] in Brussels and the former seat of the Islamic and Cultural Centre of Belgium.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bauwin|first=Adeline|date=2019-02-01|title=L'exercice du culte à la Grande Mosquée de Bruxelles sera assuré après le départ du CICB|url=https://bx1.be/communes/bruxelles-ville/lexercice-culte-a-grande-mosquee-de-bruxelles-sera-assure-apres-depart-cicb/|access-date=2024-01-09|website=BX1|language=fr-FR|archive-date=9 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240109003622/https://bx1.be/communes/bruxelles-ville/lexercice-culte-a-grande-mosquee-de-bruxelles-sera-assure-apres-depart-cicb/|url-status=live}}</ref> Belgium does not collect statistics by ethnic background or religious beliefs, so exact figures are unknown.{{sfn|Torrekens|2007}} It was estimated that, in 2005, people of Muslim background living in the Brussels Region numbered 256,220 and accounted for 25.5% of the city's population, a much higher concentration than those of the other regions of Belgium.<ref name="BuG 100">{{cite web|date=11 September 2008|title=Bericht uit het Gewisse|trans-title=Message from the Gewisse|url=http://www.npdata.be/BuG/100/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101121030009/http://www.npdata.be/BuG/100/|archive-date=21 November 2010|access-date=9 October 2010|website=npdata.be|language=nl|quote=In België wonen 628.751 moslims(Berekend aantal), 6,0% van de bevolking. In Brussel is dit 25,5%, in Wallonië 4,0%, in Vlaanderen 3,9% [In Belgium there are 628,751 Muslims (Calculated number), 6.0% of the population. In Brussels this is 25.5%, in Wallonia 4.0%, in Flanders 3.9%.]}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=Self-published work with data from 2005|date=November 2015}}
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Regions of Belgium<ref name="BuG 100" /> (1 January 2016) !! Total population !! People of Muslim origin !! % of Muslims
|-
| Belgium || 11,371,928 || 603,642 || 5.3%
|-
| '''Brussels-Capital Region''' || '''1,180,531''' || '''212,495''' || '''18%'''
|-
| ''Wallonia'' || ''3,395,942'' || ''149,421'' || ''4.4%''
|-
| ''Flanders'' || ''6,043,161'' || ''241,726'' || ''4.0%''
|}