France most popular destination for Belgians moving abroad

France is the top destination for Belgians moving to another country in the European Union, figures published on Thursday showed. More than 117,000 Belgians have moved to the neighbouring country.

Exactly 117,125 Belgians were living in France on 1 January 2023, according to figures from the Belgian statistics office Statbel. This is almost three times as many as the 40,929 Belgians living in Spain, the second most popular destination. 

The Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg complete the top five with 39,023, 26,770 and 19,205 Belgian residents respectively. Of these five countries, France also saw the biggest increase in the number of Belgians moving there, with a rise of more than 10 per cent in two years. 

Outside the top five, the numbers are much lower, with just over 6,000 Belgians living in Portugal and Italy and between 2,000 and 3,000 in Austria and Sweden. At the bottom of the list are Lithuania, home to 31 Belgians, and Latvia, where 39 Belgians live.

^{© BELGA PHOTO BENOIT DOPPAGNE}