Brussels

Besides the central historic town located within the Pentagon, the City of Brussels covers some of the city's immediate outskirts within the greater Brussels-Capital Region, namely the former municipalities of Haren, Laeken, and Neder-Over-Heembeek to the north, as well as the Avenue Louise/Louizalaan and the Bois de la Cambre/Ter Kamerenbos park to the south-east, where it borders municipalities in Flanders. The total area is 33.09 km2, which gives a population density of 5949 PD/km2. Like all municipalities in Brussels, it is officially bilingual (French–Dutch).

• Name — City of Brussels • Type — city • Name Fr — Ville de Bruxelles / Bruxelles-Ville • Name Nl — Stad Brussel / Brussel-Stad • Image Map — Bruxelles Brussels-Capital Belgium Map.svg • Map Caption — The City of Brussels within Brussels-Capital Region • Arms — Greater coat of arms of the City of Brussels.svg • Flag — Brussel vlag.svg • Arrondissement — Brussels-Capital • Nis — 21004 • Mayor — Philippe Close (PS) • List Of Mayors — List of mayors of the City of Brussels • Majority — PS / Forward - MR - Les Engagés / CD&V • Postal Code — 1000, 1020, 1030, 1040, 1050, 1120, 1130 • Area Code — 02 • Website — www.brussels.be The City of Brussels is the largest municipality and historical centre of the Brussels-Capital Region, as well as the capital of Belgium. It is additionally the capital of the French Community of Belgium, the Flemish Community, and the Flemish Region (from which it is separate). The City of Brussels is also the administrative centre of the European Union, as it hosts a number of principal EU institutions in its European Quarter. Besides the central historic town located within the Pentagon, the City of Brussels covers some of the city's immediate outskirts within the greater Brussels-Capital Region, namely the former municipalities of Haren, Laeken, and Neder-Over-Heembeek to the north, as well as the Avenue Louise/Louizalaan and the Bois de la Cambre/Ter Kamerenbos park to the south-east, where it borders municipalities in Flanders. As of 2024 1, the City of Brussels had a population of 196,828 inhabitants. The total area is 33.09 km2, which gives a population density of 5949 PD/km2. As of 2023, there were 75,998 registered non-Belgians in the City. Like all municipalities in Brussels, it is officially bilingual (French–Dutch).

Historically, the City of Brussels was simply defined, being the area within the second walls of Brussels, the modern-day Small Ring (Brussels' inner ring road). As the city grew, so did the surrounding villages, eventually forming a contiguous city, though the local governments retained control of their respective areas. • Illustration — Panoramic view of Brussels and its walls c. 1665, by Jan Baptist Bonnecroy At the country's independence in 1830, the new members of the Belgian upper class hoped to create a new prestigious residential area in the capital. An official plan for the Leopold Quarter was drawn up in 1838, marking the first major extension of the City of Brussels in its eastern part, following the transfer of a large area of the municipality of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode. The area was designed to emanate from Brussels Park (located in front of the Royal Palace), and was laid out on a grid in a traditional classical pattern centred around the Square Frère Orban/Frère-Orbansquare. Shortly afterwards, in 1844, the Avenue Louise/Louizalaan was proposed as a monumental avenue bordered by chestnut trees that would allow easy access from Brussels' city centre to the popular recreational area of the Bois de la Cambre/Ter Kamerenbos. However, fierce resistance to the project was put up by the towns of Saint-Gilles and Ixelles—then, as now, separate municipalities (local authorities) from the City of Brussels—through whose territories the avenue was to run. After years of fruitless negotiations, the City of Brussels finally annexed the narrow band of land needed for the avenue, in addition to the Bois de la Cambre itself, in April 1864. That decision accounts for the unusual shape of today's City of Brussels and for the separation of Ixelles into two separate areas. To the east, in 1853, following the bankruptcy of Saint-Josse's municipal administration, the City of Brussels purchased half of this municipality. Nowadays, this is the Squares Quarter, the only part of the Brussels municipality to have the same postal code (1040) as the municipality of Etterbeek. Further east, in 1880, a former military exercise ground and the surrounding land, also located in Etterbeek, were attached to the City to create the Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark, an exhibition space commemorating the 50th anniversary of independence. A leisure park and museums were subsequently set up there. Unlike most of the municipalities in Belgium, the ones now located in the Brussels-Capital Region were not merged with others during mergers occurring in 1964, 1970, and 1975. However, a few neighbouring municipalities have been merged into the City of Brussels, including Haren, Laeken and Neder-Over-Heembeek in 1921. These comprise the northern bulge in the municipality. To the south-east is the above-mentioned strip of land along the Avenue Louise that was annexed from Saint-Gilles and Ixelles. Part of the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB)'s Solbosch/Solbos campus is also part of the City of Brussels, partially accounting for the bulge in the south-eastern end.

As of 2024 1, the City of Brussels' population was 196,828 inhabitants. The area is 33.09 km2, making the density 5949 PD/km2. Taking into account the current municipality, including the former municipalities annexed in 1921 (Haren, Laeken and Neder-over-Heembeek) from 1831: Colors= id:a value:gray(0.9) id:b value:gray(0.7) id:c value:rgb(1,1,1) id:d value:rgb(0.7,0.8,0.9) id:e value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8) ImageSize = width:900 height:450 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:30 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:220000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:b increment:20000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:a increment:10000 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:c BarData= bar:1831 text:1831 bar:1846 text:1846 bar:1856 text:1856 bar:1866 text:1866 bar:1880 text:1880 bar:1890 text:1890 bar:1900 text:1900 bar:1910 text:1910 bar:1920 text:1920 bar:1930 text:1930 bar:1947 text:1947 bar:1961 text:1961 bar:1970 text:1970 bar:1981 text:1981 bar:1990 text:1990 bar:2000 text:2000 bar:2010 text:2010 bar:2020 text:2020 bar:2024 text:2024 PlotData= color:d width:20 align:left bar:1831 from:0 till: 102701 bar:1846 from:0 till: 129680 bar:1856 from:0 till: 159809 bar:1866 from:0 till: 169311 bar:1880 from:0 till: 183315 bar:1890 from:0 till: 205096 bar:1900 from:0 till: 218623 bar:1910 from:0 till: 218969 bar:1920 from:0 till: 203058 bar:1930 from:0 till: 200433 bar:1947 from:0 till: 184838 bar:1961 from:0 till: 170489 bar:1970 from:0 till: 161080 bar:1981 from:0 till: 139678 bar:1990 from:0 till: 136706 bar:2000 from:0 till: 133859 bar:2010 from:0 till: 157673 bar:2020 from:0 till: 185103 bar:2024 from:0 till: 196828 PlotData= bar:1831 at: 102701 fontsize:S text: 102.701 shift:(-10,5) bar:1846 at: 129680 fontsize:S text: 129.680 shift:(-10,5) bar:1856 at: 159809 fontsize:S text: 159.809 shift:(-10,5) bar:1866 at: 169311 fontsize:S text: 169.311 shift:(-10,5) bar:1880 at: 183315 fontsize:S text: 183.315 shift:(-10,5) bar:1890 at: 205096 fontsize:S text: 205.096 shift:(-10,5) bar:1900 at: 218623 fontsize:S text: 218.623 shift:(-10,5) bar:1910 at: 218969 fontsize:S text: 218.969 shift:(-10,5) bar:1920 at: 203058 fontsize:S text: 203.058 shift:(-10,5) bar:1930 at: 200433 fontsize:S text: 200.433 shift:(-10,5) bar:1947 at: 184838 fontsize:S text: 184.838 shift:(-10,5) bar:1961 at: 170489 fontsize:S text: 170.489 shift:(-10,5) bar:1970 at: 161080 fontsize:S text: 161.080 shift:(-10,5) bar:1981 at: 139678 fontsize:S text: 139.678 shift:(-10,5) bar:1990 at: 136706 fontsize:S text: 136.706 shift:(-10,5) bar:2000 at: 133859 fontsize:S text: 133.859 shift:(-10,5) bar:2010 at: 157673 fontsize:S text: 157.673 shift:(-10,5) bar:2020 at: 185103 fontsize:S text: 185.103 shift:(-10,5) bar:2024 at: 196828 fontsize:S text: 196.828 shift:(-10,5) • Sources: INS: 1806 to 1981 = census; 1990 and later = population on 1 January

The City of Brussels has a large immigrant population, with both the EU and non-European migrant communities outnumbering the native Belgians. Akin to neighbouring Ixelles, Etterbeek and Schaerbeek, the City of Brussels also has a large Muslim population, mainly of Moroccan origin. As of 2023, taking into account the nationality of birth of the parents, 55.84% of the City of Brussels's population is of non-European origin (predominantly Moroccan, Indian and Congolese), 27.21% is of European origin other than Belgian (mainly French, Romanian, Italian, Spanish, and Polish), while 16.94% is solely of native Belgian ancestry. Among all major migrant groups from outside the EU, a majority of the permanent residents have acquired Belgian nationality. Migrant communities in the City of Brussels with over 1,000 people as of 1 January 2020: • France — 9,049 • Morocco — 7,431 • Romania — 7,057 • Italy — 5,175 • Spain — 4,690 • Poland — 2,777 • Portugal — 1,832 • Greece — 1,758 • Netherlands — 1,704 • India — 1,591 • Bulgaria — 1,573 • Germany — 1,565 • DR Congo — 1,511 • Turkey — 1,389 • Guinea — 1,309 • United Kingdom — 1,177 • Group of origin — Year • 2023 • Number — % • Belgians with Belgian background — 32,916 — 16.94% • Belgians with foreign background — 85,377 — 43.94% • Neighbouring country — 4,194 — 2.16% • EU27 (excluding neighbouring country) — 6,629 — 3.41% • Outside EU 27 • Non-Belgians — 75,998 — 39.12% • Neighbouring country — 6.95% • EU27 (excluding neighbouring country) • Outside EU 27 • Total — 194,291 — 100%

• Illustration — Brussels' Town Hall As in every other Belgian municipality, the City of Brussels is headed by a mayor, who should not be confused with the minister-president of the Brussels-Capital Region or the governor of Brussels-Capital. The current city council was elected in the October 2018 elections. The current mayor of the City of Brussels is Philippe Close, a member of PS, who is in coalition on the municipal council with Ecolo - Groen, DéFI and Forward. City of Brussels local election – 14 October 2018 * • Party • data-sort-type="number"| Votes — data-sort-type="number"| % — data-sort-type="number"| Swing (pp) — data-sort-type="number"| Elected 2018 — data-sort-type="number"| Change Change in number of seats from the 2012 election to the 2018 election • Socialist Party (Belgium) — 19,997 — 28.38 — 0.74 — 1 • Ecolo - Groen — 11,847 — 16.81 — 4.42 — 2 • Reformist Movement - Open Vld — 9,772 — 13.87 — 4.02 — 3 • Workers' Party of Belgium — 8,159 — 11.58 — 10.02 — 6 • Humanist Democratic Centre - CD&V — 6,543 — 9.29 — 8.72 — 5 • 5,317 — 7.55 — 0.08 • New Flemish Alliance — 2,606 — 3.70 — 0.64 • Vooruit (political party) (Change Brussels) — 2,269 — 3.22 — New — 1 • Vlaams Belang — 1,138 — 1.61 — 0.59 — - • ISLAM (political party) — 1,125 — 1.60 — 1.30 — - • Others — 1,694 — 2.40 — 1.56 — -

Brussels is ranked sixth in the index of cities which are becoming greener fastest as for the year 2022, even though in the past it had a reputation of a "traffic-choked city of high rises and concrete". The authorities released a plan composed of seven steps on how to make the city even more sustainable. Those include introducing "a use-based, circular and low-carbon economy" and making the city "proactive". The city should become a "10-minute city" meaning "making the facilities essential to urban life accessible to every inhabitant in less than 10 minutes". Green spaces should be expanded. The plan includes participation of the population in decision-making and high life level for all.

• Symbolism — Saint Michael is the city's patron saint. See: Saint Michael slaying the Devil • Compartment — A mount vert • Supporters — Two lions rampant Or armed and langued Gules each holding a banner: dexter, the arms of the Duchy of Brabant, also those of Belgium, sinister, the city's arms • Escutcheon — Gules Saint Michael Or, slaying the Devil Sable • Coronet — A Belgian Count's coronet • Previous Versions — See below • Previous versions • — The original arms were plain Gules. From the 16th century on, it was customary to put the figure of the city seal representing Saint Michael, first as a shadow then in a more elaborate form. Note: many of the arms of the Seven Noble Houses of Brussels were variants of these arms. • — 1730 arms • — Napoleonic arms

• Flag of the City of Brussels • — Description: Green and red with at its centre Saint Michael slaying the dragon (Devil). Symbolism: Saint Michael is the city's patron saint. See: Saint Michael slaying the Devil