The population along the Belgian coast is rapidly ageing, while the number of working-age residents is decreasing, according to a report from the province of West Flanders and the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), presented on Tuesday.
The new publication, KustINzicht2025, was unveiled in Ostend and includes figures and analyses about the Belgian coastal zone, highlighting its challenges and opportunities.
The report reveals that since 2010 the number of people aged 0 to 17 has fallen 6.4% while those over 80 have increased by 38.3%. Coastal municipalities are experiencing a significant decline in the working-age population (-5.4%), whereas inland municipalities are seeing slight growth (+1.3%). “The coast remains an attractive destination for the elderly, introducing new challenges in healthcare, housing, and mobility,” the report notes.
Additionally, coastal municipalities have a higher-than-average number of deprived neighbourhoods. Over half of the residents in West Flanders living in deprived areas are in coastal municipalities. There are a total of 64 deprived neighbourhoods in the coastal zone, with 61 located within coastal municipalities. In 2022, this meant that a quarter of the coastal municipality population resided in deprived areas.
Furthermore, job growth in coastal municipalities lags behind the national average. From 2006 to 2022, the number of people employed in these areas increased by only 4.7%, compared to growth rates of 10.6% in West Flanders and 15.3% in Flanders overall.
