As a populous country with developed infrastructure and a small landmass, getting around Belgium is pretty straightforward – especially when compared to other nations. But notwithstanding the relative ease of movement, most Belgian residents work near to where they live.
The Belgian inclination to not venture too far from where they grew up has been highlighted in a recent analysis by the IESEG School of Management, which found that when it comes to their work location, most people stay in the region they call home.
In Brussels, 83% of those who grew up in the region now work here. Meanwhile, around 11% commute to Flanders for their job whilst 5% work in Wallonia and a small share (1.6%) travels abroad.
Going the other way, Brussels is something of a honeypot for workers who live in other regions. As explains Eric Dor, Director of Economic Studies at the IESEG, "10.3% of the employed residents of Wallonia work in Brussels and 8.7% of the people residing in Flanders come to work in Brussels."
The smallest "rate of exchange" happens between Flanders and Wallonia: Just 1.1% of employed people in Flanders commute to Wallonia for work. In the opposite direction, the share is slightly higher (3.2%) but still much lower than the number of people commuting to Brussels.
More people choose to commute from Wallonia to neighbouring countries than to Flanders. A total of 5.2% of Walloon residents travel abroad for work – in most instances to a neighbouring country. In Flanders, just 1.9% commute abroad, and in Brussels only 1.6% work outside Belgium. This can be explained by the fact it is located furthest away from the borders.
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Dor stressed that there are big differences between provinces. For example, Brussels attracts more than a quarter of workers from the provinces of Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant, which are located around the capital region, making it easier to access for these groups.
Again, in the opposite direction, most people travelling outside the Brussels Region for work commute to these nearby provinces, once again highlighting that people prefer to work closer to home, even when leaving their own region.
Very few people living in Brussels choose to commute to far-flung provinces such as West and East Flanders, Antwerp and Liège.
