Written by Catherine Kurzawa
Published on 20.07.2022
Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo and his Luxembourg counterpart Xavier Bettel often share common ground, as seen here at the summit of the Belgo-Luxembourg Economic Union (BLEU) last August. (Photo: SIP/Jean-Christophe Verhaegen)
Politics, demography and the economy: there are many links between Luxembourg and its Belgian neighbour, which celebrates its national day on 21 July.
Belgian National Day is marked on 21 July in memory of the swearing in of the first Belgian king, Leopold I.
In Luxembourg, the Royal Belgian Union (URB-BKV) is organising a popular celebration in Bascharage on the evening of 20 July. For this seventh edition, some 300 participants are expected to enjoy a cross-border menu of Luxembourg beers accompanied by Belgian waffles and chips.
Luxembourg and Belgium cultivate close ties: many Belgian and Luxembourg companies have expanded into their neighbouring country and Belgian universities continue to attract a wealth of Luxembourg students. Even the two prime ministers–
Here are some facts and figures on a rather close neighbourly relationship.
With 19,414 nationals at the beginning of 2022, Belgians are the fourth largest foreign community in Luxembourg, after the Italians, French and Portuguese. In addition to residents who carry the Belgian nationality, Statec also counts 4,924 Luxembourgers who have additional Belgian citizenship. 370 residents have another main nationality in addition to their Belgian nationality. In total, 24,708 Belgians live in Luxembourg, which is 3.8% of the total population.
The vast majority of Belgians in Luxembourg live in municipalities in the west and north-west of the country, according to a Statec analysis from 2018. The municipalities with the highest Belgian shares were Winseler (23.9%), Weiswampach (18.7%) and Ell (16.7%).
With 50,404 cross-border commuters at the end of March 2022, Belgians represent 23% of all non-resident employees in Luxembourg–the third largest contingent, after the Germans and the French. Until recently they were the best off, but Statec has shown that this is no longer necessarily the case. With an average annual salary of €58,100 in 2020, Belgians earn 24% more than the French, but 0.9% less than the Germans.
Belgium is home to the second largest community of Luxembourgers, with 25,385 holders of a grand duchy passport in 2022, according to Statec. The country is positioned between France (29,663) and Germany (18,621). Between 2020 and 2022, the number of Luxembourg expatriates will have risen by almost 33%, says Statec.
Belgium is Luxembourg's fifth largest economic partner with more than €7bn worth of annual trade in goods and services in 2020, according to Statec. Belgium is fifth in this ranking behind Italy (€10.7bn), France (€14bn), the UK (€19.2bn) and Germany (€25.3 bn).
The Belgian and Luxembourg monarchies share close ties as King Philippe of Belgium is the cousin of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg. Grand Duke Jean was married to Joséphine-Charlotte of Belgium, the aunt of the current King of the Belgians. The presence of many members of the Belgian royal family at Grand Duke Jean's funeral on 4 May 2019 is testimony to this close relationship.
In a less sombre context, the state visit of the Belgian royal couple in October 2019 to Luxembourg was also an opportunity to reflect this understanding. Finally, it should be recalled that Princess Stéphanie, wife of crown prince Guillaume, was born and raised in Belgium.
This story was first published in French on Paperjam. It has been translated and edited for Delano.