Directorate-general Statistics and Economic information

11/17/2022 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/17/2022 05:08

Tournai, Couvin and Antwerp are the largest municipalities in Belgium

Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Koekelberg and Herstappe are the smallest

In 2022, the total surface area of Belgium was 30,689 km². The Flemish Region is 13,626 km², the Walloon Region 16,901 km² and the Brussels-Capital Region 162 km².

With a surface area of 215 km², Tournai is the largest municipality in Wallonia (and in Belgium) and Saint-Nicolas, in the province of Liège, is the smallest with 6.9 km².

In Flanders, the largest municipality, Antwerp, has 204 km² while the smallest, Herstappe, only covers 1.3 km².

In the Brussels-Capital Region, the city of Brussels with its 33 km² is almost thirty times the size of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode which, with a surface area of 1.2 km², is the smallest municipality in Belgium.

Largest municipalities per region

Walloon Region Flemish Region Brussels-Capital Region
TOURNAI 215 km² ANTWERP 204 km² BRUSSELS 33 km²
COUVIN 207 km² GHENT 158 km² UCCLE 23 km²
CHIMAY 199 km² BEVEREN 153 km² ANDERLECHT 18 km²
LIBRAMONT-CHEVIGNY 179 km² DIKSMUIDE 151 km² WATERMAEL-BOITSFORT 13 km²
NAMUR 176 km² BRUGES 141 km² AUDERGHEM 9 km²

Smallest municipalities per region

Walloon Region Flemish Region Brussels-Capital Region
SAINT-NICOLAS 6.9 km² HERSTAPPE 1.3 km² SAINT-JOSSE-TEN-NOODE 1.2 km²
BEYNE-HEUSAY 7.3 km² DROGENBOS 2.5 km² KOEKELBERG 1.2 km²
FARCIENNES 10.4 km² MESEN 3.6 km² GANSHOREN 2.4 km²
SPIERE-HELKIJN 10.8 km² BORSBEEK 3.9 km² SAINT-GILLES 2.5 km²
QUAREGNON 11.2 km² LINKEBEEK 4.2 km² BERCHEM-SAINTE-AGATHE 3.0 km²

The statistics on land use give an overview of the number of parcels, the surface areas and the non-indexed cadastral income (C.I.) of all parcels and administrative units in Belgium[1].

[1] Until 2017, the calculation of the total surface area was based on files from the land register of the FPS Finances. The data contained in this database were originally defined during the Napoleonic era (when the land register was created).

From 2018 onwards, the total surface areas come from the CADGIS database of the FPS Finances. The data contained in this database are based on the most recent measuring techniques. The total surface areas are now also in line with international conventions and guidelines from Eurostat, the European statistical office. This is why, for the ten coastal municipalities, the surface area from the coast to the low-water line has been taken into account.