Belgium migrant crime and foreign prisoner statistics
How much more likely foreign citizens are to be in prison in Belgium than Belgian citizens, year by year, from Eurostat prison and population statistics, and how Belgium ranks against the rest of Europe.
Explore Belgium on the interactive mapForeign prisoners in Belgium: 2008–2024
In 2024, foreign citizens in Belgium were 5.1× as likely to be in prison as Belgian citizens and made up 45.6% of prisoners. That ranks Belgium 6 of 31 European countries, against a median of 3.1×.
| Year | Times as likely | Prisoners foreign | Population foreign |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 5.1× | 45.6% | 14.0% |
| 2023 | 4.9× | 43.9% | 13.8% |
| 2022 | 5.0× | 42.8% | 13.0% |
| 2021 | 5.3× | 43.7% | 12.8% |
| 2020 | 5.5× | 44.3% | 12.6% |
| 2019 | 5.6× | 44.2% | 12.3% |
| 2018 | 5.8× | 44.4% | 12.1% |
| 2017 | 5.8× | 44.2% | 11.9% |
| 2015 | 6.2× | 44.1% | 11.4% |
| 2013 | 6.5× | 44.7% | 11.1% |
| 2012 | 6.4× | 43.9% | 10.9% |
| 2011 | 6.6× | 44.0% | 10.6% |
| 2010 | 6.7× | 42.1% | 9.8% |
| 2009 | 7.0× | 42.3% | 9.4% |
| 2008 | 7.2× | 42.1% | 9.1% |
Foreign prisoner rates across Europe: where Belgium ranks
- 1Greece14×
- 2Croatia9.0×
- 3Slovenia8.8×
- 4Switzerland6.8×
- 5Liechtenstein5.8×
- 6Belgium5.1×
- 7Italy4.8×
- 8Austria4.6×
- 9Finland4.3×
- 10Slovakia3.9×
- 11Cyprus3.7×
- 12Luxembourg3.5×
- 13France3.4×
- 14Iceland3.2×
- 15Poland3.2×
- 16Spain3.1×
- 17Sweden3.1×
- 18Norway2.9×
- 19Netherlands2.9×
- 20Malta2.8×
- 21Denmark2.8×
- 22Estonia2.3×
- 23Turkey2.2×
- 24Portugal1.9×
- 25Bulgaria1.7×
- 26Hungary1.6×
- 27Ireland1.1×
- 28Czech Republic0.9×
- 29Lithuania0.8×
- 30Romania0.7×
- 31Latvia0.4×
Belgium migrant crime: common questions
- How many prisoners in Belgium are foreign citizens?
- In 2024, 45.6% of prisoners in Belgium held a foreign citizenship, while foreign citizens made up 14.0% of the population. That makes a foreign citizen 5.1× as likely to be in prison as a Belgian citizen (Eurostat).
- How does Belgium compare with the rest of Europe?
- Belgium ranks 6 of 31 European countries by how much more likely foreign citizens are to be in prison than citizens. The median across those countries in 2024 was 3.1×.
- Does Belgium publish crime or rape statistics by nationality?
- Belgium is not one of the four countries covered here (Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Germany) whose official sources publish rape, sexual offence or violent crime rates by country of birth or migrant background in a form that can be compared per capita. The comparable measure for Belgium is Eurostat prison statistics by citizenship, shown on this page.
- What are the crime statistics for illegal migrants in Europe?
- No European country publishes a reliable per-capita crime rate for illegal migrants alone, because people without legal residence are not counted in the population figures needed to calculate a rate. Most official rates count registered residents by country of birth or citizenship. Germany comes closest: its police statistics (PKS) report an immigrant category (Zuwanderer) that includes asylum seekers, refugees, tolerated persons and people staying without permission. Foreign-citizen prison counts on the map can also include people without legal residence held on remand or awaiting deportation.
- How are foreign prisoner rates calculated?
- For each country, the share of prisoners holding a foreign citizenship is divided by the foreign share of the population, using Eurostat data. The result shows how many times as likely a foreign citizen is to be in prison as a citizen. Prison figures reflect sentencing, remand and deportation practice as well as offending.