Arrondissements of Belgium
Arrondissements of Belgium are subdivisions below the provinces of Belgium. There are administrative, judicial and electoral arrondissements. These may or may not relate to identical geographical areas.
Belgium, a federalized state, geographically consists of three regions, of which only the Flemish Region and the Walloon Region are subdivided into five provinces each; the Brussels-Capital Region is neither a province nor is it part of one.
Administrative
The 43 administrative arrondissements are an administrative level between the municipalities and the provinces. Brussels-Capital forms a single arrondissement for all 19 municipalities in the region by that name.Dutch name | French name | HASC | NUTS | NIS/INS | In province | Population | Municipalities |
Aalst | Alost | BE.OV.AL | BE231 | 41 | East Flanders | 289,175 | 10 |
Aarlen | Arlon | BE.LX.AR | BE341 | 81 | Luxembourg | 62,202 | 5 |
Antwerpen | Anvers | BE.AN.AW | BE211 | 11 | Antwerp | 1,045,593 | 30 |
Aat | Ath | BE.HT.AT | BE321 | 51 | Hainaut | 86,782 | 8 |
Bastenaken | Bastogne | BE.LX.BS | BE342 | 82 | Luxembourg | 48,183 | 8 |
Brugge | Bruges | BE.WV.BG | BE251 | 31 | West Flanders | 281,780 | 10 |
Brussel-Hoofdstad | Bruxelles-Capitale | BE.BU.BR | BE100 | 21 | N/A | 1,198,726 | 19 |
- | Charleroi | BE.HT.CR | BE322 | 52 | Hainaut | 430,701 | 14 |
Dendermonde | Termonde | BE.OV.DM | BE232 | 42 | East Flanders | 200,307 | 10 |
Diksmuide | Dixmude | BE.WV.DK | BE252 | 32 | West Flanders | 51,428 | 5 |
- | Dinant | BE.NA.DN | BE351 | 91 | Namur | 110,610 | 15 |
Eeklo | - | BE.OV.EK | BE233 | 43 | East Flanders | 84,591 | 6 |
Gent | Gand | BE.OV.GT | BE234 | 44 | East Flanders | 556,916 | 17 |
Halle-Vilvoorde | Hal-Vilvorde | BE.VB.HV | BE241 | 23 | Flemish Brabant | 632,134 | 35 |
Hasselt | - | BE.LI.HS | BE221 | 71 | Limburg | 427,010 | 17 |
Hoei | Huy | BE.LG.HY | BE331 | 61 | Liège | 113,097 | 17 |
Ieper | Ypres | BE.WV.IP | BE253 | 33 | West Flanders | 106,251 | 8 |
Kortrijk | Courtrai | BE.WV.KR | BE254 | 34 | West Flanders | 289,114 | 12 |
Leuven | Louvain | BE.VB.LV | BE242 | 24 | Flemish Brabant | 506,355 | 30 |
Luik | Liège | BE.LG.LG | BE332 | 62 | Liège | 623,953 | 24 |
Maaseik | - | BE.LI.MS | BE222 | 72 | Limburg | 240,511 | 12 |
- | Marche-en-Famenne | BE.LX.MR | BE343 | 83 | Luxembourg | 56,143 | 9 |
Mechelen | Malines | BE.AN.MH | BE212 | 12 | Antwerp | 342,945 | 12 |
Bergen | Mons | BE.HT.MN | BE323 | 53 | Hainaut | 258,608 | 13 |
Moeskroen | Mouscron | BE.HT.MC | BE324 | 54 | Hainaut | 76,297 | 2 |
Namen | Namur | BE.NA.NM | BE352 | 92 | Namur | 316,058 | 16 |
- | Neufchâteau | BE.LX.NC | BE344 | 84 | Luxembourg | 63,041 | 12 |
Nijvel | Nivelles | BE.BW.NV | BE310 | 25 | Walloon Brabant | 401,106 | 27 |
Oostende | Ostende | BE.WV.OS | BE255 | 35 | West Flanders | 156,468 | 7 |
Oudenaarde | Audenarde | BE.OV.OD | BE235 | 45 | East Flanders | 123,868 | 10 |
- | Philippeville | BE.NA.PV | BE353 | 93 | Namur | 66,405 | 7 |
Roeselare | Roulers | BE.WV.RS | BE256 | 36 | West Flanders | 151,873 | 8 |
Sint-Niklaas | Saint-Nicolas | BE.OV.SN | BE236 | 46 | East Flanders | 250,196 | 7 |
Zinnik | Soignies | BE.HT.SG | BE325 | 55 | Hainaut | 190,334 | 8 |
- | Thuin | BE.HT.TN | BE326 | 56 | Hainaut | 151,912 | 14 |
Tielt | - | BE.WV.TL | BE257 | 37 | West Flanders | 92,615 | 9 |
Tongeren | Tongres | BE.LI.TG | BE223 | 73 | Limburg | 203,359 | 13 |
Doornik | Tournai | BE.HT.TR | BE327 | 57 | Hainaut | 147,011 | 10 |
Turnhout | - | BE.AN.TH | BE213 | 13 | Antwerp | 458,948 | 27 |
- | Verviers | BE.LG.VV | BE335 BE336 | 63 | Liège | 287,374 | 29 |
Veurne | Furnes | BE.WV.VR | BE258 | 38 | West Flanders | 61,530 | 5 |
- | Virton | BE.LX.VT | BE345 | 85 | Luxembourg | 53,658 | 10 |
Borgworm | Waremme | BE.LG.WR | BE334 | 64 | Liège | 80,902 | 14 |
As an exception, the arrondissement of Verviers has two NUTS codes: BE335 for the French-speaking part and BE336 for the German-speaking part. The latter is identical to the area of the German-speaking community.
Judicial
Belgium has 12 judicial arrondissements:- The arrondissement Liège covers the French-speaking part of the province of Liège
- The arrondissement Eupen covers the German-speaking part of the province of Liège
- The arrondissement Brussels covers the Capital Region and the administrative arrondissement of Halle-Vilvoorde
- The arrondissement Leuven covers the administrative arrondissement of Leuven
- The remaining 8 arrondissements are coterminous with, and have the same names as, the remaining 8 provinces
Judicial arrondissement | Sections |
Antwerp | Antwerp, Mechelen, Turnhout |
Brussels | Brussels, Halle-Vilvoorde |
Eupen | Eupen |
East Flanders | Dendermonde, Ghent, Oudenaarde |
Hainaut | Charleroi, Mons, Tournai |
Leuven | Leuven |
Limburg | Hasselt, Tongeren |
Liège | Huy, Liège, Verviers |
Luxembourg | Arlon, Marche-en-Famenne, Neufchâteau |
Namur | Dinant, Namur |
Walloon Brabant | Nivelles |
West Flanders | Bruges, Kortrijk, Veurne, Ypres |
Electoral
Until the end of 1999 the electoral districts for the election of the parliaments were electoral arrondissements; since the start of 2000 these are the ten provinces. The arrondissement of Brussels-Capital is not part of any province and consequently forms its own electoral district.As the only part of Belgium, the Walloon Parliament still uses electoral arrondissements. Each electoral arrondissement consists of at least one arrondissement. There were previously 13 such electoral districts, but they have since been reduced to 11. Each of these electoral districts take their names from the arrondissements they consist of, usually decreasing in order of population.
Electoral arrondissement | Province part of |
Arlon-Marche-en-Famenne-Bastogne-Neufchâteau-Virton | Luxembourg |
Mons | Hainaut |
Charleroi-Thuin | Hainaut |
Dinant-Philippeville | Namur |
Tournai-Ath-Mouscron | Hainaut |
Huy-Waremme | Liège |
Liège | Liège |
Namur | Namur |
Nivelles | Walloon Brabant |
Soignies | Hainaut |
Verviers | Liège |