Well-being and quality of life in Brussels: indicators, rankings and challenges

Life satisfaction

According to IBSA Focus No. 77, produced in collaboration with the Federal Planning Bureau based on the EU-SILC 2023 survey, Brussels residents rate their life satisfaction at an average of 7.5/10. This score matches Wallonia (7.5) but falls below Flanders (7.8).

Among Brussels residents, 15.5% rate their satisfaction at 9 or 10/10, compared to 19.1% nationally.

The main determinants identified by IBSA are:

• Health (physical and mental) — the most influential factor
• A decent standard of living and adequate material conditions
• Maintaining social relationships and participating in activities
• Suitable housing
• The ability to work

Source: IBSA Focus No. 77 (Sept. 2025), EU-SILC 2023 data.

Subjective happiness (UGent/NN National Barometer)

The National Happiness Barometer, conducted by Ghent University (UGent) and insurer NN among 1,572 representative respondents in January 2026 (annual survey since 2017), places the Brussels-Capital Region at the top of the three Belgian regions in March 2026:

• Brussels: 6.62/10
• Flanders: 6.61/10
• Wallonia: 6.36/10
• National average: 6.53/10 (down from 6.73 in early 2020)

The post-2024 recovery has reversed, driven by "economic and geopolitical uncertainties". Unemployed people (5.32/10) and those in work incapacity (5.13/10) report the lowest scores. For the first time since 2017, active workers no longer score higher than retirees. Professor Lieven Annemans (UGent) emphasises the importance of "a useful activity or life purpose" as a key determinant of wellbeing.

This ranking is consistent with the IBSA Focus No. 77 (life satisfaction 7.5/10, see above), while measuring a distinct concept (subjective happiness vs life satisfaction).

Source: DH / UGent / NN (9 March 2026).

Income and poverty

The Social Barometer 2025 from the Observatory for Health and Social Affairs — the research service of Vivalis (Cocom administration) — published on 15 April 2026, documents high and persistent precarity:

• AROPE rate (at risk of poverty or social exclusion): 23% of the Brussels population, versus 7% in Flanders and 13% in Wallonia
• 47,304 recipients of the social integration income (RIS) as of 1 January 2025, about 7% of 18-64 year-olds (up from 3% in 2002); in municipalities such as Molenbeek-Saint-Jean and Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, more than one in ten 18-64 year-olds receives the RIS
• Six of Belgium's ten poorest municipalities by income are in Brussels, including Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Anderlecht and Schaerbeek
• An "invisible population" estimated at over 50,000 people without a residence permit (around 4% of the Brussels population)

The Social Barometer 2023 already established wide income gaps (the poorest 10% below EUR 985/month per person, the richest 10% above EUR 4,120/month) and entitlement to the supplementary family allowance for six Brussels children out of ten (80% in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode). The quarterly IALC monitoring (Statbel) measures subjective poverty of 29.4% (people reporting difficulty making ends meet).

Homelessness

The count coordinated by Bruss'Help recorded 9,777 homeless or poorly housed people in Brussels on 6 November 2024, a 25% increase in two years. The Social Barometer 2025 highlights the continuing worsening of housing exclusion over the decade.

Sources: Social Barometer 2025 (Observatory/Vivalis, Apr. 2026); Social Barometer 2023 (March 2024); Bruss'Help homelessness count (Nov. 2024); Statbel IALC.

Health and life expectancy

Life expectancy

Life expectancy at birth in the Brussels-Capital Region is 82.15 years (2024), below Flanders (83.2) and above Wallonia (80.6). Intra-municipal disparities exist: IBSA Focus No. 76 (2025) analyses life expectancy at neighbourhood level.

Physical and mental health

The Sciensano Health Interview Survey 2023-2024 (7th wave, 3,000 participants in the Brussels-Capital Region) covers over 400 indicators across 6 modules: health and quality of life, health determinants, prevention, mental health, healthcare, and health and society.

Results published since September 2025 show that the risk of frailty among older people is highest in the Brussels Region, followed by Wallonia and Flanders.

The interactive HISIA tool allows data consultation by region.

Sources: Statbel (life expectancy 2024); Sciensano HIS 2023-2024; IBSA Focus No. 76.

Social relationships and loneliness

Statbel's quarterly IALC monitoring measures self-reported loneliness. In Brussels, the rate fell from 9.5% (Q3 2023) to 4.8% (Q3 2024), a significant decline.

IBSA identifies regular contact with family and friends, as well as participation in activities, as factors promoting higher life satisfaction.

Source: Statbel IALC Q3 2024 (published Dec. 2025).

Mental health

The 2023-2024 Health Interview Survey by Sciensano (report published October 2025) provides the first detailed regional data on mental health since 2018. In the Brussels-Capital Region:

• 58.0% of residents enjoy favourable psychological well-being, significantly less than Flanders (64.9%, p=0.04) and comparable to Wallonia (58.5%)
• The average GHQ-12 score is 2.3/12 (Flanders 1.9, Wallonia 2.2) — a higher score indicates greater psychological distress
• 23.9% of Brussels residents show severe psychological distress (GHQ ≥ 4), compared to 20.3% in Flanders and 24.7% in Wallonia
• The average vitality score is 54.3/100 (Flanders 61.2, Wallonia 52.8)
• 80.4% of Brussels residents report being optimistic about the future (stable since 2018), with a rising share declaring themselves "more optimistic than usual" (from 13.0% to 17.4%)

Young adults

The 15-24 age group is particularly vulnerable: psychological well-being falls below 50%, dropping to 42.4% among young women in Brussels. At the national level, 23.1% of 15-24-year-olds have an anxiety and/or depressive disorder.

National trend

At the Belgian level, diagnosable mental disorders affect 17.8% of the population (up from 14.4% in 2018). Anxiety disorders rose from 6.1% to 12.8% over twenty years, depressive disorders from 8.0% to 12.7%. Suicidal ideation affects 5.5% of the population and suicide attempts increased from 2 to 6-7 per thousand since 2018. Sciensano notes that "the situation in Brussels has not changed much between 2018 and 2023-24, but the situation was already unfavourable beforehand".

Source: Sciensano, Health Interview Survey 2023-2024: Mental Health (Oct. 2025).

Digital divide

The Digital Inclusion Barometer 2024 by the King Baudouin Foundation (Statbel data from 2023, conducted by UCLouvain and UGent) reveals that 40% of Belgians aged 16-74 are digitally vulnerable: 32% have low digital skills and 8% do not use the internet. In Brussels, 70% of people with low qualifications are digitally vulnerable.

Inequalities are stark:

• 29% of low-income households lack home internet access (compared to 1% of high-income households)
• 57% of low-educated internet users have never completed an administrative procedure online
• The digitalisation of public services (banks, administrations, hospitals) deepens exclusion for those without access or skills

On 25 September 2025, the Constitutional Court upheld the right to non-digital access to public services, following an appeal by Eneo and 23 civil society organisations against the "Brussels Digital" ordinance (promulgated 25 January 2024). The Brussels Platform Armoede has been coordinating advocacy on this issue since 2022.

Sources: King Baudouin Foundation, Digital Inclusion Barometer 2024; Brussels Platform Armoede.

Precarity and unemployment reform

The federal unemployment reform (two-year limit on benefits) took effect on 1 January 2026 and its effects are now documented, beyond the initial projections. Exclusions roll out in waves according to length of inactivity: over 20 years from 1 January, 8 to 20 years on 1 March, 2 to 8 years on 1 April 2026. Nationally, the press reports about 117,000 people having lost their rights between January and June 2026, nearly 63% of the cohort expected by July 2027 (around 25,000 as early as 1 January). On the Brussels side, the Vivalis study (March 2025) projected some 8,000 people affected and 42% of excluded residents under 55 left with no identifiable income within six months.

Spillover onto Brussels CPAS. According to the CPAS of the City of Brussels (figures as of 31 May 2026), 3,567 excluded people filed an application there — about 45% of those excluded who came forward, per the CPAS — of whom 2,706 obtained the social integration income or an equivalent aid (76% of applicants) and around 6% another form of social aid; nearly 20% had found work again since 1 July 2025. To absorb the shock, described as an announced "tsunami", the CPAS opened three new social branches and recruited 38 additional social workers.

Loss of income, administrative uncertainty and the risk of non-take-up of social rights are known determinants of psychological distress and isolation — factors that IBSA and Sciensano identify as central to life satisfaction and mental health (see sections above). The detailed impact on the nineteen CPAS is tracked in the Brussels CPAS dossier and the Social domain card.

Sources: L'Avenir / CPAS City of Brussels (5 June 2026); NEO (unemployment reform); Vivalis (March 2025); IBSA Focus No. 77; Sciensano HIS 2023-2024. Confidence: official on the reform framework; unconfirmed on the exclusion counts (press figures and CPAS estimates).

Environment and living conditions

Air quality

The Brussels Environment 2024 annual report confirms continued improvement:

• NO₂: European standards met at all 13 reference stations; 2030 targets not yet achieved at traffic-influenced stations
• PM2.5: EU standards and 2030 targets met; WHO recommendations (5 µg/m³) not reached
• PM10: slight annual exceedance only at Molenbeek-Saint-Jean

Green spaces

• 25 m² of accessible green space per inhabitant (stable since 1981 despite 400 ha added, due to population growth)
• 78% of Brussels residents have a green space within 200 m; 22% do not have one nearby
• 7 municipalities fall below the 10 m²/inhabitant threshold
• Extreme variation: from 1 m²/inh. in Saint-Gilles to 314 m²/inh. in Watermael-Boitsfort

Noise

According to the State of the Environment 2024 (2019-2022 data), 55% of Brussels residents are exposed to aircraft noise causing significant disturbance, and 30% experience problematic road traffic noise. Brussels Environment publishes near-real-time aircraft-overflight noise measurements via the noisemonitoring.brussels platform (SARA network).

Sources: Brussels Environment (air quality report 2024, green spaces 2023, State of the Environment 2024, noisemonitoring.brussels).

Perceived safety

The Urban Audit 2023 perception survey (European Commission, 83 cities, 70,000+ interviews) shows that 12.6% of Brussels residents report having been assaulted or mugged in the previous 12 months.

The OECD ranks Brussels among the lowest-performing regions for safety within its regional well-being framework (11 dimensions, data updated Oct. 2025).

Sources: European Commission, Urban Audit 2023; OECD Regional Well-Being.

Employment

The OECD places Brussels among the bottom 10% of OECD regions for employment, with an unemployment rate of 11.8% (Q2 2022), compared to 3% in the Flemish Region.

The IBSA Panorama socio-économique 2025 details Brussels labour market trends across 15 themes.

Sources: OECD Regional Well-Being; IBSA Panorama socio-économique 2025.

International position

Mercer Quality of Living 2024 (non-institutional source)

Brussels ranks 40th globally out of 241 cities (down 4 places from 36th). Negative factors cited: traffic congestion and weather. This ranking is produced by Mercer, a private HR consultancy. The methodology and underlying data are not public.

OECD Regional Well-Being (institutional source)

The OECD assesses Brussels across 11 dimensions: income, jobs, housing, health, access to services, environment, education, safety, civic engagement, community and life satisfaction. Belgium performs best in civic engagement (all regions in the top 20% of OECD regions). The largest regional gaps concern employment and health.

Belgium — World Happiness Report 2026 (national level only)

Belgium ranks 14th globally (score 6.926/10) in the World Happiness Report 2026, published on 19 March 2026 — a stable position between editions. The ranking, based on a three-year moving average, remains dominated by the Nordic countries (Finland 7.764, Iceland, Denmark). No sub-national data is available in this report.

Sources: VRT NWS (Dec. 2024) for Mercer; OECD Regional Well-Being (Oct. 2025); World Happiness Report 2026 (March 2026).

Data sources and update frequency