Linguistic barometer in Brussels: French is losing ground, Dutch is gaining and the use of English is exploding

”The study shows that the number of languages ​​spoken has increased significantly. During the last survey carried out in 2024, 104 different languages ​​were recorded,” explains researcher Mathis Saeys.

”French remains the most spoken language, even if its use has decreased, while the use of English is becoming more and more important (from 34.4% to 46.9%), especially among young people ”, continues Mathis Saeys.

Dutch (from 16.3% to 22.3%) also occupies a predominant place, in particular thanks to the young generation of Brussels residents and the population who emigrated from Flanders, according to the barometer.

These three main contact languages ​​are followed by Spanish (14.5%), Arabic (11.5%), Italian and German (both 6.1%), Portuguese and Turkish (2.8% each) and, finally, Romanian, a newcomer among the ten most spoken languages ​​in Brussels, with 2.1%.

According to the barometer, linguistic diversity translates into multilingualism among Brussels residents. In fact, more and more of them are fluent in several communication languages ​​such as Dutch, French and English.

©Belga / VUB

Around half of Brussels residents master two contact languages, although at the same time we observe an increase in the number of Brussels residents who do not master any contact language, that is to say who do not master French, Dutch or English (from 7.6% in 2018 to 10.5% in 2024).

Only 10% of French speakers who have been educated in Brussels indicate a good or excellent command of Dutch. Conversely, eight out of ten Dutch speakers who studied in Brussels indicate a good or excellent command of French.