Overview
Young People in Belgium (German-speaking Community)
As of 1 January 2021, statistics showed that of a total Belgian population of 11.521.238 inhabitants, 78.144 were living in the German-Speaking Community. To frame the specific situation of the German-Speaking Community and their young people, the table below provides information about the total Belgian population, the total German-Speaking Community population and the number of young people between 10 and 30 years old, which is the official age span for young people as defined by legislation in the German-speaking Community. The data also show the relevant percentages and the gender balance.
| Population | Men | Women | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium 10-30 years | 1.456.365 | 1.411.645 | 2.868.010 |
| Belgium Total | 5.677.211 | 5.844.027 | 11.521.238 |
| Belgium % 10-30 | 25,65% | 24,16% | 24,89% |
| German-speaking Community 10-30 years | 9.517 | 9.072 | 18.589 |
| German-speaking Community Total | 38.878 | 39.226 | 78.144 |
| German-speaking Community % 10-30 | 24,48% | 23,13% | 23,79% |
Youth Policy in Belgium (German-speaking Community)
The federal ‘Belgian’ level of government only has limited competence in youth matters (e.g. some aspects of judicial youth protection), but there is no youth policy at the Belgian level. The Communities are competent for youth and youth policy, so it is on this level that most explicit ‘youth policy instruments’ can be found.
The Communities have a minister responsible for Youth, a parliamentary commission and a number of administrative departments with ‘youth’ in their title and a large number of specific youth-related budget items. Given the fact that every Community has its own Minister for Youth, this means Belgium has three. The Minister for Youth of the German-speaking Community for the legislative period 2019-2024 is Isabelle Weykmans.
Ratio of young people in the total population on 1st January
Ratio of men and women in the youth population
Statistic references
References:
Data are for Belgium as a whole, and might not represent the demographic situation in the Belgian German-Speaking Community.
Ratio (%) of young people in the total population (2017): Eurostat, yth_demo_020 [data extracted on 4/09/2018].
Absolute number of young people on 1 January for the age group 15-29 (2017): Eurostat, yth_demo_010 [data extracted on 4/09/2018].
Ratio (%) of men and women in the youth population (2017): Eurostat, yth_demo_020 [data extracted on 4/09/2018].
Young immigrants from non-EU countries (2016): Eurostat, yth_demo_070 [data extracted on 4/09/2018].