Flemish Brabant (Dutch: Vlaams-Brabant [ˌvlaːmz ˈbraːbɑnt] ; French: Brabant flamand [bʁabɑ̃ flamɑ̃] ) is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on (clockwise from the North) the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hainaut and East Flanders. Flemish Brabant also surrounds the Brussels-Capital Region. Its capital is Leuven. It has an area of 2,118 km2 (818 sq mi) which is divided into two administrative districts (arrondissementen in Dutch) containing 65 municipalities. As of January 2024, Flemish Brabant had a population of over 1.19 million.
Flemish Brabant was created in 1995 by the splitting of the former province of Brabant into three parts: two new provinces, Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant; and the Brussels-Capital Region, which no longer belongs to any province. The split was made to accommodate the eventual division of Belgium in three regions (Flanders, Wallonia and the Brussels-Capital Region).
The province is made up of two arrondissements. The Halle-Vilvoorde Arrondissement surrounds Brussels and is mainly a residential area, though it also contains large industrial zones and has Belgium's main airport. It is joined by the Leuven Arrondissement, centered on Leuven, the province's capital and largest city. Products of Flemish Brabant include Belgian beers.
The official language of Flemish Brabant is Dutch, as in the rest of Flanders. A few municipalities are to a certain extent allowed to use French to communicate with their citizens; these are called the municipalities with language facilities. Other such special municipalities can be found along the border between Flanders and Wallonia, and between the French and the German Community of Belgium. Halle-Vilvoorde mostly surrounds Brussels, which is officially bilingual but whose inhabitants mostly speak French.
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Politics
The Governor is the representative or "commissioner" of the federal and Flemish governments in Flemish Brabant. He is appointed by the Flemish government, on the unanimous advice of the Federal Council of Ministers. From the creation of Flemish Brabant in 1995, as a result of the division of the Province of Brabant into Flemish- and French-speaking provinces, until his retirement in 2020, the governor was Lodewijk De Witte. He was succeeded by Jan Spooren.
The governor is responsible for supervising the local authorities, ensuring that laws and decrees are observed, maintaining public order and security, and coordinating the response to a disaster which has occurred in his province. He also presides over the Deputation, however, he does not have the right to vote in the Deputation except in those cases where the Deputation exercises a judicial function.
Flemish Brabant is the only province that has a deputy governor as well. The deputy governor is appointed by the Flemish Government on the unanimous advice of the Federal Council of Ministers and must have a considerable knowledge of both the Dutch and the French language. He is responsible for ensuring that the language legislation is observed in the peripheral municipalities of Flemish Brabant.
The Provincial Council of Flemish Brabant consists of 72 members (84 members until 2012) elected for a term of office of 6 years. The last election was held on Sunday 14 October 2012. Seven political parties have seats in the provincial council:
New Flemish Alliance (N-VA): 19 seats
Christen-Democratisch en Vlaams (CD&V): 15 seats
Open Flemish Liberals and Democrats (Open Vld): 13 seats
Vooruit: 8 seats
Green (Groen): 7 seats
Union of Francophones (UF): 5 seats
Flemish Interest (Vlaams Belang): 5 seats
Economy
The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the province was 49.8 billion € in 2018. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 38,600 € or 128% of the EU27 average in the same year.
Religion
According to the International Social Survey Programme 2008: Religion III by the Association of Religion Data Archives, 73.9% of Flemish Brabant's population identified themselves as Catholics, 23.1% as non-religious, and 3% adhered to other religions.
Municipalities
Flemish Brabant has 63 municipalities: 33 in the Arrondissement of Halle-Vilvoorde and 30 in Leuven.