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Municipality · NIS 11016 · closed 24/04/2026

Essen

Compare 2 places: Essen and…

1 149provisional

+12,1 % in 2025 compared with 2024 (1 025)

2025: first publication (closed 24/04/2026), provisional figures. Late reports are added in later bulletins, which revise the figures upwards. The 2025/2024 change may therefore overstate the fall. Learn more

58,6 offences per 1,000 inhab. in 2025 (pop. 19 606 on 1/1/2025)

Source: Antwerpen_Essen_fr.pdf · 123 pages

PNG image to share yourself (key figures, mayor, sources); it is not published on the site. The text in the image is in French.

Local executive

  • Mayor: Geert Vandekeybus

    List: N-VA/PLE · Party / affiliation: not provided

    Since 03/12/2024 · In office on 08/10/2026 · source (official source)

  • Majority (lists on the executive): N-VA/PLE / Vooruit

    Derived from the lists of the executive members · In office on 08/10/2026 · source (official source)

Next elections: municipal and provincial elections: 13/10/2030 · regional, federal and European elections: 2029.

Profile

Official sources (Statbel), edition shown on each line.

Population on 1 January 2026
19 671

Statbel, 1/1/2026

Foreign nationals (non-Belgian nationality)
22,1 %4 354 out of 19 671
2010 : 20,5 % · 2026 : 22,1 %The vertical axis does not start at 0.
Annual series
1 JanuaryForeign nationalsShare
20103 64620,5 %
20113 72020,8 %
20123 75220,8 %
20133 70520,5 %
20143 71520,3 %
20153 82320,7 %
20163 87020,8 %
20173 94821,0 %
20184 09221,4 %
20194 05121,3 %
20204 04921,1 %
20213 99920,8 %
20224 02120,8 %
20234 20721,4 %
20244 24921,6 %
20254 25621,7 %
20264 35422,1 %

Statbel, 1/1/2026, series 2010-2026

Non-Belgians by group of nationality of origin
  • Neighbouring countries*16,8 %(3 313)
  • EU27 excluding neighbouring countries1,5 %(298)
  • Non-EU273,8 %(743)

* Germany, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, United Kingdom (Statbel grouping).

Statbel, 1/1/2026, share of the population

Origin (indicator separate from nationality)
  • Belgians of Belgian origin62,2 %(12 243)
  • Belgians of foreign origin15,6 %(3 074)
  • Non-Belgians22,1 %(4 354)

Statbel, 1/1/2026

Age
  • 0-17 years20,0 %(3 937)
  • 18-64 years58,3 %(11 475)
  • 65 and over21,7 %(4 259)

Statbel, 1/1/2026

Area and density

47,6 km² · 412 inhab./km²

Statbel, 1/1/2025

Median income per tax return

33 400 €total net taxable income, 10 954 returns

Statbel, income 2023

Definitions
  • « Foreign national » = person with a non-Belgian nationality in the national register, on 1 January. Naturalised Belgians or Belgians of foreign origin are counted as Belgians.
  • Origin (Statbel): based on current nationality, the person's first registered nationality and that of their parents. Official categories: Belgian of Belgian origin, Belgian of foreign origin, non-Belgian.
  • Group of nationality of origin: Statbel grouping into neighbouring countries, EU27 excluding neighbouring countries, and non-EU27; this is not a strict EU / non-EU split (the United Kingdom is classed as a neighbouring country).
  • Merged or renumbered municipalities: no reconstructed series before the date of the new code (same rule as for the reference population).
  • These figures are not cross-referenced with any crime statistics.

Elections

  • Valid votes: 8,145
  • Registered: 12,460 · turnout 65.7 %
  • Blank and void: 42 (0.5 % of ballots)
ListVotes%Seats
N-VA/PLE3,24639.9 %11
Vooruit2,02924.9 %6
cd&v Essen1,87223.0 %6
VLAAMS BELANG99812.3 %2

Source: Vlaanderen kiest (Flemish Home Affairs agency), official results (local elections of 13/10/2024). Local lists, under the filed name, not linked to any party. National view

Main categories

Click a category to open the annual series (2000, 2015-2025; 2025 provisional).

Category2025prov.Change 2025/20242000
1 149+12,1 %1 967
355+14,9 %587
149+41,9 %-
105+45,8 %31
97-5,8 %86
92+48,4 %225
66-17,5 %20
49+19,5 %-
39-18,8 %761
35-28,6 %-
34-34,6 %31
25+4,2 %22
24+60,0 %8
24+20,0 %64
18+50,0 %20
17-15,0 %45
140,0 %2
12+300,0 %3
12-25,0 %4
9+12,5 %14
6+100,0 %17
3+200,0 %-
30,0 %7
3--
3-1
2-33,3 %-
10,0 %-
10,0 %-
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Change 2025/2024: change in 2025 compared with 2024 (e.g. −10 % = 2025 is 10 % lower than 2024, not the reverse).

2025 provisional: first publication. Reports registered late are added in later bulletins, which revise the figures upwards, so the 2025/2024 fall may be overstated.

Source of figures: police crime statistics bulletin, Q4 2025 (closed 24/04/2026). Click a category to show the full available annual series.

Documented perimeters

1 documented perimeter for this municipality (separate regional instruments; no federal list).

View on the Priority neighbourhoods page