Municipality · NIS 21007 · closed 24/04/2026
Forest / Vorst
Compare 2 places: Forest / Vorst and…
4 919provisional
-9,5 % in 2025 compared with 2024 (5 437)
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
83,83 offences per 1,000 inhab. in 2025 (pop. 58 675 on 1/1/2025)
Source: Bruxelles_Capitale_Forest_fr.pdf · 137 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: Charles Spapens
List: PS-Vooruit · Party / affiliation: PS
In office on 25/10/2026 · source (official source) · supplement (party) (secondary source)
Majority (lists on the executive): PS - Vooruit / PTB - PVDA / Ecolo - Groen
In office on 25/10/2026 · source (official source)
Next elections: municipal elections: 13/10/2030 · regional, federal and European elections: 2029.
Profile
Official sources (Statbel), edition shown on each line.
- Population on 1 January 2026
- 58 904
Statbel, 1/1/2026
- Foreign nationals (non-Belgian nationality)
- 35,8 %21 059 out of 58 904
2010 : 29,5 % · 2026 : 35,8 %The vertical axis does not start at 0. Annual series
1 January Foreign nationals Share 2010 14 851 29,5 % 2011 16 235 31,3 % 2012 17 486 32,8 % 2013 17 842 33,0 % 2014 18 052 33,1 % 2015 18 730 34,0 % 2016 19 295 34,7 % 2017 19 484 35,0 % 2018 19 533 34,9 % 2019 19 727 35,0 % 2020 19 859 35,1 % 2021 19 827 35,2 % 2022 20 092 35,5 % 2023 20 838 36,1 % 2024 20 967 36,1 % 2025 21 153 36,1 % 2026 21 059 35,8 % Statbel, 1/1/2026, series 2010-2026
- Non-Belgians by group of nationality of origin
- Neighbouring countries*9,0 %(5 316)
- EU27 excluding neighbouring countries14,3 %(8 399)
- Non-EU2712,5 %(7 344)
* Germany, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, United Kingdom (Statbel grouping).
Statbel, 1/1/2026, share of the population
- Origin (indicator separate from nationality)
- Belgians of Belgian origin23,5 %(13 824)
- Belgians of foreign origin40,8 %(24 021)
- Non-Belgians35,8 %(21 059)
Statbel, 1/1/2026
- Age
- 0-17 years20,6 %(12 145)
- 18-64 years66,3 %(39 080)
- 65 and over13,0 %(7 679)
Statbel, 1/1/2026
- Area and density
6,3 km² · 9 325 inhab./km²
Statbel, 1/1/2025
- Median income per tax return
24 766 €total net taxable income, 32 630 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: 24,071
- Registered: 31,429 · turnout 81.0 %
- Blank votes: 1,397 (5.5 % of ballots; electronic voting, no void ballots)
| List | Votes | % | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| MR+DéFI | 6,214 | 25.8 % | 10 |
| PS - Vooruit | 5,967 | 24.8 % | 9 |
| PTB-PVDA | 5,102 | 21.2 % | 8 |
| ECOLO-GROEN | 5,000 | 20.8 % | 8 |
| LES ENGAGÉS | 1,788 | 7.4 % | 2 |
Source: Brussels-Capital Region, elections2024.brussels, official results (local elections of 13/10/2024). Local lists, under the filed name, not linked to any party. National view
Perceived safety (Security Monitor survey)
Survey data, not recorded offences
Answers from a sample of residents aged 15 and over (Federal Police, Security Monitor). They measure perception and self-reported victimisation, with a margin of error, and are not comparable with the BIPOL figures on this page. No score or ranking. Only zones and municipalities registered for the survey have local results. Methodology
Often or always feels unsafe
« Always » and « often » answers added together, as published.
- 2018 (read in the report 2024)10,0 %90 % CI : 7,4 à 12,5 % · n = 377 · p. 49
Same edition: Brussels Region 11,0 % (p. 65) · Belgium 5,8 % (p. 73)
- 202115,7 %90 % CI : 12,9 à 18,4 % · n = 475 · p. 25
Same edition: Brussels Region 16,3 % (p. 46) · Belgium 9,1 % (p. 72)
- 202417,7 %90 % CI : 15,7 à 19,7 % · n = 992 · p. 48
Same edition: Brussels Region 19,2 % (p. 64) · Belgium 10 % (p. 30, rounded value from the federal analysis)
Often or always avoids certain places in their municipality
« Always » and « often » answers added together, as published.
- 2018 (read in the report 2024)22,3 %90 % CI : 18,7 à 25,8 % · n = 371 · p. 51
Same edition: Brussels Region 19,9 % (p. 68) · Belgium 10,4 % (p. 76)
- 202123,8 %90 % CI : 20,6 à 26,9 % · n = 497 · p. 26
Same edition: Brussels Region 23,2 % (p. 48) · Belgium 13,4 % (p. 75)
- 202429,9 %90 % CI : 27,5 à 32,3 % · n = 991 · p. 50
Same edition: Brussels Region 25,7 % (p. 67) · Belgium not available
Most cited neighbourhood problems
Share of respondents who consider the situation « definitely » or « rather » (2024) / « somewhat » (2021) a problem. The response scale changed in 2024: the two editions are shown separately, without comparison.
2021
Self-reported victimisation (last 12 months) and reporting to the police
Victims: share of respondents. Reporting: share of victims who say they reported it (police report); n = number of victims who answered.
Home burglary
Theft of bicycle or scooter
Theft with violence
Sources
- Security Monitor 2021, table report « Forest », created on 05/12/2022, 521 respondents
- Security Monitor 2024, table report « Forest », created on 09/04/2025, 1 007 respondents
Federal Police, DGR/DRI/BIPOL. Weighted percentages copied from the tables (page shown). 90 % CI computed by the site following the 2024 methodological note (§3.8). Response rate not published per zone or municipality (Belgium: 34.9 % in 2024). 2018 values: only when the report publishes the « by year » table.
Main categories
Click a category to open the annual series (2000, 2015-2025; 2025 provisional).
| Category | 2025prov. | Change 2025/2024 | 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 919 | -9,5 % | 5 375 | |
| 1 930 | -22,8 % | 2 855 | |
| 390 | +8,0 % | 471 | |
| 358 | -7,5 % | 424 | |
| 328 | -7,3 % | 312 | |
| 303 | +7,1 % | - | |
| 265 | +7,3 % | 258 | |
| 231 | +23,5 % | 190 | |
| 193 | +4,3 % | 60 | |
| 179 | +1690,0 % | 73 | |
| 159 | -44,6 % | 140 | |
| 147 | +40,0 % | - | |
| 117 | +42,7 % | 27 | |
| 83 | 0,0 % | 36 | |
| 59 | -9,2 % | 131 | |
| 51 | +10,9 % | 67 | |
| 44 | -66,7 % | 3 | |
| 31 | +24,0 % | 6 | |
| 29 | -17,1 % | 21 | |
| 27 | +8,0 % | 1 | |
| 25 | +13,6 % | 21 | |
| 19 | +46,2 % | 6 | |
| 16 | -23,8 % | 75 | |
| 14 | -26,3 % | 22 | |
| 11 | +266,7 % | - | |
| 11 | +10,0 % | 18 | |
| 11 | -8,3 % | 50 | |
| 11 | +10,0 % | 16 | |
| 7 | +600,0 % | 2 | |
| 5 | -78,3 % | - | |
| 4 | -20,0 % | 21 | |
| 3 | +200,0 % | 1 | |
| 3 | +50,0 % | 1 | |
| 1 | - | - | |
| 1 | - | - | |
| - | - | - | |
| - | - | - | |
| - | - | 65 | |
| - | - | - | |
| - | - | 2 | |
| - | - | - | |
| - | - | - |
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
14 documented perimeters for this municipality (separate regional instruments; no federal list).
- ZRU (Bruxelles)14