Belgium (Somali diaspora)

How many Somalis live in Belgium?

Eurostat counted 12,040 people born in Somalia living in Belgium on 1 January 2025 (Eurostat, migr_pop3ctb). On the same date 7,788 residents held Somali citizenship (Eurostat, migr_pop1ctz).

The two counts measure different things. The first counts everyone born in Somalia, whatever passport they now hold. The second counts Somali citizens, including children born in Belgium, but not people who became Belgian.

Other counts use other methods:

• UN DESA 2024: 12,989 Somalia-born migrants in Belgium (UN DESA, International Migrant Stock 2024).
• UNHCR, end of 2025: 2,325 refugees and 1,090 asylum seekers from Somalia (UNHCR Refugee Data Finder API, Belgium). By that combined figure Belgium was the 20th-largest host of Somali refugees and asylum seekers in 2025 (UNHCR API, all hosts 2025).

UNHCR counts only people who still hold refugee or asylum-seeker status, so people who became Belgian or came on family visas fall outside it.

When did Somalis come to Belgium?

Somali arrivals before 2008 were few. Eurostat's Belgian series counts 419 people born in Somalia in 2001 and 1,399 in 2008 (Eurostat, migr_pop3ctb). UNHCR recorded 151 Somali refugees in Belgium in 1996 and 263 in 2000 (UNHCR API, Belgium).

The community grew in two steps after that, by Eurostat's count of people born in Somalia (Eurostat, migr_pop3ctb):

• 2008 to 2015: from 1,399 to 3,319.
• 2015 to 2016: from 3,319 to 5,310, the largest one-year rise.
• 2016 to 2025: a steady climb, to 8,449 in 2020 and 12,040 in 2025.

The jump in 2016 follows the asylum peak of 2015, when 2,010 Somalis applied for asylum in Belgium for the first time (Eurostat, migr_asyappctza). For the routes people took to Europe, see Migration routes and Why and how Somalis left.

How many Somalis ask for asylum in Belgium?

First-time Somali asylum applicants in Belgium, by Eurostat's yearly count (Eurostat, migr_asyappctza):

• 2008: 135
• 2011: 425
• 2015: 2,010
• 2016: 725
• 2019: 765
• 2021: 935
• 2024: 735
• 2025: 475

Somalia was not among the top countries of origin in 2025. Belgium's asylum office, the CGRS, named Afghanistan, Palestine, Eritrea, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Turkey as the main ones, out of 34,439 applicants (CGRS, Asylum statistics: overview 2025).

How many Somali asylum claims are accepted?

The CGRS took 1,155 first-instance decisions on Somali applicants in 2024, according to Eurostat (Eurostat, migr_asydcfsta). Of these, 460 gave refugee status, 10 gave subsidiary protection and 685 were negative. That is a protection rate of about 41%.

In 2025 there were 1,025 decisions: 375 refugee status, 10 subsidiary protection and 635 negative, or about 38% positive (Eurostat, migr_asydcfsta). The highest number of positive decisions was 975, in 2016 (same source).

New EU asylum rules took effect in Belgium on 12 June 2026, with recorded interviews and wider use of the accelerated procedure, the CGRS says (CGRS, asylum statistics September 2026). For how refugee status works, see Refugee papers and status.

How do Somalis get papers to stay in Belgium?

Belgium issued 826 first residence permits to Somali citizens in 2025, by Eurostat's count (Eurostat, migr_resfirst). The peak was 1,200, in 2016.

Family reunion is a large share. Family reasons accounted for 376 of the 2025 permits and 421 of the 994 issued in 2024 (same source). In 2019, 670 of 963 first permits were for family reasons.

Resettlement from camps abroad is small. UNHCR records 10 Somali refugees resettled to Belgium in 2018, 5 in 2021 and 8 in 2024 (UNHCR solutions API, Belgium).

How many Somalis have become Belgian?

Eurostat records 5,823 Somali citizens who acquired Belgian citizenship from 2002 to 2024 (Eurostat, migr_acq). Of these, 4,472 did so from 2015 onward. Yearly totals passed 600 for the first time in 2021, with 616, then 911 in 2022, 893 in 2023 and 894 in 2024.

Over the same years the number of Somali citizens stayed near 7,800, from 7,847 in 2022 to 7,788 in 2025, while the Somalia-born population rose from 10,019 to 12,040 (Eurostat, migr_pop1ctz; Eurostat, migr_pop3ctb).

Who speaks for Somalis in Belgium?

• Local office: Sarah (Sahra) Mohamed Khalif won a seat on Leuven city council in October 2018, aged 21, for the Flemish socialists, with about 772 votes (Hiiraan Online, October 2018). She was re-elected in 2024 and becomes Leuven's alderman for care, welfare and cemeteries on 1 January 2027, VRT reports (VRT, 23 June 2026).
• Other officials: for Somali-heritage officials across Europe, see Somalis in public office in Europe.

How are Somalis in Belgium tied to home?

Somalia's National Bureau of Statistics recorded 42 migrant returns from Belgium to Somalia from 2020 to 2024, the joint fourth-highest from Europe and nearby countries (NBS, Migration Statistics Report 2025). For returns from all countries, see Deportations and returns.

Money also flows home. Individuals abroad sent Somalia US$3.13 billion in 2025, about 24% of the economy, by the central bank's count (Central Bank of Somalia, Annual Report 2025). The bank does not break this down by sending country.

Related pages

• Somali diaspora hub
• Netherlands (Somali diaspora)
• France (Somali diaspora)
• Germany (Somali diaspora)
• Somalis in public office in Europe
• Life after leaving
• Somali refugees by the numbers

Sources

1. Eurostat. "Population on 1 January by age group, sex and country of birth" (migr_pop3ctb), Belgium, Somalia, 2001 to 2025. ec.europa.eu. Checked 12 November 2026.
2. Eurostat. "Population on 1 January by age group, sex and citizenship" (migr_pop1ctz), Belgium, Somalia, 2001 to 2025. ec.europa.eu. Checked 12 November 2026.
3. UN DESA Population Division. "International Migrant Stock 2024." 2025. un.org. Checked 12 November 2026.
4. UNHCR. Refugee Data Finder API, Somalia to Belgium, 1985 to 2025. api.unhcr.org. Checked 12 November 2026.
5. UNHCR. Refugee Data Finder API, Somalia to all hosts, 2025. api.unhcr.org. Checked 12 November 2026.
6. UNHCR. Refugee Data Finder API, solutions (resettlement and naturalisation), Somalia to Belgium. api.unhcr.org. Checked 12 November 2026.
7. Eurostat. "Asylum applicants by type of applicant, citizenship, age and sex, annual aggregated data" (migr_asyappctza), first-time applicants. ec.europa.eu. Checked 12 November 2026.
8. Eurostat. "First instance decisions on applications by type of decision, citizenship, age and sex, annual aggregated data" (migr_asydcfsta). ec.europa.eu. Checked 12 November 2026.
9. Eurostat. "First permits by reason, length of validity and citizenship" (migr_resfirst). ec.europa.eu. Checked 12 November 2026.
10. Eurostat. "Acquisition of citizenship by age group, sex and former citizenship" (migr_acq). ec.europa.eu. Checked 12 November 2026.
11. Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRS). "Asylum statistics: overview 2025." cgrs.be. Checked 12 November 2026.
12. CGRS. "Asylum statistics September 2026." 15 October 2026. cgrs.be. Checked 12 November 2026.
13. Hiiraan Online. "First Somali woman elected as Belgium city council member." October 2018. hiiraan.com. Checked 12 November 2026.
14. VRT NWS. "Schepenwissel in Leuven: Sarah M. Khalif vervangt Bieke Verlinden als schepen van Zorg, Welzijn en Begraafplaatsen." 23 June 2026. vrt.be. Checked 12 November 2026.
15. Somalia National Bureau of Statistics. "Migration Statistics Report," second edition. 2025. nbs.gov.so. Checked 12 November 2026.
16. Central Bank of Somalia. "Annual Report 2025." 2026. centralbank.gov.so. Checked 12 November 2026.