Moroccans in Belgium

Last updated
Moroccan-Belgians
Total population
429,580 (2012) [1]
Regions with significant populations
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg  Belgium
Flag of Morocco.svg  Morocco
Languages
French, Dutch, Moroccan Arabic, Rifian, Shilha, Spanish, [2] Italian
Religion
Islam
Minority: Judaism, Irreligion, Christianity [3]
Related ethnic groups
Arabs and Berbers in Belgium

Moroccans and people of Moroccan descent, who come from various ethnic groups, form a distinct community in Belgium and part of the wider Moroccan diaspora. They represent the largest non-European immigrant population in Belgium and are widely referred to as Belgo-Marocains in French and Belgische Marokkanen in Dutch.

Contents

History

Moroccan-born population in Belgium
YearPop.±%
1961 461—    
1970 39,294+8423.6%
1981 105,133+167.6%
1991 142,098+35.2%
2002 90,642−36.2%
Source: [4]

There has been a Moroccan presence in Belgium since 1912 when France began recruiting workers from its North African colonies as immigrant workers, allowing some to cross into Belgium. At the time, Morocco possessed a largely agrarian economy and labour migration was attractive to many young men. There were thought to be 6,000 Moroccans living in Belgium by 1930, predominantly in industrial towns in Wallonia. [5]

The rapid recovery of the Belgian economy after World War II was based on the rapid revival of coal mining and heavy industry which experienced an acute labour shortage. As a response, the Belgian government entered into various guest worker programmes aimed at encouraging workers to travel to Belgium on work contracts. The first such agreement was made with Italy in 1946 but the arrangement collapsed after large-scale loss of life among Italian workers in the Marcinelle mining disaster in 1956. Alternative agreements were concluded with Spain (1956) and Greece (1957) and later Turkey (1964). Belgium also began to look to recruiting migrant workers from North Africa from 1957 but the process was complicated by the ongoing Algerian War. [4]

A guest worker agreement was signed with Morocco on 17 August 1964. This made Morocco the first North African state to make such an agreement with Belgium. [4] In following years significant numbers of Moroccan workers, mainly single men, were recruited for work in Belgium. The program was cancelled in August 1974 amid the fall in demand created by the 1973–1975 recession and the country's escalating deindustrialisation. However, the spread of family reunification and high birth rates led to the rapid expansion of the community after the scheme's abolition. In following years, there was also immigration into Belgium from students and political dissidents opposed to the regime of King Hassan II. [4]


As of 2023, there are a total of 699,296 North Africans in Belgium, of which a majority are Moroccans. A total of 258,603 North Africans reside in the Brussels-Capital Region, 120,356 reside in Antwerp. A total of 275,421 North Africans reside in Flanders and a total of 165,272 North Africans reside in Wallonia. [6]

Number of Moroccans in larger cities [ citation needed ]
#CityPeople
1. Brussels 34,984
2. Antwerp 11,780
3. Liège 7,634
4. Charleroi 5,403
5. Namur 2,836

Community

Moroccans form a major immigrant ethnic group in Belgium. The number of people with at least one parent born with Moroccan nationality was 430,000 on 1 January 2012, or about 4 percent of the national population.[ citation needed ] This proportion was 6.7% among those under 15 years of age. Belgium also represents one of the most important centres of the Moroccan diaspora. The Brussels-Capital Region has the most Moroccans in Belgium (45%), followed by Antwerp (22.7%), Liège (8.8%) and Charleroi (5.2%).

A large majority of Moroccans in Belgium originate from northern Morocco (Al Hoceima, Nador, Tangier, Tetouan and Oujda). [7] [8]

It was reported in 2019 that six Moroccan-Belgians had been elected to the Chamber of Representatives and 21 in regional parliaments. [9]

It was reported in 2020 that more than 1,500 Moroccan-Belgian dual nationals in Morocco had request repatriation to Belgium during the COVID-19 pandemic. [10]

There is a small Moroccan Jewish community which runs the Judeo-Moroccan Cultural Centre (Centre de la Culture judéo-marocaine, CCJM) in Brussels. [11] The chief Rabbi of Belgium is Albert Guigui, born in Meknès in 1944.

Radicalization

In the 2012–2016 timespan, of the approximately 500 individuals who left the country to fight in the civil war in Syria, the great majority were of Moroccan descent according to U.S. and Belgian authorities. [12] In a report by the Combating Terrorism Center, of the 135 individuals surveyed in connection with terrorism, there were 12 different nationalities. Of those 65% had Belgian citizenship and 33% were either Moroccan citizens or had ancestral roots there. [13]

Notable people

Members of parliament or of government

Others

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demographics of France</span>

The demography of France is monitored by the Institut national d'études démographiques (INED) and the Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques (INSEE). As of 1 January 2021, 65,250,000 people lived in Metropolitan France, while 2,785,000 lived in overseas France, for a total of 68,035,000 inhabitants in the French Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Immigration to France</span> France migration flows

According to the French National Institute of Statistics INSEE, the 2021 census counted nearly 7 million immigrants in France, representing 10.3% of the total population. This is a decrease from INSEE statistics in 2018 in which there were 9 million immigrants in France, which at the time represented 14% of the country's total population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lebanese people</span> People inhabiting or originating from Lebanon; citizens or natives of Lebanon

The Lebanese people are the people inhabiting or originating from Lebanon. The term may also include those who had inhabited Mount Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon Mountains prior to the creation of the modern Lebanese state. The major religious groups among the Lebanese people within Lebanon are Shia Muslims (27%), Sunni Muslims (27%), Maronite Christians (21%), Greek Orthodox Christians (8%), Melkite Christians (5%), Druze (5%), Protestant Christians (1%). The largest contingent of Lebanese, however, comprise a diaspora in North America, South America, Europe, Australia and Africa, which is predominantly Maronite Christian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moroccans</span> Citizens and nationals of Morocco

Moroccans are the citizens and nationals of the Kingdom of Morocco. The country's population is predominantly composed of Arabs and Berbers (Amazigh). The term also applies more broadly to any people who are of Moroccan nationality, sharing a common culture and identity, as well as those who natively speak Moroccan Arabic or other languages of Morocco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Casablanca</span>

The history of the city of Casablanca in Morocco has been one of many political and cultural changes. At different times it has been governed by Berber, Roman, Arab, Portuguese, Spanish, French, British, and Moroccan regimes. It has had an important position in the region as a port city, making it valuable to a series of conquerors during its early history.

The 19th Army Corps was a corps of the French army. In December 1870, the Tours delegation created the 19th Army Corps which was formed in Alençon. It was recreated by decree of the JO of August 13, 1874, it brought together the various military units of Algeria. It constituted the nucleus of the Army of Africa.

Turks in France also called the Turkish-French community, French Turks or Franco-Turks refers to the ethnic Turkish people who live in France. The majority of French Turks descend from the Republic of Turkey; however there has also been Turkish migration from other post-Ottoman countries including ethnic Turkish communities which have come to France from North Africa, the Balkans, the island of Cyprus, and more recently Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria. There has also been migration to France from the Turkish diaspora

Moroccans in Spain formed 16.4% of the 4,549,858 foreigners in Spain as of 1 January 2017. They are again the largest foreign group in Spain, after they were surpassed temporarily by Romanians in 2007. In 2003, they were estimated to make up about 6% of all Moroccans abroad. In 2022 the number of Morrocans increase to 981,823

Maghrebis or Maghrebians is a modern Arabic term meaning "Westerners", mainly referring to the inhabitants of the Maghreb region of North Africa, the western part of the Arab world. Maghrebis are predominantly of Arab and Berber or mixed Arab-Berber origins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moroccan Jews</span> Jewish ethnic group

Moroccan Jews are Jews who live in or are from Morocco. Moroccan Jews constitute an ancient community dating to Roman times. Jews began immigrating to the region as early as 70 CE. They were later met by a second wave of migrants from the Iberian peninsula in the period which immediately preceded and followed the issuing of the 1492 Alhambra Decree, when Jews were expelled from Spain, and soon afterward, from Portugal. This second wave of immigrants changed Moroccan Jewry, which largely embraced the Andalusian Sephardic liturgy, to switch to a mostly Sephardic identity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noémie Happart</span> Belgian model, Miss Belgium 2013

Noémie Happart is a Belgian model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Belgium 2013. She represented her country at Miss Universe 2013 and Miss World 2013.

Asian diasporas in France or French Asians consist of foreign residents and French citizens originating from Asian countries living in France. French citizens of Asian descent primarily have ancestry from the former French colonies of Indochina, as well as China or Turkey. Other Asian ethnic groups found in France include other West Asians, South Asians, Japanese, and Koreans.

Ali Aarrass is Moroccan-Belgian citizen who was imprisoned in Morocco on charges of terrorism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Direction générale des études et de la documentation</span> Foreign intelligence agency of Morocco

The General Directorate for Studies and Documentation is the foreign intelligence agency of Morocco, under authority of the Administration for National Defense. It is officially tasked with maintaining national security and the safety of national institutions.

French-Moroccans or Franco-Moroccans or simply are French citizens and nationals ethnic group, of the France with French citizenship and a French passport of Moroccans descent, immigrants from Morocco to the France and their descendants they are the second largest ethnic group in the France after Algerians in France. French people of Moroccan descent living in France account for a large sector of the total immigrant population in France. Following the French protectorate in French Morocco from 1912 to 1956, many Moroccans chose to immigrate to France from the 1960s to the present due to France's favorable economic conditions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Selim Amallah</span> Footballer (born 1996)

Selim Amallah is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Valencia CF, on loan from Segunda División club Real Valladolid. Born in Belgium, he plays for the Morocco national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1st Moroccan Division (1939)</span> Military unit

The 1st Moroccan Division created on 27 October 1939, was an infantry division of the Army of Africa which participated in the Battle of France during World War II.

Lebanese people, who come from various religious and ethnic groups, form a distinct community in Belgium as part of the global Lebanese diaspora. It was estimated in 2006 that there were 8,000 Belgians who identified as Lebanese in terms of origin or descent. More recent estimates put their numbers at only 3,500. The majority are Belgian citizens and live in major cities such as Brussels and Antwerp. In addition, it was reported the same year that 1,200 were living in Lebanon. They sometimes refer to themselves as Belgo-Libanais in French or Belgisch-Libanees in Dutch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demographics of Brussels</span>

The demographics of Brussels are monitored by Statistics Belgium. Brussels population is currently 1,222,657 as of 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Italian immigration to Belgium</span> Belgian citizens of Italian descent

Italian Belgians are Belgian citizens of Italian descent. The term may also refer to someone who has immigrated to Belgium from Italy.

References

  1. ↑ "429.580 Belges sont d'origine marocaine: deux fois plus qu'il y a 20 ans!" (in French). Sud-Info. 14 July 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  2. ↑ "Spaanse Marokkanen: In dit apenland kan alles, redeneren ze" (in Dutch). Gazette van Antwerpen. 13 October 2009. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  3. ↑ Lederer, Gyorgy (2009), "Hungary", in Nielsen, Jorgen; Akgönül, Samim; Alibašic, Ahmet; Maréchal, Brigitte; Moe, Christian (eds.), Yearbook of Muslims in Europe, Volume 1, BRILL Publishers, p. 69-72, ISBN   978-9047428503
  4. 1 2 3 4 Loriaux, Florence. "L'immigration marocaine en Belgique (1964-2004)" (PDF). Centre d'animation et de recherche en histoire ouvrière et populaire (CARHOP). Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  5. ↑ Laporte, Christian (16 February 2014). "1/2 siècle d'immigration belgo-marocaine" (in French). La Libre Belgique . Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  6. ↑ "Origin | Statbel". statbel.fgov.be. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  7. ↑ Libre.be, La. "1/2 siècle d'immigration belgo-marocaine" (in French). Retrieved 2017-07-25.
  8. ↑ sudinfo.be. "429.580 Belges sont d'origine marocaine: deux fois plus qu'il y a 20 ans!". sudinfo (in French). Retrieved 2017-07-25.
  9. ↑ "Six Belgians of Moroccan Descent Enter Belgian Parliament | The North Africa Post". The North African Post. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  10. ↑ Loos, Baudouin (13 April 2020). "Coronavirus: 1.500 binationaux bloqués au Maroc se sont inscrits pour être rapatriés, annonce Goffin" (in French). Le Soir. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  11. ↑ "Les juifs marocains de Belgique fêtent La Mimouna" (in French). Conseil de la communauté marocaine à l'étranger (CCME). 11 May 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  12. ↑ "When It Comes To Radicalization In Belgium, Turks and Moroccans Are Different". NPR.org. Retrieved 2019-03-10. More than 500 Belgians have left for Syria since 2012 and most of them, according to Belgian and U.S. officials, have been of Moroccan descent.
  13. ↑ Van Vlierden, Guy; Lewis, Jon; Rassler, Don (February 2018). Beyond the Caliphate (PDF). Combating Terrorism Center. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 February 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.