Living in Liège

Liège had 198,102 residents at the start of 2026 and is a city in Belgium. For Liège, the unemployment rate was 19.8% at the start of 2011.

Last checked 2026-08-0321 sources

Population198,102people1 Jan 2026Official source · Belgium official denominator source

Unemployment rate19.83%country median 5.3% — 271% aboveIndependent source · Statbel be.STAT — unemployment rate of 15–64-year-olds by municipality, Census 2011

Recorded crime17,918offences per 100,000country median 5,167 — 247% aboveIndependent source · Belgian Federal Police — recorded total offences by municipality, Q4 2025

PM2.5, annual mean6.48µg/m³country median 7.4 — 12% belowOfficial source · Official RIO v2025 annual mean derived from daily population-weighted municipality concentrations for NIS5 62093; period 2024-01-01..2024-12-31

Higher unemployment than 98% of Belgian cities that publish it, more recorded crime than any other Belgian city that publishes it and cleaner air than 62% of Belgian cities that publish it.

Which Belgium-wide rules apply when you move to Liège?

National rules stay on the country page instead of being relabelled as city data.

Visa and entry rulesPassport-specific entry and national residence context.BenefitsCountry-wide eligibility and official application routes.Taxes in BelgiumNational rates and thresholds that apply in Liège.Healthcare eligibilityCountry-wide insurance and residence conditions.

Housing and cost

No city-level rent figure is published for Liège. The available city-level cost figures remain below.

What recurs every month6 published recurring costs, € per month

€ / month

Private kindergarten€479

Utilities, 85 m² flat€232

Internet, 60 Mbps€47

Transport pass€38

Fitness club€33

Mobile plan, 10 GB€24

Supplemental estimate lane; these items are not official statistics.

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Fitness club membership, monthly	33.09 EUR/month	31 Dec 2022	Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2¹⁹Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Internet, 60 Mbps unlimited	46.63 EUR/month	31 Dec 2022	Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2¹⁹Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Private kindergarten, monthly	478.9 EUR/month	31 Dec 2022	Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2¹⁹Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Meal at an inexpensive restaurant	14.93 EUR	31 Dec 2022	Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2¹⁹Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Mobile plan, 10 GB	24.33 EUR/month	31 Dec 2024	Numbeo — Cost of Living in Liege (Wayback capture 20240523160459)²⁰Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Monthly transport pass	37.57 EUR/month	31 Dec 2022	Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2¹⁹Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Basic utilities, 85 m² home	231.7 EUR/month	31 Dec 2022	Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2¹⁹Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context
Dwellings	96,243 dwellings	1 Jan 2021	Statbel Census 2021 municipality housing units¹⁴Official

Is Liège a good place to live?

There is no universal answer. The profile scores below show who the available published evidence may suit; they are a decision aid, not a personal recommendation.

Try your profile

Remote worker57%strong on work, weak on housing · range 47–67%

Skilled employee61%strong on work, weak on housing · range 52–70%

Student62%strong on education, weak on housing · range 54–70%

Family51%strong on family, weak on housing · range 42–60%

Retirement54%strong on air quality, weak on admin · range 43–65%

Work and income

What is the unemployment rate in Liège?

The unemployment rate is about 19.8 % (January 2011).

Unemployment rate: 19.83 % · Statbel be.STAT — unemployment rate of 15–64-year-olds by municipality, Census 2011²¹

Unemployment across cities in BelgiumUnemployment in Liège is 19.8%. Of 509 cities with data, 160 have unemployment of 2 to under 4%.

160

123

0–22–44–66–88–1010–1212–1414–1616–1818–2020–2222–2424–26

Liège 19.8%

Unemployment rate (%)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Gigabit broadband availability	99.87 %	Jun 2025	BIPT/IBPT fixed broadband Atlas municipality row: H_rate_1000 is the share of households with access to fixed broadband at a maximum attainable speed of at least 1,000 Mbps; availability, not subscribed plan or measured speed. H_1000 is the covered-household count and total_households is the denominator.²Official
Unemployment rate	19.83 %country median 5.3%	1 Jan 2011	Statbel be.STAT — unemployment rate of 15–64-year-olds by municipality, Census 2011²¹Independent

Unemployment rate over time10 published observations, 2011–2023

11.1%

14.2%

17.3%

20.5%

13.0%20112016201820202023

Unemployment rate fell 34.4% between 2011 and 2023, from 19.8% to 13.0%.

Public employment service

No exact public employment office is currently linked to Liège. The verified national service may still offer online registration, job search or an official office finder.

Country-level information

Actiris — Public employment service

Actiris Brussels public employment service

Job Search

Search jobs

Le Forem — Public employment service

Le Forem Walloon public employment and training service

Job SearchRegistration

Open the Belgium service overview

Country-level service information is not treated as proof of a physical office in Liège. Sources checked through 10 Aug 2026.

Family and education

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Schools	266 schools	31 Oct 2025	FASE 2025/26 official school establishment register⁵Official

School for children who move here. School is compulsory from age 5 to 18. Newly arrived pupils get support in the school language: OKAN/OKATN (onthaalonderwijs, reception education for foreign-mother-tongue newcomers). How to enrol a child (belgium.be).

A country-wide rule for Belgium; Liège's school authority applies it locally.

Sources: eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu · 2025–2026.

Safety

How safe is Liège?

Police recorded about 17,918 incidents per 100,000 (2025). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source.

Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents: 17,918 offences per 100,000 · Belgian Federal Police — recorded total offences by municipality, Q4 2025¹⁸

Recorded crime across major citiesLiège highlighted among comparable cities

recorded incidents per 100k residents

Brussels24,104

Liège17,918

Ixelles14,236

Charleroi14,026

Leuven12,730

Ghent12,110

Anderlecht11,116

Schaerbeek10,141

Molenbeek-Saint-Jean10,075

Hasselt9,031

Namur8,912

Brugge8,780

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents	17,918 offences per 100,000country median 5,167	31 Dec 2025	Belgian Federal Police — recorded total offences by municipality, Q4 2025¹⁸Independent

Mobility and administration

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Destinations from nearest airport	7 count	3 Aug 2026	OpenFlights¹²Official
Nearest airport	LGG	3 Aug 2026	OurAirports¹³Official
Distance to nearest airport	9 km	3 Aug 2026	OurAirports¹³Official
Public transport monthly pass	37 EUR/month	31 Dec 2024	Eurostat³Official

Language courses and integration in Liège

1 exact course-location record is linked to this city. Check the linked source for dates, availability and enrolment.

Verified locally

1verified local records

Centre d'Evaluation, de Renforcement des Connaissances et d'Orientation (CERCO)

Quai du Condroz 15, 4020 Liège

+32 (0) 4 258 41 25 · admin@cercolg.be

View official record

Check courses in Liège How the country programme works

Exact city-linked record checked 2026-08-10. Provider-supplied records are supplemental and are not presented as official accreditation.

Find courses near Liège

Climate and air quality

Annual PM2.5 was 6.48 µg/m³ at the end of 2024. Annual NO₂ was 12.3 µg/m³ at the end of 2024.

Is the air quality good in Liège?

The annual PM2.5 mean is about 6.5 µg/m³ (2024) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³.

Annual mean at the measuring site(s) serving the city; current-day readings differ.

PM2.5 — annual mean: 6.48 µg/m³ · Official RIO v2025 annual mean derived from daily population-weighted municipality concentrations for NIS5 62093; period 2024-01-01..2024-12-31¹¹

Temperature through the yearAverage daytime high and night-time low, °C

0°

6°1°

7°0°

10°3°

15°5°

18°9°

21°12°

24°14°

23°14°

20°11°

15°8°

10°4°

6°2°

JFMAMJJASOND

Night-time low to daytime high

Rainfall through the yearAverage monthly precipitation, mm

JFMAMJJASOND

Air quality vs health guidelinesAnnual means against WHO 2021 guidelines and EU legal limits

Within WHO 2021 guidelineAbove WHO, within EU limitAbove EU legal limitCity annual mean · µg/m³

PM2.56.5WHO 5 · EU 25

PM1012.4WHO 15 · EU 40

NO₂12.3WHO 10 · EU 40

City values from the published air-quality observations. WHO 2021 guidelines and EU limit values are published constants.

PM2.5 across cities in BelgiumAnnual PM2.5 in Liège is 6.5 µg/m³. Of 442 cities with data, 142 have annual PM2.5 of 8 to under 9 µg/m³.

142

2–33–44–55–66–77–88–99–10

Liège 6.5

Annual PM2.5 (µg/m³)

Metric	Value	Period	Source
NO₂ — annual mean	12.32 µg/m³country median 9.0	31 Dec 2024	Official RIO v2025 annual mean derived from daily population-weighted municipality concentrations for NIS5 11055; period 2024-01-01..2024-12-31⁹Official
PM10 — annual mean	12.42 µg/m³country median 13.1	31 Dec 2024	Official RIO v2025 annual mean derived from daily population-weighted municipality concentrations for NIS5 13019; period 2024-01-01..2024-12-31¹⁰Official
PM2.5 — annual mean	6.48 µg/m³country median 7.4	31 Dec 2024	Official RIO v2025 annual mean derived from daily population-weighted municipality concentrations for NIS5 62093; period 2024-01-01..2024-12-31¹¹Official
Average daytime high by month	Jan 5.6 · Feb 6.6 · Mar 10.5 · Apr 14.7 · May 18.4 · Jun 21.4 · Jul 23.6 · Aug 23.3 · Sep 19.5 · Oct 14.7 · Nov 9.6 · Dec 6.1 °C	1991–2020	WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 — station BIERSET_06478.csv¹⁷Official · nearest-station reading
Average night-time low by month	Jan 0.6 · Feb 0.5 · Mar 2.5 · Apr 5 · May 8.8 · Jun 11.8 · Jul 13.9 · Aug 13.6 · Sep 10.7 · Oct 7.5 · Nov 4 · Dec 1.5 °C	1991–2020	WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 — station BIERSET_06478.csv¹⁷Official · nearest-station reading
Average temperature by month	Jan 3.1 · Feb 3.5 · Mar 6.5 · Apr 9.9 · May 13.6 · Jun 16.6 · Jul 18.7 · Aug 18.5 · Sep 15.1 · Oct 11.1 · Nov 6.8 · Dec 3.8 °C	1991–2020	WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 — station BIERSET_06478.csv¹⁷Official · nearest-station reading
Average precipitation by month	Jan 64.9 · Feb 59.5 · Mar 54.5 · Apr 47.5 · May 62.6 · Jun 73.9 · Jul 79.4 · Aug 86.9 · Sep 60.8 · Oct 64.6 · Nov 62.9 · Dec 79.9 mm	1991–2020	WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 — station BIERSET_06478.csv¹⁷Official · nearest-station reading

Annual PM2.5 over time11 published observations, 2014–2024

6.1

7.9

9.6

11.4

6.5201420162018202020222024

Annual PM2.5 fell 35.2% between 2014 and 2024, from 10.0 to 6.5.

Population and city profile

The city covered 68.7 km² in 2025. Population density was 2,885.7 people per km² in 2026.

How many people live in Liège?

The published population was 198,102 people in January 2026. Source: Belgium official denominator source¹

Who lives hereResidents by nationality, % of population

By nationality

National passport78.9%
Foreign residents21.1%

Calculated from the population and foreign-resident facts on this page.

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Cars per 1,000 residents	430.8 cars per 1000 people	31 Dec 2024	Eurostat³Official
City area	68.65 km²	1 Jan 2025	Official cadastral total area by municipality; 2025 superficie totale (ha), converted to km2.⁶Official
Foreign-resident share	18.3 %	31 Dec 2024	Eurostat⁴Official
Foreign residents	41,790 people	1 Jan 2026	Official population by nationality at municipality grain; foreign population is TOTAL minus Belgique in the TOTAL row.⁷Official
Population density	2,886 people/km²	1 Jan 2026	Official resident population by Belgian municipality on 1 January 2026; Total column.⁸Official
Population	198,102 people	1 Jan 2026	Belgium official denominator source¹Official

Foreign residents over time12 published observations, 2015–2026

38,318

51,487

64,656

77,825

41,79020152017201920232026

Foreign residents fell 36.3% between 2015 and 2026, from 65,619 to 41,790.

Additional context

Metric	Value	Period	Source
Residents born abroad	29.65 %	1 Jan 2021	Statbel Census 2021 municipality population by birthplace¹⁵Official
Median age	38.7 years	1 Jan 2021	Statbel Census 2021 municipality population by sex and age¹⁶Official

Alternatives for people set on Liège

Three places for the three reasons people leave a city on the shortlist: stay in the region, stay in the country, or keep the budget and change the country. A percentage appears only where both cities publish that metric from the same source, period and grain. Distances are straight lines — travel times are not collected yet.

Namur as a Liège alternative in the same country

Better on 4 of 7 metrics measured the same way, worse on 2.

Nearest airport: 29.0 km Namur vs 9.0 km Liège+222%
Recorded crime, per 100k: 8,912 Namur vs 17,918 Liège−50%
Unemployment: 12.0% Namur vs 19.8% Liège−40%
Basic utilities, 85 m²: €118 Namur vs €232 Liège−49%
Foreign residents: 11.6% Namur vs 18.3% Liège−37%
Residents: 115,457 Namur vs 198,102 Liège−42%
Annual PM2.5: 5.9 µg/m³ Namur vs 6.5 µg/m³ Liège−10%

Full comparison More about Namur

Alternative cities in Belgium

Other cities in Belgium to compare with Liège, nearest in population first.

All Belgium cities

Brussels198,674 residents Charleroi206,900 residents Ghent272,657 residents Anderlecht129,600 residents Schaerbeek129,278 residents Brugge120,283 residents

How does Liège compare?

Pick a city. The answer appears here and the address bar keeps it, so the comparison can be shared; the page stays Liège's.

Open the full comparison

Liège in rankings

#5 of 30 in Largest cities in Belgium #13 of 30 in Most international cities in Belgium #21 of 30 in Cities with cleanest air in Belgium

Yes — migrants can receive medical care in Liège when the national insurance or residence conditions are met.

Healthcare access follows the country-wide insurance rules; local capacity facts remain city data and are not used as proof of eligibility.

Open the official coverage guide

Country rule verified 2026-08-03.

Put Liège's key facts on your site — a card with this page's figures and a link back, free under CC BY 4.0.

Common questions

Answered from the published values on this page, each with its source and date.

How many people live in Liège?

The published population was 198,102 people in January 2026. Source: Belgium official denominator source.

Is the air quality good in Liège?

The annual PM2.5 mean is about 6.5 µg/m³ (2024) — above the WHO 2021 guideline of 5 µg/m³ but within the EU limit of 25 µg/m³. Source: Official RIO v2025 annual mean derived from daily population-weighted municipality concentrations for NIS5 62093; period 2024-01-01..2024-12-31.

How safe is Liège?

Police recorded about 17,918 incidents per 100,000 (2025). This counts all offences, so it is not comparable with a violent-crime-only rate from another source. Source: Belgian Federal Police — recorded total offences by municipality, Q4 2025.

What is the unemployment rate in Liège?

The unemployment rate is about 19.8 % (January 2011). Source: Statbel be.STAT — unemployment rate of 15–64-year-olds by municipality, Census 2011.

How many foreign residents live in Liège?

41,790 residents hold a foreign nationality. Source: Official population by nationality at municipality grain; foreign population is TOTAL minus Belgique in the TOTAL row..

How much is public transport in Liège?

A monthly transport pass is 37.57 EUR/month. This is a supplemental estimate, not an official municipal measurement. Source: Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2.

Is Liège a good place to live?

Liège may suit different people for different reasons. The page's profile scores compare published cost, work, housing, safety, healthcare and other available factors; they are a decision aid, not a universal recommendation.

Cite this page

Open a format to select or copy this ImmigrationDB compilation citation. The native disclosure and text fallback work without JavaScript.

APA citation

ImmigrationDB. (2026, October 16). Liège, Belgium: population, cost of living, jobs, safety [ImmigrationDB compilation; version 56995f27001c89b17f38d41b7e2af665]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/cities/be/liege/ Retrieved 2026-10-16. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

BibTeX citation

@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_liege-belgium-population-cost-of-living-jobs-safety_755abc514039,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Liège, Belgium: population, cost of living, jobs, safety},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-10-16},
  version = {56995f27001c89b17f38d41b7e2af665},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/cities/be/liege/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-10-16. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}

Markdown citation

[Liège, Belgium: population, cost of living, jobs, safety](https://immigrationdb.com/cities/be/liege/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version 56995f27001c89b17f38d41b7e2af665; retrieved 2026-10-16; built 2026-10-16.

This citation identifies the ImmigrationDB compilation/page. Underlying source publishers and datasets retain their own terms; inspect the Sources section and cite those records separately. View the underlying source records.

Sources

JSON Markdown

Belgium official denominator source statbel.fgov.be · checked 2026-07-14
BIPT/IBPT fixed broadband Atlas municipality row: H_rate_1000 is the share of households with access to fixed broadband at a maximum attainable speed of at least 1,000 Mbps; availability, not subscribed plan or measured speed. H_1000 is the covered-household count and total_households is the denominator. bipt-data.be · checked 2026-07-15
Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-03
Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-02
FASE 2025/26 official school establishment register odwb.be · checked 2026-07-16
Official cadastral total area by municipality; 2025 superficie totale (ha), converted to km2. statbel.fgov.be · checked 2025-01-01
Official population by nationality at municipality grain; foreign population is TOTAL minus Belgique in the TOTAL row. statbel.fgov.be · checked 2026-01-01
Official resident population by Belgian municipality on 1 January 2026; Total column. statbel.fgov.be · checked 2026-01-01
Official RIO v2025 annual mean derived from daily population-weighted municipality concentrations for NIS5 11055; period 2024-01-01..2024-12-31 ftp.irceline.be · checked 2024-12-31
Official RIO v2025 annual mean derived from daily population-weighted municipality concentrations for NIS5 13019; period 2024-01-01..2024-12-31 ftp.irceline.be · checked 2024-12-31

Show 11 more sources

Official RIO v2025 annual mean derived from daily population-weighted municipality concentrations for NIS5 62093; period 2024-01-01..2024-12-31 ftp.irceline.be · checked 2024-12-31
OpenFlights raw.githubusercontent.com · checked 2026-08-03
OurAirports davidmegginson.github.io · checked 2026-08-03
Statbel Census 2021 municipality housing units statbel.fgov.be · checked 2026-07-16
Statbel Census 2021 municipality population by birthplace statbel.fgov.be · checked 2026-07-16
Statbel Census 2021 municipality population by sex and age statbel.fgov.be · checked 2026-07-16
WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 — station BIERSET_06478.csv WMO Climatological Normals 1991-2020 · ncei.noaa.gov · checked 2026-07-31
Belgian Federal Police — recorded total offences by municipality, Q4 2025 Belgian Federal Police · police.be · checked 2026-07-26
Global Cost of Living — Kaggle snapshot v2 Global Cost of Living · kaggle.com · checked 2026-07-27
Numbeo — Cost of Living in Liege (Wayback capture 20240523160459) Numbeo · web.archive.org · checked 2026-08-01
Statbel be.STAT — unemployment rate of 15–64-year-olds by municipality, Census 2011 Statbel be.STAT · bestat.statbel.fgov.be · checked 2026-07-26

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