Mouscron

Mouscron is a city in Belgium. At the start of 2011, the unemployment rate was 12.1%. Its population was 60,410 at the start of 2026. Gigabit broadband availability was 99.7% in June 2025.

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Higher unemployment than 85% of Belgian cities that publish it, more recorded crime than 93% of Belgian cities that publish it and dirtier air than 66% of Belgian cities that publish it.

Foreign residents16,934 peoplecity · Verified 2026-07-15Official source · Official population by nationality at municipality grain; foreign population is TOTAL minus Belgique in the TOTAL row.
Population60,410 peoplemunicipality · Verified 2026-07-14Official source · Belgium official denominator source
Gigabit broadband availability99.6687 %city · Verified 2026-07-15Official source · 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.
Unemployment rate12.13 %city · Verified 2026-07-26Independent source · Statbel be.STAT — unemployment rate of 15–64-year-olds by municipality, Census 2011
NO₂ — annual mean10.8877 µg/m³city · Verified 2026-07-15Official source · Official RIO v2025 annual mean derived from daily population-weighted municipality concentrations for NIS5 11055; period 2024-01-01..2024-12-31
PM10 — annual mean14.509 µg/m³city · Verified 2026-07-15Official source · Official RIO v2025 annual mean derived from daily population-weighted municipality concentrations for NIS5 13019; period 2024-01-01..2024-12-31
Every value keeps its source, geographic scope and verification date · Last checked 2026-07-26

Who Mouscron may suit

Relative profile scores use comparable published values. They are a decision aid, not a personal recommendation.

Try your profile
Remote worker61%strong on work, weak on safety · range 47–75% from published values
Skilled employee52%strong on work, weak on safety · range 38–66% from published values
Student52%strong on cost, weak on healthcare · range 38–66% from published values
Family41%strong on family, weak on legal route · range 27–55% from published values
Retirement48%strong on healthcare, weak on admin · range 34–62% from published values

Population and city profile

The city covered 40.6 km² in 2025. Population density was 1,487.1 people per km² in 2026.

Who lives hereResidents by nationality, % of population
Mouscron residents by nationalityBy nationalityNational passport72%Foreign residents28%

Derived from the published population and foreign-resident counts.

MetricValueVerifiedSource
City area40.6234 km22026-07-15AgingOfficial sourceOfficial cadastral total area by municipality; 2025 superficie totale (ha), converted to km2. Source-backed value
Foreign residents16,934 people2026-07-15FreshOfficial sourceOfficial population by nationality at municipality grain; foreign population is TOTAL minus Belgique in the TOTAL row. Source-backed value
Population density1,487.0741 people/km²2026-07-15FreshOfficial sourceOfficial resident population by Belgian municipality on 1 January 2026; Total column. Source-backed value
Population60,410 people2026-07-14FreshOfficial sourceBelgium official denominator source Source-backed value
Foreign residents over time5 published observations, 2021–2026
Foreign residents in Mouscron by year, residents15,96016,47816,99517,51320212023202616,934residents

Foreign residents rose 5.4% between 2021 and 2026, from 16,067 to 16,934.

Each point keeps the source and period it was published with.

Work and income

Unemployment across cities in BelgiumWhere Mouscron lands among 487 measured cities
unemployment rate, % · measured cities in Belgium per band10–21432–41084–6716–8618–102910–122112–14Mouscron 12.1%1614–161416–181318–20620–22322–24124–26unemployment rate, % · measured cities in Belgium per band

Published unemployment rates for cities in the same country.

Safety

Recorded crime across major citiesMouscron highlighted among comparable cities
Recorded crime across major cities with Mouscron highlighted24,104Bruxelles22,795Saint-Gilles17,918Liège14,302Saint-Josse-ten-Noode14,236Ixelles14,026Charleroi12,714Blankenberge12,076Gand11,628Mons11,401Marche-en-Famenne11,116Anderlecht9,401Mouscronrecorded incidents per 100k residents

Published values for cities using the same metric and unit.

MetricValueVerifiedSource
Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents9,400.8 offences/100kcountry median 5,423 — 73% above2026-07-26AgingIndependent sourceBelgian Federal Police — recorded total offences by municipality, Q4 2025 Source-backed value

Climate and air quality

Annual PM2.5 was 8.16 µg/m³ at the end of 2024. Annual NO₂ was 10.9 µg/m³ at the end of 2024.

Air quality vs health guidelinesAnnual means against WHO 2021 guidelines and EU legal limits
Mouscron annual air pollutant levels against WHO 2021 guidelines and EU legal limitsCity valueWHO guidelineEU limit5258.2PM2.5154014.5PM10104010.9NO₂µg/m³

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

PM2.5 across cities in BelgiumWhere Mouscron lands among 498 measured cities
annual PM2.5, µg/m³ · measured cities in Belgium per band173–4744–5595–6606–7947–81688–9Mouscron 8.2239–10210–11111–12annual PM2.5, µg/m³ · measured cities in Belgium per band

Published annual means from the same national measurement network.

MetricValueVerifiedSource
NO₂ — annual mean10.8877 µg/m³country median 9.2 — 18% above2026-07-152024Official sourceOfficial RIO v2025 annual mean derived from daily population-weighted municipality concentrations for NIS5 11055; period 2024-01-01..2024-12-31 Source-backed value
PM10 — annual mean14.509 µg/m³country median 13.8 — 5% above2026-07-152024Official sourceOfficial RIO v2025 annual mean derived from daily population-weighted municipality concentrations for NIS5 13019; period 2024-01-01..2024-12-31 Source-backed value
PM2.5 — annual mean8.1612 µg/m³country median 7.6 — 7% above2026-07-152024Official sourceOfficial RIO v2025 annual mean derived from daily population-weighted municipality concentrations for NIS5 62093; period 2024-01-01..2024-12-31 Source-backed value
Annual PM2.5 over time11 published observations, 2014–2024
Annual PM2.5 in Mouscron by year, µg/m³6.68.510.512.42014201620182020202220248.2µg/m³

Annual PM2.5 fell 32.0% between 2014 and 2024, from 12.0 to 8.2.

Each point keeps the source and period it was published with.

Worked out from these numbers

Arithmetic on the published values above. Each one names what it assumed.

How international is the population?

28% of residents hold a foreign nationality — 16,934 people of 60,410 people. This counts nationality, not place of birth, so long-settled residents who naturalised are not in it.

Common questions

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

What is the unemployment rate in Mouscron?

The unemployment rate is 12.13 %. Source: Statbel be.STAT — unemployment rate of 15–64-year-olds by municipality, Census 2011, checked 2026-07-26.

Is the air quality good in Mouscron?

The annual PM2.5 mean is 8.1612 µg/m³. The WHO 2021 guideline is 5 µg/m³ and the EU limit value is 25 µg/m³, so this reading is above the WHO guideline but within the EU limit. Source: Official RIO v2025 annual mean derived from daily population-weighted municipality concentrations for NIS5 62093; period 2024-01-01..2024-12-31, checked 2026-07-15.

How safe is Mouscron?

Police recorded 9,400.8 offences/100k. 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, checked 2026-07-26.

How many people live in Mouscron?

The published population is 60,410 people. Source: Belgium official denominator source, checked 2026-07-14.

How many foreign residents live in Mouscron?

16,934 people residents hold a foreign nationality. Source: Official population by nationality at municipality grain; foreign population is TOTAL minus Belgique in the TOTAL row., checked 2026-07-15.

Cities of a similar size in Belgium

Closest published populations, for a like-for-like comparison.

All Belgium cities

Sources

Spotted a number that looks wrong? Every value here carries its source and date — tell us what you found and we will re-check it against the source.