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As of 2007, nearly 92% of the population had Belgian citizenship, and other European Union member citizens account for around 6%. The prevalent foreign nationals were Italian (171,918), French (125,061), Dutch (116,970), Moroccan (80,579), Portuguese (43,509), Spanish (42,765), Turkish (39,419) and German (37,621). In 2007, there were 1.38 million foreign-born residents in Belgium, corresponding to 12.9% of the total population. | As of 2007, nearly 92% of the population had Belgian citizenship, and other European Union member citizens account for around 6%. The prevalent foreign nationals were Italian (171,918), French (125,061), Dutch (116,970), Moroccan (80,579), Portuguese (43,509), Spanish (42,765), Turkish (39,419) and German (37,621). In 2007, there were 1.38 million foreign-born residents in Belgium, corresponding to 12.9% of the total population. | ||
At the beginning of 2012, people of foreign background and their descendants were estimated to have formed around 25% of the total population i.e. 2.8 million new Belgians. Of these new Belgians, 1,200,000 are of European ancestry and 1,350,000 are from non-Western countries (most of them from '''Morocco, | At the beginning of 2012, people of foreign background and their descendants were estimated to have formed around 25% of the total population i.e. 2.8 million new Belgians. Of these new Belgians, 1,200,000 are of European ancestry and 1,350,000 are from non-Western countries (most of them from '''Morocco, Türkiye, and the DR Congo'''). Since the modification of the Belgian nationality law in 1984 more than 1.3 million migrants have acquired Belgian citizenship. The largest group of immigrants and their descendants in Belgium are '''Moroccans'''.<ref>"Belgium", in Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgium, accessed 3 May 2021.</ref> | ||
===Belgo-Congolese, Belgo-Rwandans and Belgo-Burundians=== | ===Belgo-Congolese, Belgo-Rwandans and Belgo-Burundians=== | ||
*On 18 October 1908, the Belgian Parliament voted in favour of annexing the Congo as a Belgian colony. On 15 November 1908 the '''Belgian Congo''' became a colony of the Belgian Kingdom. | *On 18 October 1908, the Belgian Parliament voted in favour of annexing the Congo as a Belgian colony. On 15 November 1908 the '''Belgian Congo''' became a colony of the Belgian Kingdom. | ||
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*In Belgium, the number of people of Moroccan origin (at least one parent born with Moroccan nationality) was 430,000 as of 1 January 2012, or about 4% of the country's population. This proportion is 6.7% for those under 15 years of age. This figure has more than doubled in 20 years. With a percentage of 4%, the Moroccan population (counting the Belgians of Moroccan origin) has the highest percentage in Europe among Moroccans residing abroad.<ref>"Moroccans in Belgium", in Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moroccans_in_Belgium, accessed 5 May 2021.</ref> | *In Belgium, the number of people of Moroccan origin (at least one parent born with Moroccan nationality) was 430,000 as of 1 January 2012, or about 4% of the country's population. This proportion is 6.7% for those under 15 years of age. This figure has more than doubled in 20 years. With a percentage of 4%, the Moroccan population (counting the Belgians of Moroccan origin) has the highest percentage in Europe among Moroccans residing abroad.<ref>"Moroccans in Belgium", in Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moroccans_in_Belgium, accessed 5 May 2021.</ref> | ||
===Turks in Belgium=== | ===Turks in Belgium=== | ||
*Turks in Belgium, also referred to as '''Turkish Belgians or Belgian Turks''', are people of Turkish ethnicity living in Belgium. The majority of Belgian Turks descend from the '''Republic of | *Turks in Belgium, also referred to as '''Turkish Belgians or Belgian Turks''', are people of Turkish ethnicity living in Belgium. The majority of Belgian Turks descend from the '''Republic of Türkiye'''; however there has also been significant Turkish migration from '''other post-Ottoman countries including ethnic Turkish communities which have come to Belgium from the Balkans (especially from Bulgaria, Greece, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Romania), the island of Cyprus, and more recently Iraq and Syria.''' | ||
*Turkish migration to Belgium began in the 1960s when Belgium was actively encouraging immigration to meet its employment needs in an era of rapid economic expansion.These immigrants were welcomed as '''"guest workers"''' when | *Turkish migration to Belgium began in the 1960s when Belgium was actively encouraging immigration to meet its employment needs in an era of rapid economic expansion.These immigrants were welcomed as '''"guest workers"''' when Türkiye signed a bilateral agreement with Belgium in July 1964. As mainly unskilled labourers, Turkish immigrants hoped to make a fortune in a short time and then return to Türkiye. The majority of Turkish migrants arrived from the '''rural regions of central Anatolian provinces, particularly from Afyon, Eskisehir, and Kayseri'''.Many settled in the industrialised areas and later brought families when Belgium attempted to resolve the growing problem of low population by '''encouraging family reunions.''' | ||
*Since the entry of Bulgaria into the European Union, thousands of '''Bulgarian Turks''', among whom many were already working in Belgium as undocumented foreigners, have established themselves under the status of independent workers, i.e. officially minor associates in small firms, mostly in the building and cleaning sector. | *Since the entry of Bulgaria into the European Union, thousands of '''Bulgarian Turks''', among whom many were already working in Belgium as undocumented foreigners, have established themselves under the status of independent workers, i.e. officially minor associates in small firms, mostly in the building and cleaning sector. | ||
*The majority of Turks living in Belgium originate from the region of '''Emirdağ although there are also many Turks from Sivas and Piribeyli''' who found their way to Belgium. Some 49.8% live in the Flemish region, 25.2% in Wallonia, and 25% in Brussels. Turks from the same region in | *The majority of Turks living in Belgium originate from the region of '''Emirdağ although there are also many Turks from Sivas and Piribeyli''' who found their way to Belgium. Some 49.8% live in the Flemish region, 25.2% in Wallonia, and 25% in Brussels. Turks from the same region in Türkiye also tend to congregate not only in the same cities but also in the same quarters. The majority of Turks live in the Schaarbeek commune. | ||
*The census of 1970 counted 21,000 Turks; in the part-census of 1977 this figure had risen to 60,000. In 1993, some 88,269 people with Turkish nationality were registered in Belgium. <ref>"Turks in Belgium", in Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turks_in_Belgium, accessed 5 May 2021.</ref> | *The census of 1970 counted 21,000 Turks; in the part-census of 1977 this figure had risen to 60,000. In 1993, some 88,269 people with Turkish nationality were registered in Belgium. <ref>"Turks in Belgium", in Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turks_in_Belgium, accessed 5 May 2021.</ref> | ||
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