Province · Flanders
East Flanders
Dutch Oost-Vlaanderen · French Flandre-Orientale
About East Flanders
East Flanders is one of the five provinces of Flanders, with 1,611,409 inhabitants on 3,027 km² on 1 January 2026, or 13.6% of Belgium’s population. Its capital is Ghent. The population density of 532 inhabitants per km² is higher than the Belgian average of 387.
The largest municipality is Ghent with 274,042 inhabitants; the smallest by population is Horebeke with 2,020.
Population of East Flanders since 2016
Between 1 January 2016 and 1 January 2026 the population of East Flanders grew by 105,730 inhabitants (+7.0%), from 1,505,679 to 1,611,409. In the last year it changed by +8,877.
Belgium as a whole changed by +5.3% over the same period. The fastest-growing municipality in East Flanders was Stekene (+11.6%).
All municipalities in East Flanders
| Municipality | Province | Population | Area km² | Per km² |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ghent | East Flanders | 274,042 | 158.0 | 1,735 |
| Aalst | East Flanders | 93,094 | 78.7 | 1,183 |
| Beveren-Kruibeke-Zwijndrecht | East Flanders | 88,344 | 206.4 | 428 |
| Sint-Niklaas | East Flanders | 83,400 | 84.3 | 990 |
| Lokeren | East Flanders | 50,897 | 105.9 | 480 |
| Dendermonde | East Flanders | 47,828 | 56.7 | 843 |
| Deinze | East Flanders | 46,380 | 128.0 | 362 |
| Ninove | East Flanders | 40,879 | 72.8 | 562 |
| Merelbeke-Melle | East Flanders | 37,675 | 52.4 | 720 |
| Evergem | East Flanders | 37,371 | 75.3 | 496 |
| Geraardsbergen | East Flanders | 35,338 | 80.1 | 441 |
| Oudenaarde | East Flanders | 33,105 | 69.1 | 479 |
| Temse | East Flanders | 31,814 | 40.2 | 791 |
| Lochristi | East Flanders | 30,982 | 95.3 | 325 |
| Aalter | East Flanders | 29,862 | 119.8 | 249 |
| Zottegem | East Flanders | 28,343 | 57.5 | 493 |
| Ronse | East Flanders | 27,731 | 34.7 | 799 |
| Lievegem | East Flanders | 27,502 | 80.7 | 341 |
| Wetteren | East Flanders | 27,071 | 37.0 | 731 |
| Hamme | East Flanders | 25,763 | 40.7 | 633 |
| Maldegem | East Flanders | 24,927 | 95.5 | 261 |
| Nazareth-De Pinte | East Flanders | 23,633 | 53.3 | 443 |
| Eeklo | East Flanders | 22,911 | 30.4 | 752 |
| Zele | East Flanders | 21,587 | 33.4 | 647 |
| Denderleeuw | East Flanders | 21,402 | 13.9 | 1,543 |
| Erpe-Mere | East Flanders | 21,211 | 34.3 | 618 |
| Lebbeke | East Flanders | 20,380 | 27.4 | 745 |
| Sint-Gillis-Waas | East Flanders | 20,272 | 55.3 | 366 |
| Stekene | East Flanders | 19,955 | 45.5 | 438 |
| Haaltert | East Flanders | 19,667 | 30.5 | 644 |
| Lede | East Flanders | 19,528 | 29.9 | 654 |
| Herzele | East Flanders | 19,291 | 47.9 | 403 |
| Destelbergen | East Flanders | 19,223 | 26.7 | 721 |
| Zulte | East Flanders | 16,260 | 32.7 | 497 |
| Kruisem | East Flanders | 16,035 | 71.5 | 224 |
| Berlare | East Flanders | 15,480 | 37.9 | 409 |
| Buggenhout | East Flanders | 15,203 | 25.7 | 592 |
| Brakel | East Flanders | 15,169 | 56.9 | 266 |
| Assenede | East Flanders | 14,626 | 87.5 | 167 |
| Oosterzele | East Flanders | 14,150 | 43.6 | 325 |
| Zelzate | East Flanders | 13,745 | 13.8 | 993 |
| Gavere | East Flanders | 13,437 | 31.6 | 426 |
| Laarne | East Flanders | 12,525 | 32.6 | 384 |
| Wichelen | East Flanders | 12,171 | 23.2 | 523 |
| Waasmunster | East Flanders | 11,532 | 32.2 | 358 |
| Sint-Lievens-Houtem | East Flanders | 10,750 | 27.1 | 397 |
| Zwalm | East Flanders | 8,374 | 33.6 | 250 |
| Sint-Martens-Latem | East Flanders | 8,157 | 14.3 | 570 |
| Sint-Laureins | East Flanders | 7,007 | 74.7 | 94 |
| Kluisbergen | East Flanders | 6,939 | 30.6 | 227 |
| Lierde | East Flanders | 6,880 | 26.4 | 261 |
| Kaprijke | East Flanders | 6,710 | 33.7 | 199 |
| Wortegem-Petegem | East Flanders | 6,542 | 42.4 | 154 |
| Maarkedal | East Flanders | 6,289 | 46.2 | 136 |
| Horebeke | East Flanders | 2,020 | 11.5 | 176 |