Subdivisions of Belgium in Dutch, French, German and Walloon
Belgium’s ten provinces and the Brussels-Capital Region are divided into administrative arrondissements, 42 in the list below plus the Brussels arrondissement. Each unit is named in the language of its area, Dutch in Flanders and French in Wallonia; the Province of Liège and the Verviers arrondissement add German, and every Walloon unit also carries its name in Walloon, such as Lidje for Liège or Tchålerwè for Charleroi.
- Provinces and region
- 11
- Groups
- 1
Updated
Which language names which unit
Belgium names a place in the language of the area it lies in. The Flemish provinces and their arrondissements appear in Dutch only, Provincie Antwerpen and Arrondissement Mechelen; the Walloon ones in French, Province de Namur and Arrondissement de Dinant. Brussels has two official names, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale and Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest. German appears in the Province of Liège and its Verviers arrondissement, as Provinz Lüttich and Arrondissement Verviers.
Walloon names follow their own spelling with å, xh and tch. An arrondissement is an arondixhmint, and the names can differ a good deal from French: Hinnot for Hainaut, Lussimbork for Luxembourg, Flipveye for Philippeville, Måtche for Marche-en-Famenne, and Li Tchestea for Neufchâteau. Walloon Brabant is Province do Roman Payis.
Provinces of Belgium with Walloon names and ISO 3166-2 codes
The ten provinces and the Brussels-Capital Region, in the official language of each, with other official names, the Walloon name, the capital and the ISO 3166-2 code.
- nld Dutch
- fra French
- deu German
- wln Walloon
Provinces 11
| Province | Other official name | Walloon | Capital | Capital in Walloon | ISO 3166-2 | Arrondissements |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Provincie Antwerpen
|
Antwerpen
|
BE-VAN
|
3
|
|||
Province de Brabant wallon
|
Province do Roman Payis
|
Wavre
|
Wåve
|
BE-WBR
|
1
|
|
Région de Bruxelles-Capitale
|
Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest
|
Bruxelles
|
BE-BRU
|
–
|
||
Province de Hainaut
|
Province do Hinnot
|
Mons
|
Mont
|
BE-WHT
|
7
|
|
Province de Liège
|
Provinz Lüttich
|
Province di Lidje
|
Liège
|
Lidje
|
BE-WLG
|
4
|
Provincie Limburg
|
Hasselt
|
BE-VLI
|
3
|
|||
Province de Luxembourg
|
Province do Lussimbork
|
Arlon
|
Årlon
|
BE-WLX
|
5
|
|
Province de Namur
|
Province di Nameur
|
Namur
|
Nameur
|
BE-WNA
|
3
|
|
Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen
|
Gent
|
BE-VOV
|
6
|
|||
Provincie Vlaams-Brabant
|
Leuven
|
BE-VBR
|
2
|
|||
Provincie West-Vlaanderen
|
Brugge
|
BE-VWV
|
8
|
Arrondissements of Belgium by province
The arrondissements of each province with their seats, in the official language and, where given, in German and Walloon. Hainaut is shown with its arrondissements before 2019 and the changes of that year.
Provincie Antwerpen Antwerp 3
| Arrondissement | German | Walloon | Seat | Seat in Walloon | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arrondissement Antwerpen
|
Antwerpen
|
||||
Arrondissement Mechelen
|
Mechelen
|
||||
Arrondissement Turnhout
|
Turnhout
|
Province de Brabant wallon Walloon Brabant 1
| Arrondissement | German | Walloon | Seat | Seat in Walloon | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arrondissement de Nivelles
|
Arondixhmint d’ Nivele
|
Nivelles
|
Nivele
|
Province de Hainaut Hainaut 8
| Arrondissement | German | Walloon | Seat | Seat in Walloon | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arrondissement d’Ath
|
Arondixhment d’ Ate
|
Ath
|
Ate
|
||
Arrondissement de Charleroi
|
Arondixhmint d’ Tchålerwè
|
Charleroi
|
Tchålerwè
|
||
Arrondissement de Mons
|
Arondixhment d’ Mont
|
Mons
|
Mont
|
||
Arrondissement de Mouscron
|
Arondixhmint d’ Moucron
|
Mouscron
|
Moucron
|
Merged in 2019 into the Arrondissement of Tournai-Mouscron
|
|
Arrondissement de Soignies
|
Arondixhmint d’ Sougniye
|
Soignies
|
Sougniye
|
||
Arrondissement de Thuin
|
Arondixhmint d’ Twin
|
Thuin
|
Twin
|
||
Arrondissement de Tournai
|
Arondixhmint d’ Tournai
|
Tournai
|
Tournai
|
Merged in 2019 into the Arrondissement of Tournai-Mouscron
|
|
Arrondissement de La Louvière
|
La Louvière
|
Created in 2019 from parts of neighbouring arrondissements
|
Province de Liège Liège 4
| Arrondissement | German | Walloon | Seat | Seat in Walloon | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arrondissement de Huy
|
Arondixhmint d’ Hu
|
Huy
|
Hu
|
||
Arrondissement de Liège
|
Arondixhmint d’ Lidje
|
Liège
|
Lidje
|
||
Arrondissement de Verviers
|
Arrondissement Verviers
|
Arondixhmint d’ Vervî
|
Verviers
|
Vervî
|
|
Arrondissement de Waremme
|
Arondixhmint d’ Wareme
|
Waremme
|
Wareme
|
Provincie Limburg Limburg 3
| Arrondissement | German | Walloon | Seat | Seat in Walloon | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arrondissement Hasselt
|
Hasselt
|
||||
Arrondissement Maaseik
|
Maaseik
|
||||
Arrondissement Tongeren
|
Tongeren
|
Province de Luxembourg Luxembourg 5
| Arrondissement | German | Walloon | Seat | Seat in Walloon | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arrondissement d’Arlon
|
Arondixhmint d’ Årlon
|
Arlon
|
Årlon
|
||
Arrondissement de Bastogne
|
Arondixhmint d’ Bastogne
|
Bastogne
|
Bastogne
|
||
Arrondissement de Marche-en-Famenne
|
Arondixhmint d’ Måtche
|
Marche-en-Famenne
|
Måtche
|
||
Arrondissement de Neufchâteau
|
Arondixhmint do Tchestea
|
Neufchâteau
|
Li Tchestea
|
||
Arrondissement de Virton
|
Arondixhmint d’ Vierton
|
Virton
|
Vierton
|
Province de Namur Namur 3
| Arrondissement | German | Walloon | Seat | Seat in Walloon | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arrondissement de Dinant
|
Arondixhmint d’ Dinant
|
Dinant
|
Dinant
|
||
Arrondissement de Namur
|
Arondixhmint d’ Nameur
|
Namur
|
Nameur
|
||
Arrondissement de Philippeville
|
Arondixhmint d’ Flipveye
|
Philippeville
|
Flipveye
|
Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen East Flanders 6
| Arrondissement | German | Walloon | Seat | Seat in Walloon | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arrondissement Aalst
|
Aalst
|
||||
Arrondissement Dendermonde
|
Dendermonde
|
||||
Arrondissement Eeklo
|
Eeklo
|
||||
Arrondissement Gent
|
Gent
|
||||
Arrondissement Oudenaarde
|
Oudenaarde
|
||||
Arrondissement Sint-Niklaas
|
Sint-Niklaas
|
Provincie Vlaams-Brabant Flemish Brabant 2
| Arrondissement | German | Walloon | Seat | Seat in Walloon | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arrondissement Halle-Vilvoorde
|
Halle
|
||||
Arrondissement Leuven
|
Leuven
|
Provincie West-Vlaanderen West Flanders 8
| Arrondissement | German | Walloon | Seat | Seat in Walloon | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arrondissement Brugge
|
Brugge
|
||||
Arrondissement Diksmuide
|
Diksmuide
|
||||
Arrondissement Ieper
|
Ieper
|
||||
Arrondissement Kortrijk
|
Kortrijk
|
||||
Arrondissement Oostende
|
Oostende
|
||||
Arrondissement Roeselare
|
Roeselare
|
||||
Arrondissement Tielt
|
Tielt
|
||||
Arrondissement Veurne
|
Veurne
|
What changed in Hainaut
The provinces have kept their names and borders, but the arrondissements of Hainaut were redrawn in 2019. Tournai and Mouscron were merged into one Arrondissement of Tournai-Mouscron, and a new Arrondissement of La Louvière was formed, so that Hainaut now has seven: Ath, Charleroi, La Louvière, Mons, Soignies, Thuin and Tournai-Mouscron.
ISO 3166-2 does not code arrondissements. It codes the three regions and the ten provinces; since 2011 every province code starts with the letter of its region, V for Flanders and W for Wallonia, as in BE-VAN and BE-WHT.
Questions about the subdivisions of Belgium
How many arrondissements does Hainaut have today?
Seven since 2019: Ath, Charleroi, La Louvière, Mons, Soignies, Thuin and Tournai-Mouscron.
What is Liège called in Walloon and German?
Lidje in Walloon and Lüttich in German; the province is Province di Lidje and Provinz Lüttich.
Which Belgian subdivisions have German names?
In this list the Province of Liège, Provinz Lüttich, and the Arrondissement of Verviers, which keeps its name in German.