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Living · portrait by municipality

Living in Forest: what the figures say

Brussels · Bruxelles-Capitale · official figures

In brief

  • Forest has 58,044 inhabitants over 6.3 km², that is 9,287 per km².
  • Over five years, the municipality gained residents (+3.1%).
  • Police record 89.4 offences per 1,000 residents here. That is 78% more than a typical Belgian municipality (50.1).
  • Median income: €24,982 per tax return (half earn more, half earn less). That is +25% compared with Belgium.
  • On average, 1,626 hours of sunshine and 826 mm of rain a year (RMI, 1991 to 2020). A typical Belgian municipality: 1,703 h and 837 mm.

Sources: Statbel, Federal Police and OpenStreetMap. Immolytics computes the scores out of 100.

Brussels

Where Forest is in Belgium

The municipality scored out of 100

We count stops, schools, shops and parks.

67/100overall score
99/100public transport
30/100schools
82/100shops and services
43/100green space
83/100everything on foot

What does a home cost in Forest?

Sale prices at the notary, published in September 2026. The median price splits sales in two: half above, half below.

€497,500house, median price
€260,000apartment, median price
19.9years of income to pay for a house
The full budget to buy in ForestThe full price page

Who lives here?

58,044Population+3.1 % over five years
9,287Population densityinhabitants per km²
16,612HouseholdsAverage household size : 3.5
36.1 %Foreign population

Age distribution

Income and jobs

€24,982Median income+24.9 % National comparison
5,384Enterprises92.8 per 1,000 inhabitants

Tax pressure : 22.5 %

How many offences do the police record here?

The number of offences police recorded, per 1,000 residents.

Offences recorded by the police in 2024

89.4

recorded offences per 1,000 residents

Above median
Forest
89.4
Belgian median
50.1
Comparable density
71.2

This figure counts the offences recorded on the municipality's territory, divided by the number of residents. Towns that receive commuters, shoppers and visitors every day come out higher, because offences against them are counted although they do not live there. It is therefore not a measure of the risk to a resident, which is why we do not give a safety score.

Source: Belgian Federal Police, police crime statistics, offences recorded in 2024 by place of offence. Population: Statbel.

Schools and transport

The schools and stops actually in the municipality.

Schools

School map

Total schools

25

School density

4.3

per 10,000 pop.

Primary / kindergarten
18
Secondary
6
Higher education
1

Source: FASE 2026 (Wallonia-Brussels Federation) and Onderwijs Vlaanderen

Public Transport

Total stops

120

Weekday departures

34,917

Transit density

20.7

stops per 10,000 pop.

Train stations
2
Bus stops
90
Tram stops
28

Source: GTFS Belgium, SNCB, De Lijn, TEC, STIB (CC BY 4.0)

Climate of Forest

RMI normals for 1991-2020, each set against the median Belgian municipality.

10.9 °Cmean annual temperaturemedian municipality: 10.8 °C
1,626 hhours of sunshine per yearmedian municipality: 1,703 h
826 mmprecipitation per yearmedian municipality: 837 mm
132rainy days (at least 1 mm)median municipality: 134
47frost daysmedian municipality: 51
7days at 30 °C or moremedian municipality: 7

Last frost on average on 6 April, first frost on 13 November; growing season from 14 May to 10 October.

Source: RMI (Royal Meteorological Institute), climate statistics of Belgian municipalities, reference period 1991-2020. RMI sheet for the municipality (PDF, in French)

What about nearby municipalities?

For each one: the median house price and the overall score.

Brussels€415,00081/100Schaerbeek€604,00074/100Anderlecht€372,50082/100Molenbeek-Saint-Jean€363,75072/100Ixelles€815,00069/100Uccle€618,00080/100

More about Forest

Frequently asked questions

Forest has 58,044 residents, or 9,287 per km². In five years, the population changed by +3.1% (Statbel).
The federal police recorded 89.4 offences per 1,000 residents here. A typical Belgian municipality has 50.1. The figure covers everything, from bike theft to assault. It describes the whole municipality, not your street.
The median house price is €497,500. For an apartment: €260,000. These are sales at the notary (Statbel, September 2026). The 'Buying in Forest' page adds registration duties and fees.
The municipality has 25 schools: 18 primary and 6 secondary (Community registers). The full list, school by school, is higher up this page.

Sources: Statbel for population, households, incomes and prices. Federal Police for safety, Community registers for schools. Transport operators' timetables for buses and trains, OpenStreetMap for the scores. These are figures, not an opinion.

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