A major social study commissioned by VRT, known as the “Photo of Flanders,” reveals that a majority of Flemish people are afraid they are being slowly replaced by migrants, with this study now joining similar ones in France and Germany, which reveal serious fear across Europe about the ongoing Great Replacement.
The VRT survey shows that 56 percent of respondents agree with the statement: “I am afraid that Flemish people are slowly being replaced by migrants/people from abroad.”
Within this category, individuals aged 45 to 64 score at 58 percent, while those over 65 score at 59 percent.
Teenagers between 12 and 17 years old also show a high level of agreement at 58 percent.
The study also showed that 52 percent of Flemish people are afraid of a mosque being built in their neighborhood.
Only 23 percent of Flemish people explicitly say they would be open to a mosque where they live.
Notably, 22 percent of people who say they have no fear of being replaced by migrants also say they would not like to have a mosque in their neighborhood.
According to VRT, the study shows that the fear that “Flemish people will be replaced by migrants” remains great.
Belgium has also been actively erasing traditional signs of Christianity, such as renaming Christmas markets into “winter markets,” which the VRT study indicates has led to divisions in society, especially between older and younger generations.
Discussions surrounding inclusive naming conventions also generate pushback. A majority of Flemish people, at 57 percent, maintain that a Christmas market should simply remain a Christmas market. Resistance to neutral terms like winter market is highest among older demographics, with 64 percent of 45-to-64-year-olds and 67 percent of those over 65 opposing the change. This opposition drops among younger populations, with 41 percent of 18-to-24-year-olds and 45 percent of 25-to-44-year-olds objecting to the replacement of the traditional name.
The Photo of Flanders is an ongoing tracking study that VRT has conducted since 2009 to observe the social themes that concern Flemish residents.
Regarding specific statistics on Islam, 60 percent of Flemish people report feeling concerned about Islam’s presence in Flanders.
This concern peaks among individuals aged 45 to 64 at 65 percent, and among those over 65 at 67 percent, though these percentages have decreased slightly compared to 2023 and 2024.
For youth between the ages of 12 and 17, the figure stands slightly lower at 61 percent, though researchers note an upward trend in this youngest bracket.
Patrick Loobuyck, an ethical philosopher of the University of Antwerp/UGent, states that these anti-diversity figures are “quite high” and Flemish people are struggling with “rapid social changes.”
“They are concerned about themes that are important to our society: who we are, what the future is of Flanders and what is the place of the population that is there today,” said Loobuyck.
“The population has actually changed a lot in recent decades. That diversity is no longer limited to cities, but is felt almost everywhere. People see and feel that, and also notice consequences in education and society.”
Hellbound and Down 