What Are The Characteristics Of Belgian Women?

As is the case in many European nations, family is essential for Belgian women. Still, one notable aspect of Belgian family life is that children are encouraged to learn and become independent, setting them up for a life where self-sufficiency is often crucial and considered a vital skill to learn. As such, it’s not uncommon for young Belgian girls and boys to be encouraged to begin exploring their likes and hobbies from a young age. Moreover, young Belgian women are often taught a clear example from their mothers, learning to be strong and independent under the mother’s house management; indeed, in most Belgian households, the mother takes strong responsibility for managing the home. This trait means most Belgian women expect to be left alone to manage the household. This factor is often why family structures revolve heavily around the mother and her contributions to the family. In line with this, it’s also worth considering that families in Belgium were substantially more likely to have multiple children than in many other European nations. While the birth rate has gradually dropped over the generations, the recorded number of children per woman currently averages 1.57. This means (on average) Belgian women are more likely to want two or more children than one.

In many countries, the wife is the household’s matriarch, which is equally true in Belgium – but potentially taken a little more extreme than in many other countries. However, these strongly ingrained beliefs do not seem to impact the marriage statistics in Belgium. While many other European nations have been falling in terms of the number of marriages annually and rising in the number of divorces, this is the opposite in Belgium! After a peak in 2008, Belgian women and men have been getting divorced substantially less often – only 21,000 divorces approximately were registered in 2020 compared to a substantially higher 35,000 in 2008. Meanwhile, the number of marriages had only dropped marginally, meaning far more people are getting married than getting divorced each year.

Belgian women’s strong and fierce loyalty may be worth considering if you have been looking for a partner with long-term relationship goals. However, it’s worth considering that this goes both ways, meaning Belgian women will often expect their partners to be loyal to a fault (and don’t take kindly to side glances at other women!) However, while a Belgian woman will expect you to be faithful to her throughout your relationship, you shouldn’t mistake this as meaning she wants to settle down and tie the knot immediately. In fact, the average age at first marriage for Belgian women is 31.4 years, and 33.7 years of age for Belgian men; this is a strong contrast from the typical age of first marriage in the European Union, indicating that while Belgian women are fiercely loyal, they usually want to get to know someone more before settling down and committing. At this point, marriages may be much more likely to last.

Generally speaking, the Belgian people are well known for their intelligence, which is well reflected in the characteristics of Belgian women regarding education. Indeed, the literacy rate among Belgian women and men is impressive by both global and European standards; the overall adult literacy rate was 99.0% for individuals aged fifteen or over (i.e., those who have left compulsory education), which has remained stable for several years. Furthermore, UNESCO also found that participation in education was higher for young Belgian women than for Belgian men. However, this is only marginal and seems to vary slightly yearly. For example, in 2017, gross enrolment in primary education for Belgian girls was 103.96 versus 103.86 for Belgian boys. However, in 2019, there was a slightly more significant gap, with male enrolment at 102.08 and female enrolment at 103.19.

In Belgium, compulsory education runs between six and seventeen years of age, around a year or two longer than in some other European countries. Most of a child’s education is subsidized by the Belgian government. However, some additional resources, such as learning materials and excursions, may require parents to pay or contribute to the event’s cost. Before starting primary school at the age of six years, Belgian children can attend pre-primary education between three and five years. Then, once they have graduated from secondary school at seventeen, they can enroll in optional higher education in a tertiary sector facility. However, most enrolment remains in primary and secondary education; approximately half of the students attend pre-primary education between three and five years. Only around 80% of students participate in tertiary education. While the school-age population of primary and secondary students falls at about 1.6 million, only 650,000 students attend tertiary education with a higher education facility.

One highly notable skill educators push throughout a child’s education in the Belgian system is language learning; this contributes to the impressive Belgian literacy levels and the overall employability of many Belgian women and men. With this in mind, when looking for a Belgian date, you may want to check you have the necessary skills to be employable in Belgium, to begin with, as many Belgians have numerous transferrable skills. The overall unemployment in the Belgian economy falls to around 6.01%, although this may have worsened following the Covid-19 pandemic. The minimum wage equates to €19,126 per year, and the average salary is substantially higher in the region at €45,000 per year. Many Belgian households find that a single income may often be substantial enough for a comfortable quality of life. However, you may still find that your Belgian partner also wants to chip in and contribute. Still, it’s notable to point out that the average income of Belgian women is only around €100 per month less than for men – indicating a high level of payment equality compared to many other European nations.

Religion plays a significant role in the lives of many Belgian women and men, and it’s highly worth considering this before looking for a Belgian woman to date to ensure you understand the country’s different religions and the influences it might have on your new partner’s lifestyle. Almost undoubtedly, the most common belief – accounting for a slim majority of the total population – is Catholicism, followed by roughly 54% of the total population in Belgium. However, this represents a sharp decline in the number of Belgian Catholics. For example, approximately 80% of the population was Catholic in the 1960s, indicating that Catholics have declined. Many of these have transferred to “no religion.” The number of people who no longer hold any religion in Belgium is surprisingly substantial, and this accounts for 31.0% of the total Belgian population in the present day.

Traditionally, Christianity has always been the most substantial modern religion in Belgium, with the Flanders region being the most devout Christian region. However, church attendance has rapidly fallen in recent years, even in Flanders, where just over 5% of people attend Sunday Church services. This figure represents an over 50% reduction since 1998, spurred by the country’s declining number of Catholic Christians. In addition, Protestantism is also a significant religion in the country, accounting for 3.0% of the population. However, even during its heyday in the 16th century, only around 20% of Belgian women and men were Protestants, indicating that Protestantism has always been minor compared to Catholicism. Finally, roughly 1.6% of the Belgian population follows Eastern Orthodoxy; however, the Brussels region is the most prosperous location for Eastern Orthodox supporters. Approximately 8.3% of the entire local population follows Eastern Orthodoxy – a substantially more significant proportion. The influence of area on the distribution of faith is also substantial; therefore, before you begin dating Belgian women, considering the local religious trends in your chosen region of Belgium may be worthwhile.

In addition to Christianity, be it Catholicism, Protestantism, or any other type, men and women in Belgian also celebrate many other religions. This range of beliefs adds significantly more diversity to the Belgian population and makes Belgium an excellent country for individuals of any faith. Since the Belgian constitution provides rights for freedom of religion, many other religions are officially recognized legally in the country. The most prominent of these alternate religions is Islam. Islam followers are substantially higher in the Brussels region than in Flanders or Wallonia, respectively; almost 23.6% of the local Brussels population follow Islam. Meanwhile, Buddhism and Judaism account for around 0.3% of the total population. Finally, all other religions celebrated n the country together account for about 4.0% of the Belgian people. However, these figures are rapidly changing, especially since the wide-scale rollout of the Internet, which is opening the world of other religions up to Belgian women and men. Furthermore, since Freedom of Religion is constitutionally supported, rather than the state and church being directly linked together, a growing number of people are exploring new religions in the country.

Generally speaking, when you ask about the mentality of Belgian women, one of the most common traits that people will mention about Belgian women is that they are serious and stoic. However, while Belgian women can undoubtedly be stern when necessary, generally speaking, this is a strong misconception since most Belgian women are incredibly happy, easy-going, and down for a laugh! However, their spontaneous attitude may mean that their personality is sometimes easily misinterpreted as sudden, unpredictable, irrational, or highly changeable. Nevertheless, Belgian women love spending time with other people. So, while you’ll need to learn how to act a little more spontaneously to keep up with her plans, it’s no doubt that having a Belgian woman as a partner will keep your life fun and unexpected. And, with so many attractive opportunities to see and do in Belgium, this is one trait many people certainly appreciate in Belgian women.

Because Belgian women are spontaneous does not mean they don’t make plans; most women in Belgium are strongly independent. As such, when you partner with a Belgian woman, you can expect that she’ll often work tirelessly to carry on without help – potentially to a fault. Furthermore, since many Belgian women are well-educated and take great pride and focus on their education, they can often hold secure, stable, and higher-paying jobs than in other European countries, such as Greece. With this in mind, it’s often easy to develop a strong family that’s financially secure and stable in Belgium. However, because she’ll likely do her best at every opportunity to please you, you should go out of your way to see where you can help her. Of course, asking if she wants help may often be rejected, even if she would genuinely appreciate it, to remain fully independent and self-reliant. Helping around the house without asking what you can do may be the best way to support a Belgian partner.

A final, notable trait of many Belgian women is that they are firmly self-confident, giving them a unique outlook on life. Furthermore, this self-confidence often translates into greater happiness and self-esteem for Belgian women than in other cultures, which may mean she’s happier. In turn, many Belgian women are bright, cheerful, and not afraid to be themselves; they won’t likely change themselves to match your desires, but that’s just part of the charm of many Belgian women. She’ll know what she wants and how she wants to get there, and her self-confidence gives her the strength to continue pushing boundaries, reaching for new heights, and making new opportunities. But don’t panic; while she’ll likely be focused on improving herself and living the best version of life she can, Belgian women are still loyal to their partners and will often go out of their way to prove that their love is devout.