Contrary to what the mayor of Waterloo claims, no, the people of Brussels are not fleeing the capital. The Brussels Region experienced growth of 7.40% between 2014 and today. Uccle, which has 86,806 inhabitants, increased its population by 7.05% over the same period. The population of Brussels continues to grow. That of Waterloo, which has 30,596 inhabitants, has also evolved in ten years, but in a more relative manner, since its growth amounts to 3.19% over this period.
In Waterloo, “traders who are not MR are afraid”
“People are fleeing Brussels because of Good Move”affirms the mayor of Waterloo. However, is road safety better in Waterloo? According to police data, not really. In 2023, 175 road accidents were recorded in Uccle, compared to 125 in Waterloo. At first glance, this statistic is to the advantage of the Brabant commune, but by taking into account the surface areas of the two entities (23 km2 for Uccle against 21 km2) and the number of inhabitants, the situation changes, given that Uccle has almost three times as many inhabitants as Waterloo.
Comparing the figures related to road safety over the years, we see a decrease in road accidents in Uccle, with a drop of 16% between 2022 and 2023, while Waterloo is increasing sharply (+ 34%). The number of victims of these accidents fell by 14% in Uccle. Of the 202 victims, 6 were seriously injured, for 196 minor injuries. In the Lion City, 153 victims were recorded, an increase of 43% compared to 2022. Of these 153 victims, five were seriously affected, 144 victims are considered “mild”. Unlike Uccle, four victims lost their lives in the 30 days following the accident.
However, on security issues, Waterloo takes the advantage. Apart from murders, where Waterloo recorded three in 2023, the rest of the crimes are lower than in Uccle and the rest of the capital. Comparing the number of sexual assaults, thefts, scams or burglaries, the police recorded 594 crimes of this type in Waterloo, compared to 2,543 in Uccle. Uccle having 2.87 times more residents than Waterloo, the latter would have, by transposing the 594 crimes and misdemeanors of 2023 to the scale of the Uccle population, 1,705 crimes and misdemeanors.
