Belgium

Is Belgium safe to visit?

Yes, for nearly all visitors. Belgium had 1.40 intentional homicides per 100,000Homicide rateThe number of people killed on purpose each year for every 100,000 residents. It is the most comparable crime figure between countries.More in the glossary people in 2024 (Eurostat), and its roads are safer per head than the EU average. We score it 84, a little below the Netherlands and Germany. Three things pull it down: drug-gang violence in Brussels and Antwerp, a terrorism threat level of 3 out of 4, and theft at Brussels stations. The most likely thing to spoil a trip, though, is a strike.

Brussels shootings and Antwerp bombings

Belgium sits at the end of Europe's main cocaine route. Much of the drug enters through the port of Antwerp, and the fight over the trade spills into the streets. The federal police recorded 101 shootings in the Brussels-Capital Region in 2025, in which 8 people died and 43 were injured. In 2026 the pace is faster: 57 shootings by the end of July, with 2 dead and 21 injured, reported by The Brussels Times. Brussels' chief prosecutor has said publicly that any resident could become a victim.

In Antwerp the violence takes a different form: explosives and arson attacks on homes and businesses to intimidate or settle debts. The federal judicial police in Antwerp opened 45 new investigations into drug-related violence in 2025, covering bombings, shootings, kidnappings and arson, according to VRT.

How much this matters to a visitor:

• The shootings cluster in a few districts, mainly parts of Anderlecht, Molenbeek and Saint-Josse, often around specific drug-dealing spots. Visitors have little reason to linger there at night.
• The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says the risk mostly affects those involved in drug crime, with the real but small chance of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
• If police close a street or a metro station, go around it and follow their instructions.

Terrorism and strikes

The national threat level is 3, "serious", on a four-step scale. Belgium has suffered serious attacks. In October 2023 a gunman linked to Islamic State killed two Swedish football fans in central Brussels, and in 2022 a police officer was killed in a suspected terrorist attack in the capital. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says terrorists are likely to try again and names transport hubs, events, nightlife and the EU institutions as possible targets. Expect soldiers or armed police at stations and big events.

Strikes are the more likely disruption. The FCDO lists general strikes on 31 March, 29 April, 14 October, 26 November and 15 December 2025 and on 12 March and 12 May 2026. A large demonstration in central Brussels on 9 October 2026 led to flight cancellations at Brussels Airport, and another strike is set for 12 October. Demonstrations are mostly peaceful, but the US advisoryUS travel advisoryThe US State Department's rating of each country from Level 1 (exercise normal precautions) to Level 4 (do not travel).More in the glossary mentions unrest, and football matches have ended in violence.

Pickpockets, stations and trains

Belgium's petty crime is concentrated and predictable. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary names Brussels-Midi (the Eurostar terminal), Brussels-Nord, international trains to Paris and Amsterdam, and the busy streets of central Brussels including the EU quarter. Thieves work in teams with a distraction, there have been violent robberies, and bags vanish from the luggage racks at the ends of high-speed trains just before the doors close. Drug use is visible in some Brussels train and metro stations.

Practical steps:

• Keep your bag on your lap or between your feet on trains, not in the end rack.
• At Midi, go straight from the platform to your onward train, tram or taxi, especially after dark.
• Use official taxis or ride-hailing apps; do not accept offers from cars that stop for you.
• In a car, keep valuables out of sight. Motorbike thieves smash windows at red lights.

Bruges, Ghent and Leuven are calmer, with pickpocketing mainly in summer crowds.

Driving and cycling

WHO estimatesWHO road-death estimateThe World Health Organization's estimate of road traffic deaths per 100,000 people in a country, adjusted for deaths that police statistics miss.More in the glossary 4.6 road deaths per 100,000 people in 2021, and the toll has kept falling: Belgium recorded 445 deaths in 2025, about 3.8 per 100,000 people and 31% fewer than in 2019, putting it on track for the EU's 2030 target (ETSC). Brussels now has a 30 km/h limit across the whole city. Since early 2026 drivers found with 0.8 grams of alcohol per litre of blood, or holding a phone at the wheel, lose their licence for 14 days on the spot. The normal drink-drive limit is 0.5. Watch for trams in Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent, and for priority-to-the-right junctions, which surprise many foreign drivers.

Health and weather

Healthcare is excellent, tap water is safe, and there are no tropical diseases. Call 112 for an ambulance. Natural hazards are modest, but the July 2021 floods in the Vesdre valley showed that rivers in the Ardennes can rise fast and kill. If you hike or camp there, check flood warnings after heavy rain.

How we scored it

Health (91) is Belgium's strongest factor, with road safety (89) close behind: WHO's 2021 estimate of 4.6 deaths per 100,000 sits in the 4–8 band, and we put it at the top of that band because deaths have fallen by almost a third since 2019. Petty crime (68) is the weakest, because theft around Brussels stations and on trains is common. Violent crime (84) and conflict (80) are lower than in the Netherlands because of the Brussels shootings, the terrorism record and frequent unrest. Compare France, which has a similar terrorism picture and more pickpocketing in Paris.