Greeks in Belgium

Part of the demographics of Belgium

The Greek community in Belgium numbers around 25,000^[1] to 35,000 people.^[2]

History

Although Greeks were already living in Belgium before 1956, most migration from Greece to Belgium happened between 1956 and 1964. An estimated 20,000 Greeks were then attracted as guest workers for the mining industry. They ended up mainly in the city of Mons or the mining region in the province of Limburg. Gradually, they also migrated to Brussels, where, among other things, a Greek community settled around Brussels-North railway station.^[3]

Since the Financial crisis of 2007–2008, which hit Greece hard on the socio-economic front, an increasing number of Greeks started migrating for work to Belgium.^[4]

Notable people

Iosif Poursanidis Composer-musician, Founder of the Hellenic Community Turnhout-Kempen
fr:Jean Daskalidès, chocolatier
fr:Christos Doulkeridis, politician
Leonidas Kestekides, chocolatier, founder of the Brussels-based Leonidas chocolate company
Viktor Klonaridis, football player
Charly Konstantinidis, football player
Thivaios brothers, DJ-s
Katerine Avgoustakis, singer
Daphne Patakia , actress

References

^ "Grieken in Limburg | FARO. Vlaams steunpunt voor cultureel erfgoed VZW".
^ Belgium: Homogeneity
^ Vandecandelaere, H. (2012). In Brussel - Een reis door de wereld (4): Sponsen, chocolade & smeervet bij de Griekse gemeenschap op BRUZZ
^ Smedts, S. (2011). Grieken zoeken zekerheid in België in De Morgen, 4 november 2011

External links

eokb.eu- Hellenic Federation of Communities in Belgium
Bilateral relations between Greece and Belgium
Greek Orthodox Church in Belgium
Greek embassy in Brussels

Belgians

Ethnic
ancestry

Indigenous	Flemings Walloons German-speaking Belgians
Africa	North Africans Berbers Moroccans Black Belgians
Asia	Assyrians Chinese Filipinos Japanese Kurds Lebanese Turks Vietnamese
Americas	Surinamese
Europe	Albanians Armenians Croats Georgians Greeks Italians Poles Portuguese Russians

Religious groups

Gender & sexuality

Women

Other

v t e Greek diaspora (Omogenia)
Old Greek Diaspora	Anatolian Greeks population exchange pogrom expulsion massacre burning Egyptian Greeks expulsion Anatolian Greeks Greek genocide Ukrainian Greeks evacuation Soviet Greeks deportation prison shootings
New Greek Diaspora	Greek Americans Boston Chicago New York City Greek Australians Melbourne Sydney Greek Canadians Toronto
Traditional areas of Greek settlement	Albania Bulgaria Caucasus Cyprus France Italy Malta North Macedonia Russia Turkey Ukraine
Europe	Austria Belgium Czechia Denmark France Germany Hungary Moldova Netherlands Poland Romania Serbia Sweden United Kingdom
Caucasus and Central Asia	Armenia Azerbaijan Georgia Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan
Middle East	Israel Lebanon Syria United Arab Emirates
Africa	D.R. Congo Ethiopia South Africa Sudan South Sudan Zimbabwe
Latin America	Argentina Bahamas Brazil Chile Mexico Uruguay Venezuela
Asia-Pacific	New Zealand Philippines
Hellenization Greek colonization Hellenistic world