According to The Council of Europe, there are approximately 30,000 Romani people living in Belgium (0.29% of Belgian the population). [1] Most Romani Belgians reside in the regions of Flanders and Brussels. [2]
Around 10,000 Roma are Belgian citizens and are described as Manouches/Sinti and Roms in Belgium. These three distinct Romani groups share a nomadic culture and lifestyle. The Manouches who are the Sinti of the country are descendants of the first Romani people to settle in Belgium during the 15th century. The Roms, represent the second major wave of Roma migration to Belgium from Romania after the abolition of slavery in Moldavia and Wallachia in 1856. [3]
Roma in Belgium were deported to Auschwitz along with Jews on December 16, 1942. [4]
