Arrondissement of Halle-Vilvoorde
The Halle-Vilvoorde Arrondissement (Dutch: Arrondissement Halle-Vilvoorde; French: Arrondissement de Hal-Vilvorde) is one of the two administrative arrondissements in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. It almost completely surrounds the Brussels-Capital Region and lies to the west of the other arrondissement in the province, the Leuven Arrondissement. Unlike the Arrondissement of Leuven, it is not a judicial arrondissement; however since the sixth Belgian state reform in 2012–14, it has its own public prosecutor's service.
Administrative Arrondissement of Halle-Vilvoorde Arrondissement Halle-Vilvoorde | |
|---|---|
 Location of the arrondissement in Flemish Brabant | |
| Coordinates: 50.85°N 4.2°E | |
| Country | .svg.png){kind=small} |
| Region |  |
| Province |  |
| Municipalities | 35 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 942.93 km2 (364.07 sq mi) |
| Population (1 January 2017) | |
| • Total | 627,247 |
| • Density | 670/km2 (1,700/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
The Halle-Vilvoorde Arrondissement and the Brussels-Capital Region together formed the Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde electoral district and the Judicial Arrondissement of Brussels. Following the 2007 federal election, Yves Leterme, who is in charge of the negotiations for forming a new Federal Government, proposed to split up the Judicial Arrondissement of Brussels into two judicial arrondissements: one comprising Halle-Vilvoorde and the other comprising the Brussels Region.
History
The Arrondissement of Halle-Vilvoorde was established in 1963 when the language borders were determined. At that time, the then Administrative Arrondissement of Brussels, which had the same territory as the present-day Judicial Arrondissement of Brussels, was split into three administrative arrondissements, two of which still exist today:
- Brussels-Capital, which consists of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels Region;
- Halle-Vilvoorde, a unilingual Dutch-speaking administrative arrondissement;
- Brussels-Periphery, which consisted of the six Flemish municipalities with language facilities for French-speakers around Brussels.
On January 1, 1971, the Arrondissement of Brussels-Periphery ceased to exist and its municipalities were added to Halle-Vilvoorde.
In 1977, the then municipality of Muizen ceased to exist and was ceded to the Arrondissement of Mechelen, in the Province of Antwerp.
Municipalities
The Administrative Arrondissement of Halle-Vilvoorde is made up of the following municipalities:
Population
Population as of 1 January in recent years:
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 533,719 |
| 1995 | 549,165 |
| 2000 | 558,220 |
| 2005 | 572,697 |
| 2010 | 593,455 |
| 2015 | 617,330 |
| 2017 | 627,247 |