Elon Musk has said that the “Great Replacement” has already occurred in European cities, highlighting statistics showing that 73% of children in Brussels, the capital of the European Union, are now of non-European origin.
Official data from StatBel, Belgium’s national statistics office, confirm that as of January 1, 2025, 72.9% of children aged 0–17 in Brussels have non-EU migration backgrounds, while only 10.6% are of exclusively Belgian origin.
This represents a sharp generational shift compared with the city’s overall population, where 37.5% of residents are non-European.
Mario Nawfal, whose post was shared by Musk, wrote: “This did not occur by accident, but resulted from deliberate policy decisions by political leaders who dismissed earlier warnings as ‘myths.’”
The trend has been driven in part by family reunification policies, with first residence permits issued in Brussels rising from 53,109 in 2018 to 59,873 in 2024.
The European Union’s family reunification policies have facilitated significant long-term demographic shifts in member states. By allowing non-EU residents to bring spouses, children, and dependents into EU countries, these policies have contributed to rapid population growth in immigrant communities, particularly in urban centres.
Critics have rightly warned that the rules, which vary by country and often include minimal enforcement of integration requirements, are accelerating demographic change faster than public debate or planning anticipates.
