Official languages first
Belgium's federal structure recognizes three official languages: Dutch in the Flemish Region (Flanders), French in the Walloon Region (Wallonia), and a small German-speaking community along the eastern border. Brussels-Capital is officially bilingual in French and Dutch. English does not appear on that official list.
That legal map is why the honest short answer is two-layered. Officially, no, English is not an official language. Practically, yes, many Belgians speak it well enough for shops, hotels, and offices, because schooling and international business push English as a foreign language.
The split between Flanders and Wallonia matters more than a single national stereotype. Dutch-speaking Flanders has long posted stronger average English scores than French-speaking Wallonia on EF's English Proficiency Index fact sheets.
What the EF scores show
EF Education First publishes an annual English Proficiency Index with country and, for Belgium, regional scores. The 2023 Belgium fact sheet reported an overall Belgian score of 608, with Dutch-speaking Flanders at 660, the Brussels Capital Region at 574, and French-speaking Wallonia at 531. Those are index scores, not "percent of people who speak English," but they are the most widely cited comparative snapshot.
| Region / group | EF EPI 2023 score (Belgium fact sheet) | Relative English strength |
|---|---|---|
| Flanders (Dutch-speaking) | 660 | Strongest of the three |
| Belgium overall | 608 | High-proficiency band nationally |
| Brussels-Capital | 574 | Midway; many EU/NATO workplaces use English |
| Wallonia (French-speaking) | 531 | Lowest of the three Belgian scores |
A later EF fact sheet for Belgium (2025 edition) continues to treat the country as a high-proficiency market; use the year stamped on the PDF you cite, because the absolute scores move a little each year even when the Flanders-over-Wallonia pattern holds.
What this means on the ground
In Antwerp, Ghent, or Bruges, starting in English usually works, and many Flemish speakers will switch quickly. In smaller Walloon towns, French first is safer; English ability is more uneven. In Brussels, English is common in EU institutions, NATO-related offices, hotels, and tourist corridors, while neighborhood shops may still prefer French or Dutch.
German appears mainly in the East Cantons. It is a real official language for that community, not a tourist curiosity, but it is not what most visitors hear in Brussels or on the coast.
Belgium's language politics are sensitive. Asking someone in Flanders to "just speak French" (or the reverse in Wallonia) can land badly even when the person knows both. English sometimes functions as a neutral third option between Dutch and French, which is one reason service workers offer it so readily in mixed settings.
How to choose which language to open with
| Situation | Open with | Fall back |
|---|---|---|
| Flanders city or coast | Dutch greeting, then English if needed | English |
| Wallonia | French | English |
| Brussels tourist/EU area | French or English | Dutch |
| East Cantons | German or French | English |
For related language-geography questions on this site, see does Brazil speak Spanish or Portuguese and the is English a Romance language explainer.