Gent (Gand)

Province of Oost-Vlaanderen · 274.042 inhabitants

Who makes decisions about Gent?

Three levels of government each decide on their own topics.

Your municipality

The municipal council and the mayor and aldermen decide on matters such as streets, waste collection, sports halls, libraries and the public social welfare centre.

We do not show municipal council decisions yet: there is no open data for all municipalities yet.

Flemish Parliament

The Flemish Parliament decides on matters such as education, housing, mobility, the environment, child benefit and care.

Recently discussed

Everything from this parliament →

Federal Chamber

The Chamber decides on matters such as pensions, taxes, justice, the police, defence and health insurance.

Recently discussed

Everything from this parliament →

What did the municipal council decide?

We have not found any decisions from the last few months yet. Not every municipality publishes on Lokaal Beslist yet.

How does Gent handle money?

From the 2024 annual accounts of the municipality and the public social welfare centre combined. Amounts per inhabitant, so you can compare municipalities.

Revenue

€ 5,688 per inhabitant

taxes, money from higher authorities, charges…

about 2 times as much as the Flemish average

Spending

€ 5,781 per inhabitant

day-to-day running and investments

about 2 times as much as the Flemish average

Debt

€ 3,700 per inhabitant

what the municipality still has to repay on its loans

about 2,9 times as much as the Flemish average

Does the municipality have money left over? Yes: after day-to-day running costs and repaying loans, € 43 per inhabitant was left to invest.

What did Gent spend the most on?

Breakdown of spending on day-to-day running (excluding investments).

Governance and administration the town hall, staff, service desks and buildings 23%
Care and social assistance Public social welfare centre, childcare, care for older people and help for people in poverty 23%
Schools and education municipal schools, school buildings and academies 15%
Police and fire service the contribution to the police zone and the emergency services zone 11%
Culture, sport and leisure library, sports hall, cultural centre and youth work 9%
Waste, nature and environment waste collection, sewers, parks and green spaces 6%
Housing and building building permits, social housing and neighbourhoods 3%
Business and employment markets, local economy and employment 3%
Roads and mobility streets, pavements, cycle paths and parking 3%
Loans and finances interest on loans and collecting taxes 2%

In 2014 the municipality spent € 4,477 per inhabitant; in 2024, € 5,781 (in euros of that year, not adjusted for inflation).

Source: Flemish Agency for Home Affairs, Gemeente- en Stadsmonitor (BBC-DR). Your municipality's budget and multi-year plan can be found in the BBC-beleidstool.

Subsidies for organisations from Gent

In 2025, 2.260 organisations from Gent received a total of € 1.9 billion in subsidies.

The municipal administration itself often also receives subsidies from higher levels of government. Self-employed people and other individuals are not counted here.

Who received the most?

STAD GENT € 571,457,030
I-MENS € 301,862,789
EVARA € 228,139,822
OPENBAAR CENTRUM VOOR MAATSCHAPPELIJK WELZIJN VAN GENT € 77,559,614
FAMILIEZORG € 54,371,837

See all subsidies in Gent →

Work contracted out by public bodies in Gent

These are the larger public contracts of public bodies with their address in this municipality: the municipality itself, but also, for example, a hospital, a school or a ministry.

In 2026, they awarded 254 contracts, worth € 1.4 billion in total.