Prostitution in Belgium

Prostitution in Belgium is legal and was decriminalized on 1 June 2022. Human trafficking or exploiting individuals involved in prostitution is punishable by a maximum prison sentence of 30 years.

Some cities in Belgium have a red-light district, often with window prostitution. In 2015, it was estimated that there were 26,000 prostitutes in Belgium, many of them from Bulgaria.

A report commissioned by the National Bank of Belgium, estimated the revenue from heterosexual prostitution to be €840 million ($930 million) in 2015. The most important segments of the market were escorting and private prostitution, rather than the more visible forms of window and street prostitution which made up only 30%.

Since 1 December 2024, sex workers or prostitutes within Belgium have had legal access to maternity leave, pensions and unemployment benefits. Belgium is the first country in the world to implement and enact these reforms.