The Scheldt River flows through Antwerp. Antwerp is connected to the North Sea by the Westerschelde estuary of the river. It is approximately 40 km (25 mi) north of Brussels and approximately 15 km (9 mi) south of the Dutch border. The Port of Antwerp is one of the largest ports in the world, second only to Rotterdam in Europe and in the top 20 globally.
The city is also known as the center of the world's diamond trade. In 2020, the Globalization and World Cities Research Network rated Antwerp as a Gamma + (third level/top tier) Global City.
Both economically and culturally, Antwerp has long been an important city in the Low Countries, particularly before and during the Spanish Rage (1576) and during and after the Dutch Revolt. Built in 1531 and rebuilt in 1872, the Antwerp Stock Exchange was the world's first purpose-built commodity exchange. The city hosted the Summer Olympics in 1920.
Natives of Antwerp were nicknamed Sinjoren (Dutch pronunciation: [sɪˈɲoːrə(n)]), after the Spanish honorific señor or the French seigneur, "lord", referring to the Spanish nobles who ruled the city in the 17th century. The city's population is quite diverse and includes approximately 180 nationalities; As of 2019, more than 50% of the population did not have one of the parents who was a Belgian citizen at birth.
A notable community is the Jewish community; Antwerp is one of only two cities in Europe (along with London and the Stamford Hill district) to host a significant Haredi population in the 21st century.
About
It is one of the oldest cities in Europe. The Antwerp Stock Exchange, founded in 1531, is the first commodity exchange built for this purpose in world history. It has the fourth largest port in the world and the second largest in Europe. The Schelde River, which flows through the city, flows for 350 km, allowing even large ships to navigate. No bridges were built on the river so as not to hinder ship passage.
It is the second largest city in Belgium after the capital Brussels. The total population of Antwerp is 565,615 (2026).
In February 2025, when Bart De Wever, who had been mayor for twelve years, took office as the Prime Minister of Belgium, N-VA's Els Van Doesburg started to act as mayor, while Bart De Wever retained his title of mayor.
Climate
sister cities
Antwerp has established sister city connections with the following cities:
Rotterdam, Netherlands, 1940
Mulhouse, France, 1954
Saint Petersburg, Russia, 1958
Rostock, Germany, 1963
Shanghai, China, 1984
Akhisar, Türkiye, 1988
Haifa, Israel, 1995
Cape Town, South Africa, 1996
Barcelona, Spain- Ludwigshafen, Germany, 1998
See also
- Populated places of Belgium
