Brussels closed 2025 with record-breaking tourism momentum and is positioned for transformative infrastructure investment and sustained real estate expansion. With 32 million travellers coming to the best-connected city in Europe annually by 2032 – from the current 24 million – Brussels Airport started construction on a Hub 3.0 in 2025, featuring terminal expansion, an intermodal hub and new hotel facilities scheduled for phased completion. This €500-million investment should boost the city’s current #10 ranking for its airport connectivity.
In the EU’s administrative centre (with the #9 spot in our overall Prosperity index), housing is expensive; new homes delivered through 2025 set the stage for continued expansion, with property analysts projecting steady 3% annual price growth through 2027. Brussels also moved to house its homeless by joining Housing First – a programme adopted in many European cities – and devoting 1% of social housing to the most vulnerable. Which will help make the #13 ranking for Standard of Living a reality for more residents. It’s been a decade since Brussels began pedestrianising its central 1000 district, making the Grand-Place a joy to stroll and bike. The rest of the city still has work to do to improve the #42 ranking for Biking and #55 for Walkability.