Gent / Gand covers an area of 157.7 km² and is home to 262,219 inhabitants, with an average age of 39 years. About half of the residents own their homes, and the average net per capita income is €18,789 annually. The population is primarily Belgian (85.4%), with minorities including Bulgarian, Turkish, Dutch, Slovakian, Afghan, and Polish nationals. Households here have an average of 0.8 cars, which is below the national average.
Housing in Gent / Gand consists mostly of houses (59%) and apartment buildings (41%). Among the building types found in the town are closed-type houses (39.5%) and semi-closed types (8.5%), along with open-type houses, farms, and castles making up 8.6%. House prices for sale start around €249,000 and can reach up to €5,500,000, with an average house price around €572,803.
The city benefits from convenient access to highways such as the A10/E40 and A14/E17, reachable in about 4 minutes from the center. Important roads include the R4a, R4b, R4, N9, and R40. Public transport options include tram lines 1, 2, and 4 and 67 bus lines serving the area. The nearest train stations include Gent-Sint-Pieters, Gent-Dampoort, and Gentbrugge.
Families will find numerous schools available including 125 nurseries, 96 nursery schools, 95 primary schools, and 88 secondary schools. Shopping is well-catered for with various supermarkets such as Carrefour, Delhaize, Aldi, and Colruyt among others. For those interested in soft mobility options, there are six Blue-bike stations for rental bicycles, 93 Cambio car-sharing stations, and 129 electric vehicle recharging points. The closest airport, Wevelgem Airport, can be reached in about 31 minutes by car or just over an hour by public transportation.