The reason for Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe's bias, according to one population expert, is because the municipality lies on the richer eastern side of the capital, with a presence of a large number of older people. Since women tend to outlive men, that leads to a preponderance of the fairer sex.

Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe takes its name from the Woluwe river that runs through it and through the adjoining Sint-Pieters-Woluwe and Sint-Stevens- Woluwe, which is now part of the municipality of Zaventem. The district was previously agricultural, with settlements dating back to the Bronze Age, and it started becoming residential only in the 19th century as rich people bought up land to build castles and villas. In 1880 the population was only 1,649; it now stands at around 47,000, about 25,000 of them women.

Elsene, according to the same figures, is the Brussels commune with the most single people, accounted for mainly by the large student population living close to the two Free Universities VUB and ULB. The most masculine place in Belgium, meanwhile, is Merksplas in the northern Kempen area of Antwerp province, with men accounting for 52% of the population. The name refers to a former fording place (plas) over the river Mark. The 8,000 or so inhabitants are known as spetsers (splashers).

In the past, the town was a magnet for casual workers who could find jobs in various industries and on farms in the area. Nowadays Merksplas is best known for its prison, where the percentage of men in the population is considerably higher than 52%.

Finally, the most equal municipality in Flanders is Baarle-Hertog, an odd Flemish enclave partly surrounded by Dutch soil. The population there is 2,504: exactly 1,252 men and 1,252 women. For now.

Pictured: De Broquevillelaan in Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe