Decibel Shield

European cities › Belgium › Antwerp

How loud is Antwerp, Belgium?

In Antwerp, Belgium, most noise-exposed residents face average day-evening-night (Lden) transport noise of 55–70 dB, mostly from road traffic, dropping to 50–65 dB at night. That ranks Antwerp #79 of 314 European cities by modeled EEA exposure, right at the European median.

Last updated:

Noise map of Antwerp, Belgium: road-traffic noise contours from the EU strategic noise maps, shaded yellow (≈55 dB Lden) through orange and red to dark purple (≈75 dB+), over the city's street network.
Antwerp's road-traffic noise, mapped: each band is a modeled Lden contour from the EU Environmental Noise Directive (2022 round) — yellow ≈55 dB rising to dark purple ≈75 dB+. Basemap © OpenStreetMap contributors, © CARTO.
Antwerp at a glance (EEA noise-map data)
European rank (of 314) #79
Daytime Lden range 55–70 dB
Night Lnight range 50–65 dB
vs. WHO guideline ≈ 10 dB above the 53 dB Lden road-noise guideline (night guideline: 45 dB)
Dominant source road traffic
Population 530,630
Data confidence high

Antwerp houses 530,630 people. Its noise-exposed residents experience Lden levels of 55–70 dB by day and 50–65 dB at night, driven mainly by road traffic, which puts it #79 of 314 in the European ranking — right at the European median. Among Belgium's 7 ranked agglomerations, Antwerp is the 3rd-loudest. Across Europe it sits just below Cologne, Germany (#78) and just above Leuven, Belgium (#80).

The WHO road-traffic guideline is 53 dB Lden by day and 45 dB Lnight at night, so Antwerp's exposed residents run roughly 10 dB above the daytime guideline. The figures count road, rail, aircraft and industry only, so sirens, nightlife and construction sit outside the model — which is why modeled exposure can differ from a city's reputation for noise.

These are the agency's modeled values, not our estimates: they come from Belgium's strategic noise maps reported under the EU Environmental Noise Directive (2022 round) and harmonised by the European Environment Agency. Lden is the annual-average day-evening-night level; only people above the 55 dB Lden reporting threshold are counted, so the range describes the noise-exposed population, not the city's quietest streets.

Environmental noise in Antwerp, by the numbers

  • Ranks #79 of 314 European cities by modeled day-evening-night (Lden) transport-noise exposure.
  • Exposed residents face Lden 55–70 dB by day and Lnight 50–65 dB at night.
  • Dominant noise source: road traffic. Population 530,630.
  • The 3rd-loudest of Belgium's 7 ranked agglomerations.

These are modeled values from the EU Environmental Noise Directive strategic noise maps (2022 round), harmonised by the European Environment Agency — see the methodology on the European city ranking. Lden is the annual-average day-evening-night level; only residents above the 55 dB Lden threshold are reported.

License: Antwerp's figures and noise map are published under CC BY 4.0 — reuse or republish with attribution to decibelshield.app (source: EU Environmental Noise Directive strategic noise maps, 2022 round, European Environment Agency; basemap © OpenStreetMap contributors, © CARTO). Download the full dataset (CSV · JSON) or the Antwerp map image.

How Antwerp ranks

Cities near Antwerp

The nearest mapped cities to Antwerp, each with its own daytime range from the same official noise maps for a like-for-like comparison.

Measure your own street

Standing somewhere loud in Antwerp right now? Measure it with the free online decibel meter → No install, nothing recorded.

← All Belgium cities ranked · All 314 European cities