Meerhout
Municipality
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Meerhout
Meerhout Location in Belgium Location of Meerhout in the province of Antwerp
Coordinates: 51°08′N 05°05′E / 51.133°N 5.083°E / 51.133; 5.083
Country	Belgium
Community	Flemish Community
Region	Flemish Region
Province	Antwerp
Arrondissement	Turnhout
Government
• Mayor	Nele Geudens (CD&V)
• Governing party/ies	CD (CD&V)
Area
• Total	36.54 km2 (14.11 sq mi)
Population  (2020-01-01)[1]
• Total	10,324
• Density	280/km2 (730/sq mi)
Postal codes	2450
NIS code	13021
Area codes	014
Website	www.meerhout.be

Meerhout (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈmeːrɦʌut]) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the town of Meerhout proper. In 2021, Meerhout had a total population of 10,279.^[2] The total area is 36.29 km² which gives a population density of 264 inhabitants per km². In Meerhout some famous people have lived, like Kate Ryan (well known in France and Belgium, The UK, Turkey, Spain and the rest of western Europe).

Meerhout is a part of the Economic Network of the Albertkanaal (Albert Canal, named after King Albert 1).

As of 1 January 2008, there are 9578 people living in Meerhout. 50.4% of them are men, 49.6% are women. Most people are older than 40.

There is quite a lot of tourism in Meerhout.^{[citation needed]} Tourist routes include the "drieprovincieënroute" (three provinces route), which is a cycling route going through the provinces of Antwerp, Flemish Brabant and Limburg. There are also some B&Bs available, and most shopkeepers understand English. Meerhout is popular among people from the Netherlands, Germany and Ireland.^{[citation needed]} Some (older) English people visit Meerhout too because of "The Wing" and other memorial icons of WW2. Every year, around the last week-end of April, around 30,000 people travel to Meerhout to go to Groezrock, one of the world's largest punk rock festivals.^{[citation needed]}

There are only 5 schools in Meerhout, these schools are both Pre- and Primary schools for children between the age of 3 and 12 years old.

There are secondary schools in the neighbourhood which are easily reachable by public transport or car/bicycle, in Geel, Mol, Diest and Tessenderlo.

A cyclo-cross competition is held in October.

Meerhout had its own radio station, "MeerGoud" (MeerHout=>Meergoud, Goud means "Gold"), but it ceased broadcasting in 2006.

• Kate Ryan (Female artist, won several awards, also well known in France, and getting more famous in other countries all over Europe)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Meerhout.

• Official website (Dutch only)