Economy of Belgium

Economy of Belgium

Business district in the Schaerbeek neighborhood of Brussels
Currency	Euro (EUR, €)
Fiscal year	Calendar year
Trade organisations	EU, OECD, WTO
Country group	Developed/Advanced[1] High-income economy[2]
Statistics
Population	11,549,888 (1 January 2020)[3]
GDP	$655 billion (nominal, 2024)[4] $803 billion (PPP, 2024)[4]
GDP rank	22nd (nominal, 2024) 37th (PPP, 2024)
GDP growth	3.0% (2022) 1.5% (2023) 1.2% (2024)[4]
GDP per capita	$55,536 (nominal, 2024)[4] $68,079 (PPP, 2024)[4]
GDP per capita rank	15th (nominal, 2024) 19th (PPP, 2024)
GDP by sector	agriculture: 0.7% industry: 22.1% services: 77.2% (2017 est.)[5]
Inflation (CPI)	2.3% (2023) 3.6% (2024)[4]
Population below poverty line	19.5% at risk of poverty or social exclusion (AROPE, 2019)[6]
Gini coefficient	25.1 low (2019, Eurostat)[7]
Human Development Index	0.942 very high (2022)[8] (12th) 0.878 very high (11th) (2022)[8]
Labour force	5,105,726 (2020)[9] 69.7% employment rate (2018)[10]
Labour force by occupation	agriculture: 1.3% industry: 18.6% services: 80.1% (2013 est.)[5]
Unemployment	5.1% (August 2020)[11] 13.0% youth unemployment (15 to 24 year-olds; June 2020)[12]
Average gross salary	€3,401 / $3,821 monthly (May, 2017)
Average net salary	€2,170 / $2,438 monthly (May, 2017)
Main industries	engineering and metal products, motor vehicle assembly, transportation equipment, scientific instruments, processed foods and beverages, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, base metals, textiles, glass, petroleum
External
Exports	$547.5 billion (2021)[5]
Export goods	chemicals, machinery and equipment, finished diamonds, metals and metal products, foodstuffs
Main export partners	Germany 16.6%  France 14.9%  Netherlands 12%  United Kingdom 8.4%  Italy 4.9%  United States 4.8% (2017)[5]
Imports	$395.7 billion (2020)[5]
Import goods	raw materials, machinery and equipment, chemicals, raw diamonds, pharmaceuticals, foodstuffs, transportation equipment, oil products
Main import partners	Netherlands 17.3%  Germany 13.8%  France 9.5%  United States 7.1%  China 5.2%  United Kingdom 4.8%  Ireland 4.2% (2017)[5]
FDI stock	$1.035 trillion (31 December 2017 est.)[5] Abroad: $1.159 trillion (31 December 2017 est.)[5]
Current account	$1.84 billion (2019 est.)[5]
Gross external debt	$1.281 trillion (31 March 2016 est.)[5]
Public finances
Government debt	98.6% of GDP (2019)[13] €467.160 billion (2019)[13]
Budget balance	€9.0 billion deficit (2019)[13] −1.9% of GDP (2019)[13]
Revenues	50.3% of GDP (2019)[13]
Expenses	52.2% of GDP (2019)[13]
Economic aid	€2.3 billion from European Structural and Investment Funds (2007–2013)[14]
Credit rating	Standard & Poor's:[15] AA (Domestic) AA (Foreign) AAA (T&C Assessment) Scope:[16] AA− Outlook: Negative
Foreign reserves	$31.76 billion (April 2021 est.)[5]
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

The economy of Belgium is a highly developed, high-income, mixed economy.^[17]

Belgium's economy has capitalised on the country's central geographic location, and has a well-developed transport network, and diversified industrial and commercial base. Belgium was the first European country to join the Industrial Revolution in the early 19th century. It has since developed a highly-developed transportation infrastructure made up of ports (most notably the Port of Antwerp), canals, railways, and highways, in order to integrate its industry with that of its neighbours.^[18] Among OECD nations, Belgium has a highly efficient and strong social security system; social expenditure stood at roughly 29% of GDP.^[19][20][21]

Belgium's industry is concentrated mainly in the populous region of Flanders in the north, around Brussels and in the two biggest Walloon cities, Liège and Charleroi, along the Sillon industriel. Belgium imports raw materials and semi-finished goods that are further processed and re-exported. Except for its coal, which is no longer economical to exploit, Belgium has few natural resources other than fertile soils. Despite the heavy industrial component, services dominate the country's economy and account for 77.2% of Belgium's gross domestic product (GDP), while agriculture accounts for 0.7%.^[18]

With exports equivalent to over two-thirds of the country's gross national income (GNI), Belgium depends heavily on world trade. Belgium's trade advantages are derived from its central geographic location and a highly skilled, multilingual, and productive work force. One of the founding members of the European Community, Belgium strongly supports deepening the powers of the present-day European Union (EU) to integrate European economies further.^[18] About three-quarters of its trade is with other EU countries. In 2021, Belgium's public debt was about 108% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).^[22]