With social restrictions, lowered supplies, and diminished demand, Belgium’s economy has been directly impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. For instance, the
was estimated at 1.7 billion euros in 2020. During that year, the Belgium government balance as a share of GDP decreased by 11 percent, while the GDP per capita went down by 0.4 percent.
From a regional perspective,
Flander’s GDP is decreased by 5.5 percent in 2020, while the
GDP of Wallonia fell by 6.2 percent. The
Brussels-Capital Region’s GDP faced a lower drop with an estimated decrease of 9.3 percent.
National GDP
In 2020, the
Belgian government debt as a share of GDP stood as high as 113 percent. Nonetheless, according to forecasts, the Belgian economy is expected to slowly recover. Although the
government balance as a share of GDP is still expected to decrease in 2021, the forecast is less drastic. Indeed, an estimated 4.7 percent decrease is predicted in 2022 and 2023. On the other hand, the
GDP per capita decreased by 5.6 percent in 2020, and the government debt as a share of GDP is expected to decrease by four percent.
Employment
In 2020,
employment in Belgium stayed roughly the same and then recovered in 2021 by increasing 1.8 percent.
In 2021, the
unemployment rate in the Brussels-Capital region reached 15.3 percent, while
unemployment in Flanders reached 5.3 percent. In addition, the
unemployment rate in Wallonia was 12 percent. However, employment is expected to decrease equally across the three regions.
Consumers
As Belgian lockdown measures were implemented, the
consumer confidence indicator dropped significantly. In April and August of 2020, the consumer confidence indicator was -26. The
consumer price index, on the other hand, has been on the rise since May 2020. Ultimately, the exact consequences of the coronavirus outbreak for the Belgian economy are yet to be evaluated. Still, predictions lean towards a slow, but ongoing recovery in the following years.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no
liability for the information given being complete or correct.
Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date
data than referenced in the text.
