21, Nov 2009, CST. Welcome to the Belgium economic statistics pages provided by the beta version of EconomyWatch.com’s Econ Stats database.

Economic Indicators For: Belgium › Change country
National or Regional Currency: Euro, EUR
Year of data: 2008 › Change year
Number of Indicators Listed: 25
Full Dataset: From Year 1980 to 2013
Date of Last Update: 1 Sept 2009
Population: 10,414,336 (July 2009 est.)
Area: total: 30,528 sq km land: 30,278 sq km water: 250 sq km
Natural Resources: construction materials, silica sand, carbonates
Government Type: Belgium government type
Government Ministers: Belgium ministers
Capital: Brussels
Data Sources: IMF, World Bank, UN, OECD, CIA World Factbook

This modern, private-enterprise economy has capitalized on its central geographic location, highly developed transport network, and diversified industrial and commercial base. Industry is concentrated mainly in the populous Flemish area in the north. With few natural resources, Belgium must import substantial quantities of raw materials and export a large volume of manufactures, making its economy unusually dependent on the state of world markets. Roughly three-quarters of its trade (imports and exports) is with other European Union (EU) countries. public or government is more than 80 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). On the positive side, the state succeeded in balancing its budget during the 2000-2008 period, and distribution of income is relatively equal. Belgium began circulating the euro currency in January 2002. growth of the economy and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) dropped in 2008. In 2009 Belgium is probably to have negative growth, expanding unemployment, and a 3 per cent budget deficit, stemming from the worldwide banks and financial institutions and financial services crisis.
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GDP (Constant Prices, National Currency) for Belgium in year 2008 is EUR 330.565 Billion. Real GDP is expressed in billions of national currency units; the base year is country-specific.

GDP Growth (Constant Prices, National Currency) for Belgium in year 2008 is 1.063 %. Annual percentages of constant price GDP are year-on-year changes; the base year is country-specific.

GDP (Current Prices, National Currency) for Belgium in year 2008 is EUR 344.083 Billion. GDP is expressed in billions of national currency units.

GDP (Current Prices, US Dollars) for Belgium in year 2008 is US$ 506.392 Billion. Values are based upon GDP in national currency and the exchange rate projections provided by country economists for the group of other emerging market and developing countries. Exchanges rates for advanced economies are established in the WEO assumptions for each WEO exercise.

GDP Deflator for Belgium in year 2008 is 104.089 (Index, Base Year as per country's accounts = 100). The GDP deflator is derived by dividing current price GDP by constant price GDP and is considered to be an alternate measure of inflation. Please note: Data are expressed in the base year of each country's national accounts.

GDP Per Capita (Constant Prices, National Currency) for Belgium in year 2008 is EUR 30,751.28 . GDP is expressed in constant national currency per person. Data are derived by dividing constant price GDP by total population.

GDP Per Capita (Current Prices, National Currency) for Belgium in year 2008 is EUR 32,008.81 . GDP is expressed in current national currency per person. Data are derived by dividing current price GDP by total population.

GDP Per Capita (Current Prices, US Dollars) for Belgium in year 2008 is US$ 47,107.83 . GDP is expressed in current U.S. dollars per person. Data are derived by first converting GDP in national currency to U.S. dollars and then dividing it by total population.

Output Gap, Percent of Potential GDP for Belgium in year 2008 is 1.075 %. Output gaps for advanced economies are calculated as actual GDP less potential GDP as a percent of potential GDP. Estimates of output gaps are subject to a significant margin of uncertainty. For a discussion of approaches to calculating potential output, see Paula R. De Masi, "IMF Estimates of Potential Output: Theory and Practice," in Staff Studies for the World Economic Outlook (Washington: IMF, December 1997), pp. 40-46.

GDP (PPP), US Dollars for Belgium in year 2008 is US$ 389.518 Billion. These data form the basis for the country weights used to generate the World Economic Outlook country group composites for the domestic economy. Please note: The IMF is not a primary source for purchasing power parity (PPP) data. WEO weights have been created from primary sources and are used solely for purposes of generating country group composites. For primary source information, please refer to one of the following sources: the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the World Bank, or the Penn World Tables. For further information see Box A2 in the April 2004 World Economic Outlook, Box 1.2 in the September 2003 World Economic Outlook for a discussion on the measurem

GDP Per Capita (PPP), US Dollars for Belgium in year 2008 is US$ 36,235.43 . These data form the basis for the country weights used to generate the World Economic Outlook country group composites for the domestic economy. Please note: The IMF is not a primary source for purchasing power parity (PPP) data. WEO weights have been created from primary sources and are used solely for purposes of generating country group composites. For primary source information, please refer to one of the following sources: the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the World Bank, or the Penn World Tables. For further information see Box A2 in the April 2004 World Economic Outlook, Box 1.2 in the September 2003 World Economic Outlook for a discussion on the measurem

GDP Share of World Total (PPP) for Belgium in year 2008 is 0.565 %. These data form the basis for the country weights used to generate the World Economic Outlook country group composites for the domestic economy. Please note: The IMF is not a primary source for purchasing power parity (PPP) data. WEO weights have been created from primary sources and are used solely for purposes of generating country group composites. For primary source information, please refer to one of the following sources: the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the World Bank, or the Penn World Tables. For further information see Box A2 in the April 2004 World Economic Outlook, Box 1.2 in the September 2003 World Economic Outlook for a discussion on the measurem

Implied PPP Conversion Rate for Belgium in year 2008 is 0.883 . These data form the basis for the country weights used to generate the World Economic Outlook country group composites for the domestic economy. Please note: The IMF is not a primary source for purchasing power parity (PPP) data. WEO weights have been created from primary sources and are used solely for purposes of generating country group composites. For primary source information, please refer to one of the following sources: the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the World Bank, or the Penn World Tables. For further information see Box A2 in the April 2004 World Economic Outlook, Box 1.2 in the September 2003 World Economic Outlook for a discussion on the measurem

Investment (% of GDP) for Belgium in year 2008 is not available

Gross National Savings (% of GDP) for Belgium in year 2008 is not available

Inflation, Average Consumer Prices (Indexed to Year 2000) for Belgium in year 2008 is 120.076 (Index, Base Year 2000 = 100). Data for inflation are averages for the year, not end-of-period data. The index is based on 2000=100.

Inflation (Average Consumer Price Change %) for Belgium in year 2008 is 4.493 %. Data for inflation are averages for the year, not end-of-period data.

Inflation, End of Year (Indexed to Year 2000) for Belgium in year 2008 is 118.961 (Index, Base Year 2000 = 100). Data for inflation are end of the period, not annual average data. The index is based on 2000=100.

Inflation (End of Year Change %) for Belgium in year 2008 is 2.714 %. Data for inflation are end of the period, not annual average data.

Six-month London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) Change % for Belgium in year 2008 is not available

Unemployment Rate (% of Labour Force) for Belgium in year 2008 is 6.804 %.

Employment for Belgium in year 2008 is 4.493 Million .

Population for Belgium in year 2008 is 10.75 Million .

General Government Balance (National Currency) for Belgium in year 2008 is EUR -4.291 Billion. Data are on a national income accounts basis. Please refer to Box A1 in the World Economic Outlook for a summary of the policy assumptions underlying the projections.

General Government Balance (% of GDP) for Belgium in year 2008 is -1.247 %. Data are on a national income accounts basis. Please refer to Box A1 in the World Economic Outlook for a summary of the policy assumptions underlying the projections.

General Government Structural Balance (National Currency) for Belgium in year 2008 is EUR -6.365 Billion. Data are on a national income accounts basis. The structural budget position is defined as the actual budget deficit (or surplus) less the effects of cyclical deviations of output from potential output. Because of the margin of uncertainty that attaches to estimates of cyclical gaps and to tax and expenditure elasticities with respect to national income, indicators of structural budget positions should be interpreted as broad orders of magnitude. Moreover, it is important to note that changes in structural budget balances are not necessarily attributable to policy changes but may reflect the built-in momentum of existing expenditure programs. In the period beyond that for which specific cons

General Government Structural Balance (% Potential GDP) for Belgium in year 2008 is -1.87 %. Data are on a national income accounts basis. The structural budget position is defined as the actual budget deficit (or surplus) less the effects of cyclical deviations of output from potential output. Because of the margin of uncertainty that attaches to estimates of cyclical gaps and to tax and expenditure elasticities with respect to national income, indicators of structural budget positions should be interpreted as broad orders of magnitude. Moreover, it is important to note that changes in structural budget balances are not necessarily attributable to policy changes but may reflect the built-in momentum of existing expenditure programs. In the period beyond that for which specific cons

General Government Net Debt (National Currency) for Belgium in year 2008 is not available

General Government Net Debt (% GDP) for Belgium in year 2008 is not available

General Government Gross Debt (National Currency) for Belgium in year 2008 is not available

General Government Gross Debt (% GDP) for Belgium in year 2008 is not available

Current Account Balance (US Dollars) for Belgium in year 2008 is US$ -12.891 Billion. Balance of payments data are based upon the methodology of the 5th edition of the International Monetary Fund's Balance of Payments Manual (1993). Data for the world total reflects errors, omissions, and asymmetries in balance of payments statistics on current account, as well as the exclusion of data for international organizations and a limited number of countries. Calculated as the sum of the balance of individual countries.

Current Account Balance (% GDP) for Belgium in year 2008 is -2.546 %. Balance of payments data are based upon the methodology of the 5th edition of the International Monetary Fund's Balance of Payments Manual (1993). Data for the world total reflects errors, omissions, and asymmetries in balance of payments statistics on current account, as well as the exclusion of data for international organizations and a limited number of countries. Calculated as the sum of the balance of individual countries.