BEL · Europe
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the south, and the North Sea to the west.
Summary from Wikipédia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Data refreshed on 2026.10.08 · source: Wikidata
The Institute's composite reading
Vigilance
3.8 /10 risk
- Security 0.0
- Legitimacy 8.4
- Economy 6.0
- Diplomacy 5.3
- Influence 1.5
Security: 0 stable → 10 unstable · others: 0 weak → 10 strong. Computed from V-Dem, FH, CPI, RSF, World Bank, SIPRI, sanctions.
UN list of 2026.10.07: 2 people and 1 entity linked to the country by nationality or a known address. Regimes: ISIL (Da'esh) and Al-Qaida (1), Democratic Republic of the Congo (1), Iran (1).
Listings linked to the country by nationality or address: United States 53 (list of 2026.10.02), United Kingdom 9 (list of 2026.10.07), EU 4 (list of 2026.09.22).
- Capital
- Brussels
- Population
- 11,825,551 inh.
- Area
- 30,528 km²
- Currency
- EUR
- Regime
- federation
Executive in office
Head of State
Philippe Ier de Belgique
Head of Government
Bart De Wever
Government in office 4 members
ministre des Affaires étrangères
Maxime Prévot
ministre de la Défense
Theo Francken
ministre des Finances
Jan Jambon
ministre de la Justice
Annelies Verlinden
Parliament
Chambre des représentants
150 seats
Chair Peter De Roover
Inception 1831
Sénat
60 seats
Chair Valérie De Bue
Inception 1831
Economic indicators World Bank · 2025
GDP
725 G$
GDP / capita
60,750 $
Growth
1.0 %
Inflation
2.5 %
Unemployment
5.9 %
Defense / GDP
1.3 %
Life expectancy
82.3 yrs
Armed forces 19 units listed · Wikidata
Show the 19 units · raw Wikidata list, which does not always flag a disbanded unit
Flotte
Vissersvloot Zeebrugge
Commandement
Allied Command Operations
Division
3rd Infantry Division
Brigade
Brigade Motorisée
Régiment
4e régiment de lanciers
Régiment
Special Operations Regiment
Bataillon
29 Bataljon Logistiek
Bataillon
3e bataillon parachutiste
Bataillon
4 Element voor Medische Interventie
Bataillon
Bataillon de chasseurs à cheval
Bataillon
Zivilarbeiter Bataillon
Escadron aérien
11e escadrille
Escadron aérien
31st Squadron
Escadron aérien
349e escadrille
Escadron aérien
350e escadrille
Escadron aérien
40e escadrille Héli
Escadron aérien
80 UAV Squadron
Escadron aérien
9e escadrille
Compagnie
Oost-Indische Compagnie van Oostende
Nuclear posture
OTAN, partage nucléaire
B61-12 (Kleine Brogel) · ~10 ogives
Governance indices V-Dem 2025 · Freedom House 2026 · CPI 2025 · RSF 2026
Democracy (V-Dem)
0.89/1
Freedoms (Freedom House)
95/100
Corruption (CPI)
69/100
Press freedom (RSF)
81/100
Military posture SIPRI · 2025
Global spending rank
#30
Annual budget
13.6 Md$
Defense effort
2.0 %PIB
Trade dependencies OEC · UN Comtrade · 2023
Exports
530 Md$
Imports
510 Md$
Balance
20 Md$
Top exports
- 17.0% Médicaments + chimie 90 Md$
- 8.0% Voitures + pièces 42 Md$
- 4.5% Diamants taillés (Anvers) 24 Md$
Top imports
- 11.0% Pétrole brut + raffiné 56 Md$
- 7.0% Voitures 36 Md$
- 4.0% Diamants bruts 20 Md$
Diplomatic alignment UNGA 2020-2024 · Bailey-Strezhnev-Voeten
Vote concordance with each power at UN General Assembly.
-
USA
86%
-
GBR
92%
-
FRA
96%
-
DEU
96%
-
RUS
16%
-
CHN
23%
-
ISR
51%
Abstention: 9%
Key treaties UN Treaty Collection · IAEA · ICRC · OPCW
-
✓
NPT
-
✓
CTBT
-
✗
TPNW
-
✓
Rome Statute
-
✓
Genocide
-
✓
Geneva
-
✓
Ottawa Mine Ban
-
✓
Oslo Cluster Munitions
-
✓
Arms Trade Treaty
-
✓
Paris Agreement
Society · human UNDP HDI 2023 · World Bank · WID · UNHCR 2025
HDI
0.951/1
Gini
26.8
Refugees hosted
186,393
Refugees originating
113
National anthem
La Brabançonne
Alliances and organisations Institut · Wikidata
- UN
- NATO
- EU
- Eurozone
- Schengen Area
- OECD
- WTO
- Council of Europe
- OSCE
- Francophonie (OIF)
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Global attention Wikipedia · 90 days
The country's Wikipedia article is usually read 6,105 times a day (French and English). On 2026.10.07: 6,149, or ×1.0.
French + English French usual level 2026.07.10 · 2026.10.07 Wikimedia statistics (CC0), human users
Sources and freshness
- Executive, government, parliament, anthem · Wikidata (CC0) · 2026-10-08
- Economy · World Bank (CC BY 4.0) · 2025
- Indices and figures · V-Dem 2026 (OWID) · Freedom House 2026 (OWID) · Transparency International CPI 2025 · RSF 2026 · PNUD IDH 2025 (OWID) · Banque mondiale Gini 2023 · UNHCR 2025 · SIPRI 2026 (OWID) · read on 2026-10-08
- Memberships · Wikidata (CC0) · 2026-10-08
- UN sanctions · Security Council consolidated list · list of 2026-10-07 · read on 2026-10-08
- Sanctions · US Treasury (OFAC), SDN and non-SDN lists · list of 2026-10-02 · read on 2026-10-08
- Sanctions · United Kingdom, UK Sanctions List (FCDO) · list of 2026-10-07 · read on 2026-10-08
- Sanctions · European Union, consolidated financial sanctions list · list of 2026-09-22 · read on 2026-10-08
- Institute dossier (sanctions, treaties, visits, capabilities) · as of 2026-05-01
- Summary · Wikipédia (CC BY-SA 4.0)