Belgium  

Inflation and unemployment rates remain low at 2% and 8%, respectively, and workers have access to the second largest amount of physical capital, such as offices, factories, and production machinery. Belgium ranks in the middle for savings and expenditure rates. The banking indicators, such as interest rate spreads and the percentage of non-performing loans, are 1.3 percentage points and 1.2%, respectively, pointing towards a strong financial sector. Raw materials export concentration is low, with Belgium ranking in the top 25 for this measure, indicating an economy focused on high valueadded manufactured products and services.

Barriers to entry, in terms of number of procedures required to start a business, are very low and this is reflected in the high number of new businesses registered in 2007. Although Belgium ranks high at 13 out of 104 countries for internet bandwidth, it ranks lower in other technology measures: there are only 417 personal computers per 1,000 people with a similarly low number of secure internet servers, suggesting some weaknesses in the country’s technology infrastructure. ICT and high-tech exports are both very low, ranking the country as 38th and 42nd, respectively. R&D expenditure is only 1% of Belgium’s GDP, which suggests that Belgium’s innovation-based economy is somewhat lacking. However, as one of the top 10 in the world in terms of royalty receipts, Belgians are able to capitalise on their intellectual property. Value added in the service industry is high, putting Belgium in the top 10 on this variable.

Belgian citizens enjoy excellent political rights and civil liberties. The highly democratic political system boasts multiple parties competing in free and fair democratic elections, at both executive and legislative levels. Belgium has the strongest constraints of any country in place to prevent political leaders from acting rashly or arbitrarily. For instance, the judiciary is independent from other branches of government. Belgium has a high level of political stability, with the current system having been in place since the end of World War II.

Belgium has extremely high levels of primary school enrolment, and these students benefit from a ratio of one teacher for every 11 students. It is ranked 11th with regards to gross secondary school enrolment, and there is near gender equity at the secondary level, with 98 girls enrolled for every 100 boys. Tertiary enrolment rates are also rather high at 63%, explaining the high level of tertiary schooling per worker. Belgian workers have had on average 4.9 years of secondary and 4.7 years of tertiary schooling, suggesting good levels of human capital.

Belgian citizens can look forward to a long healthy life according to their average life expectancies. Infant mortality is low, with only four deaths in infancy out of every thousand births. Other health concerns associated with poverty are also minimal: 85% of those questioned were satisfied with the quality of their water*, and malnourishment is very low, with only 3% deemed as undernourished. More than a quarter of people reported experiencing pain the day before this was asked.* While one in four considers himself/herself to have health problems, 86% of Belgians report satisfaction with their health.* While there is a scarcity of hospital beds with only 53 per 10,000 people, there is a very high number of doctors and nurses per 1,000 capita, putting Belgium 5th for this variable.

Overall, Belgium’s domestic security is largely incident free. Significant challenges are caused by groups with a legacy of ethnic or social discrimination, but even this is on the lower end of the spectrum. Belgian citizens benefit from a low homicide rate at only two deaths per 100,000. In addition, only 14% of respondents had property stolen in 2008, and only 6% reported having been assaulted or mugged in the same time frame.* These low values are reflected in the high number of those reporting that they feel safe walking alone at night.*

Belgium ranks very highly for both rule of law and regulatory quality, indicating that commercial regulation and legal enforcement are applied with fairness and even-handedness. It ranks 17th for government effectiveness, signifying that the civil service is efficient in its actions. People have confidence in the country’s elections,* which have been deemed free and fair. However, over half of survey respondents perceived widespread corruption in both the government and in businesses: 65% and 67%, respectively.* At 45th, confidence in the military is rather low compared to other European countries.*

Citizens of Belgium enjoy the highest levels of personal freedom. They are at liberty to exercise and practise their religious beliefs, to speak without fear of government censorship, and to travel freely. Four out of five Belgians are tolerant of ethnic minorities, and 83% believe that Belgium is a good place to live for immigrants.* Belgians report an extremely high level of satisfaction with the freedom of choice in their daily lives.*

Only 31% of Belgians believe that people are intrinsically trustworthy, although trust in friends and family was high in comparison, with 93% of respondents believing they could rely on this group*. Additionally, the percentages of people who had donated time, effort, or money into helping others were all near the global average: 44% of respondents had donated money, 27% had volunteered, and 42% had helped a stranger.* Religion plays a minimal role in the lives of most Belgians, demonstrated by the country’s rank of 80 in the self-reported religiosity indicator.*

* Data taken from the Gallup World Poll

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