Our Market

Below provides a profile of the Western Europe regional market overall, and interesting facts and information about issues important to both Belgium and foreign executives working in Brussels.

Geographic Profile
Belgium is situated in the west of Europe, bordered to the north by the Netherlands, to the east by Germany and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and to the south and the west by France. Although its surface area of 30,528 km2 makes it a small country, its strategic location has made it the economic and urban nerve centre of Europe.

The geography of Belgium shows it to have three major areas: lower Belgium (up to 100m above sea level), central Belgium (between 100 and 200m above sea level) and upper Belgium (from 200 to over 500m above sea level).

Belgium is located in the geographical center of the European manufacturing industry with Antwerp as the worldwide harbor for finished goods with a hinterland till Vladivostok. 

In a circle of 250 km around Brussels, Belgium has the highest concentration of Universities (at least 14) in the world.

Brussels is a multi-language city, where the world meets every day. Brussels is less than two hours from Paris or London and three hours from Frankfurt. Each working day 25.000 people are commuting in each direction between Brussels and Paris!

However, in addition to the foreign presence within Belgium, Belgium is also well represented abroad. Belgium is an exporting country today, but it has always had an active foreign policy. Our country has 132 diplomatic and consular posts abroad, as well as a number of offices representing Communities and Regions.

Total Area
30.528 km2

Population
10.584.534 (2007)

Official Language
Dutch, French and German

Political Structure
Belgium is a kingdom and a federal state, composed of 3 communities and 3 regions

Capital
Brussels

Currency
Euro

Market Profile
Belgium's strongly globalized economy and its transportation infrastructure are integrated with the rest of Europe. Its location at the heart of a highly industrialized region helps made it 2007 the world's 15th largest trading nation. The economy is characterized by a highly productive work force, high GNP, and high exports per capita. Belgium's main imports are food products, machinery, rough diamonds, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, clothing and accessories, and textiles. Its main exports are automobiles, food products, iron and steel, finished diamonds, textiles, plastics, petroleum products, and nonferrous metals. The Belgian economy is heavily service-oriented. One of the founding members of the European Union, Belgium strongly supports an open economy and the extension of the powers of EU institutions to integrate member economies. Since 1922, Belgium and Luxembourg have been a single trade market within a customs and currency union: the Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union.

Some of the key characteristics of the Belgium Market are :

Money and Capital Market: The Brussels Stock Exchange (BSE) is the most important stock exchange in Belgium and on September 22, 2000 BSE merged with Paris Bourse and the stock exchanges of Amsterdam to give rise to Euronext N.V, the first pan-European exchange for equities and derivatives and was later renamed to Euronext Brussels . The most popular index on the exchange is BEL 20. The Belgian banking system plays an important central role in the economy; however modernization and reorganization have also occurred within this sector. This has been facilitated by the further development of the ISABEL (Interbank Standards Association Belgium) system in 1998.

Labor Market : The social security system in Belgium has expanded rapidly through the 1950's and the 1960's and the present system includes a medical coverage, unemployment insurance coverage, child allowances and other benefits and pension schemes. According to the latest estimates of 2005, Belgium had a relatively high unemployment rate of 8.4% . However, the problem for the Belgian economy has been the low participation of the working-age population into the workforce. Labor market reforms are even more essential with the ageing of the population, although employment of older workers remains low by international standards. However, government policies have prompted the employment of labor to increase since 2004, but the unemployment persists with the geographical differences in the unemployment rates.

Agriculture : The country has well-watered soil although agriculture engages only a small portion of the population. Apart from the chief agricultural crops such as wheat, oats, rye, barley and potatoes, cattle raising is also an important occupation. Processed foods include beet sugar and cheese and also various other dairy products. However, foodstuffs, food grains, fuels and chemical products are mainly on the import list. Total imports according to 2006 estimates amounted to $ 333.5 billion with Netherlands being the prime source of imports totaling 17.8% of the total imports.

Industry and Logistics : Exports include iron and steel, transportation equipment, tractors, diamonds (Antwerp is a major diamond cutting centre) and petroleum products. Other industries include cement and glass production and processing of leather and wood. Belgium is heavily dependent on nuclear power with over 75% of its electricity generated from nuclear power. However, the Belgian economy is dependent on imports for most of the raw materials used in industries . Imports include iron while nonferrous metal products such as zinc, copper, lead and tin are also made from imported raw materials. According to 2006 estimates, exports of industrial products accounted for $335.3 billion. Germany was the most favored export destination with 19.4% of the total exports reaching that country. Belgium has developed itself through its central location into a major logistics hub within Europe. The port of Antwerp is the 2nd largest in Europe behind Rotterdam.