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The key indicators of the Belgian economy, taken directly from official statistics, and what they mean for a business. Hover over the charts to read each value.

Data extracted on 31 October 2026Eurostat · Statbel · NBB · ECB
Inflation, Sep 2026
4.5%
Euro area: 3.8% · year on year
Source : Eurostat, HICP
GDP growth, 2026-T3
+0.3%
Year on year: +0.7% · volume, seasonally adjusted
Source : Eurostat, quarterly accounts
Unemployment, Sep 2026
6.0%
Euro area: 6.5% · labour force
Source : Eurostat, labour force survey
ECB deposit rate
2.5%
Since 16 September 2026
Source : European Central Bank

Inflation: Belgium and the euro area

Harmonised index of consumer prices, year-on-year change, %

BelgiumEuro area
-5051020232024202520264,5 %3,8 %

Source : Eurostat, Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), annual rate ↗, dataset prc_hicp_manr (jusqu'à 2025) et prc_hicp_minr (depuis 2026), updated on 16 October 2026. Euro area: aggregate published by Eurostat (20 countries until 2025, 21 since Bulgaria joined).

View the data
MonthBelgium (%)Euro area (%)
Jan 20237.48.7
Feb 20235.48.5
Mar 20234.96.9
Apr 20233.37
May 20232.76.1
Jun 20231.65.5
Jul 20231.75.3
Aug 20232.45.2
Sep 20230.74.3
Oct 2023-1.72.9
Nov 2023-0.82.4
Dec 20230.52.9
Jan 20241.52.8
Feb 20243.62.6
Mar 20243.82.4
Apr 20244.92.4
May 20244.92.6
Jun 20245.42.5
Jul 20245.42.6
Aug 20244.32.2
Sep 20244.31.7
Oct 20244.52
Nov 20244.82.2
Dec 20244.42.4
Jan 20254.42.5
Feb 20254.42.3
Mar 20253.62.2
Apr 20253.12.2
May 20252.81.9
Jun 20252.92
Jul 20252.62
Aug 20252.62
Sep 20252.72.2
Oct 20252.52.1
Nov 20252.62.1
Dec 20252.22
Jan 20261.41.7
Feb 20261.41.9
Mar 20262.22.6
Apr 20264.23
May 202643.2
Jun 20263.32.7
Jul 20263.62.9
Aug 20264.23.2
Sep 20264.53.8

What is pushing prices up

Inflation by item in Belgium, September 2026, year on year

Electricity, gas and other fuels
+29,1 %
Housing, water, energy
+12,9 %
Transport
+8,9 %
Restaurants and hotels
+3,8 %
Health
+3,6 %
Food and non-alcoholic drinks
-0,4 %

Source : Eurostat, Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), annual rate ↗, dataset prc_hicp_manr (jusqu'à 2025) et prc_hicp_minr (depuis 2026), updated on 16 October 2026.

Prices

Prices are rising again, and energy is the cause.

In Sep 2026, prices in Belgium are up 4.5% year on year, against 3.8% in the euro area. At the start of the year, the increase was only 1.4%.

The gap comes mainly from energy: electricity, gas and other fuels cost 29.1% more than a year ago, while food is stable. For a Belgian business, this increase does not stay a mere purchasing cost for long: through automatic indexation, it feeds into wages, at the pace set by each joint committee. Today's inflation therefore signals tomorrow's wage costs.

Who is affected: energy-intensive businesses (hospitality, transport, industry), those with a heavy payroll, and anyone working at fixed prices over several months.

  • Check that your long-term contracts and quotes include a price indexation clause.
  • Estimate now the effect of the next wage indexation on your budget.
  • Compare your energy contracts before they expire.

Growth of the Belgian economy

GDP in volume, change on the previous quarter, %

00,511,5202220232024202520260,3 %

Source : Eurostat, Quarterly GDP in volume, seasonally adjusted ↗, dataset namq_10_gdp, updated on 30 October 2026. The latest quarter is a flash estimate and may be revised.

View the data
QuarterQuarter on quarter (%)Year on year (%)
2022-T10.65.1
2022-T21.14.7
2022-T30.73.5
2022-T40.32.8
2023-T10.32.5
2023-T20.31.6
2023-T30.21.1
2023-T40.41.2
2024-T10.31.2
2024-T20.10.9
2024-T30.20.9
2024-T40.10.6
2025-T10.40.7
2025-T20.30.9
2025-T30.31
2025-T40.11
2026-T10.20.8
2026-T20.10.7
2026-T30.30.7
Activity

Growth is moving in slow motion.

The Belgian economy grew +0.3% in 2026-T3 and +0.7% year on year. Since 2023, quarterly growth has hovered between 0.1% and 0.4%: far from the 2022 rebound.

In practice, demand is not disappearing, but it is barely growing. Winning market share costs more, and customers are watching their spending more closely, which often means slower payments.

Who is affected: businesses that depend on domestic consumption, retail, hospitality, construction, and those considering a loan-financed investment.

  • Build your budget on cautious volume assumptions.
  • Look for margin in prices and costs rather than in volume growth.
  • Keep a close eye on your customers' payment times.

Labour market

Unemployment rate, % of the labour force, seasonally adjusted

BelgiumEuro area
55,566,5720232024202520266,0 %6,5 %

Source : Eurostat, Monthly unemployment rate, seasonally adjusted ↗, dataset une_rt_m, updated on 30 October 2026.

View the data
MonthBelgium (%)Euro area (%)
Jan 20235.66.7
Feb 20235.66.6
Mar 20235.66.5
Apr 20235.66.5
May 20235.76.5
Jun 20235.66.5
Jul 20235.46.6
Aug 20235.36.5
Sep 20235.46.6
Oct 20235.56.6
Nov 20235.56.5
Dec 20235.66.5
Jan 20245.66.5
Feb 20245.76.5
Mar 20245.66.4
Apr 20245.66.4
May 20245.66.4
Jun 20245.66.4
Jul 20245.76.4
Aug 20245.76.3
Sep 20245.86.3
Oct 20245.86.2
Nov 20245.86.2
Dec 202466.2
Jan 20256.16.3
Feb 20256.26.3
Mar 20256.16.3
Apr 20256.16.3
May 202566.3
Jun 20256.16.3
Jul 20256.16.3
Aug 20256.16.3
Sep 20256.36.3
Oct 20256.46.3
Nov 20256.46.3
Dec 20256.46.3
Jan 20266.36.3
Feb 20266.26.4
Mar 20266.26.4
Apr 20266.36.4
May 20266.36.4
Jun 20266.36.4
Jul 202666.5
Aug 20265.96.5
Sep 202666.5
Employment

Hiring is still hard.

Belgian unemployment has fallen back to 6.0% in Sep 2026, after peaking at 6.4% at the end of 2025. It remains below the euro area average (6.5%).

Relatively low unemployment means qualified candidates have a choice. For a small business, the cost of a vacancy or a departure is high: how you pay and retain people matters as much as the salary itself.

Who is affected: SMEs that are hiring, liberal professions looking for qualified staff, and sectors facing labour shortages.

  • Plan your hiring several months ahead.
  • Review your pay structure: benefits, variable pay, flexibility.
  • Measure what losing a key employee would cost, and act accordingly.

Bankruptcies and business registrations in Belgium

Index 2021 = 100, quarterly data, seasonally adjusted

BankruptciesRegistrations
5010015020020222023202420252026181,7107,1

Source : Eurostat, Business registrations and bankruptcy declarations, index 2021 = 100 ↗, dataset sts_rb_q, updated on 29 October 2026.

View the data
QuarterBankruptcies (index)Registrations (index)
2022-T1132.684.3
2022-T2153.793
2022-T3135.998.9
2022-T4144.681.3
2023-T1147.387.4
2023-T2162.383.4
2023-T3155.281.4
2023-T4164.484
2024-T1171.4105.2
2024-T2167.198.3
2024-T3175.494.9
2024-T4168.2102.3
2025-T1173.193.4
2025-T2179.898.3
2025-T3182.6107
2025-T4185.5111.9
2026-T1182.899
2026-T2181.7107.1
Customer risk

More bankruptcies: your invoices are more exposed.

In 2026-T2, bankruptcies are 82% above their 2021 level, while registrations are only 7% higher. 2021 was an abnormally low year, as pandemic support measures had postponed many bankruptcies; but the increase has continued since 2022.

For a small business, a single customer's bankruptcy can wipe out months of margin. That is exactly the role of credit control : knowing who owes you what, and acting before it is too late.

Who is affected: every business that invoices other businesses with payment terms, in other words, almost all of them.

  • Check a new customer's situation before granting payment terms: Crossroads Bank for Enterprises, annual accounts at the Central Balance Sheet Office.
  • Shorten payment terms for fragile customers or ask for a deposit.
  • Chase early: an invoice followed up from its due date is far more likely to be paid.

By sector: bankruptcies and registrations

Average of the last four quarters (2025-Q3 to 2026-Q2), index 2021 = 100

BankruptciesRegistrationsNiveau de 2021 (= 100)
Transport and logistics
215
146
Information and communication
213
121
Hospitality
194
127
Construction
194
87
Education, health, other services
182
114
Industry and energy
178
87
Retail and wholesale
167
79
Finance, real estate, business services
166
119

Source : Eurostat, Business registrations and bankruptcy declarations, index 2021 = 100 ↗, dataset sts_rb_q, updated on 29 October 2026. Average calculated by Nerval Partners from the published quarterly indices.

Which sectors are driving activity?

Value added in volume by industry, 2026-Q2, year on year (total: +0.8%)

Business services
+4,1 %
Information and communication
+3,0 %
Finance and insurance
+2,3 %
Agriculture
+2,0 %
Real estate
+1,9 %
Manufacturing
+1,1 %
Construction
+0,7 %
Arts, leisure and other services
+0,1 %
Trade, transport and hospitality
-0,3 %
Public administration, education, health
-0,8 %
Industry and energy
-1,2 %

Source : Eurostat, Gross value added by industry (A10), volume, year-on-year change ↗, dataset namq_10_a10, updated on 30 October 2026.

View the data
Industry2026-Q1 (%)2026-Q2 (%)
Business services1.44.1
Information and communication2.63
Finance and insurance3.72.3
Agriculture10.22
Real estate1.71.9
Manufacturing1.51.1
Construction0.90.7
Arts, leisure and other services1.70.1
Trade, transport and hospitality-0.9-0.3
Public administration, education, health0.6-0.8
Industry and energy-0.4-1.2
Sectors

Services are growing, construction and retail are struggling.

Transport, information and communication, hospitality and construction have about twice as many bankruptcies as in 2021. In the first three, registrations remain high: these are sectors where businesses come and go quickly, with constantly renewed competition. Construction, by contrast, combines many bankruptcies with few newcomers (index 87.4): the sign of a weakened sector.

On the activity side, growth comes from business services (+4.1% year on year), information and communication (+3.0%) and finance (+2.3%). Industry and energy (−1.2%) and trade, transport and hospitality (−0.3%) are declining. An environment that is rather favourable to liberal professions and B2B service providers, and harder for those selling to industry and retail. Across all sectors, the bankruptcy index stands at 183.2 and the registration index at 106.3.

Who is affected: businesses in these sectors, but also their suppliers: your customers may belong to a sector under strain.

  • Identify the share of your revenue earned with customers in the most fragile sectors.
  • Adapt your payment terms sector by sector.
  • In a growing sector, plan the resources (team, cash) to keep up with demand.

The cost of money

European Central Bank deposit facility rate, end of month, %

-2024202220232024202520262,50 %

Source : European Central Bank, Deposit facility rate ↗, dataset FM.D.U2.EUR.4F.KR.DFR.LEV, updated on 30 October 2026.

View the data
Date of changeRate (%)
01/01/2022-0.5
27/07/20220
14/09/20220.75
02/11/20221.5
21/12/20222
08/02/20232.5
22/03/20233
10/05/20233.25
21/06/20233.5
02/08/20233.75
20/09/20234
12/06/20243.75
18/09/20243.5
23/10/20243.25
18/12/20243
05/02/20252.75
12/03/20252.5
23/04/20252.25
11/06/20252
17/06/20262.25
16/09/20262.5
Financing

Borrowing is getting slightly more expensive again.

After cutting its deposit rate from 4% to 2% between June 2024 and June 2025, the European Central Bank raised it twice in 2026, to 2.5% since 16 September.

Banks pass this move on in their lending terms. A limited increase, but one that changes the maths of an investment financed over several years.

Who is affected: businesses with a variable-rate loan, an investment to finance or surplus cash to invest.

  • Review your variable-rate loans and their reset dates.
  • Get several banks to compete for any new financing.
  • Don't leave surplus cash idle: short-term deposits are paying again.

Sources

Data extracted on 31 October 2026.