Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Belgium instead of Netherlands, you would:

Economy

be 15.2% less likely to live below the poverty line

In Netherlands, 14.5% live below the poverty line as of 2021. In Belgium, however, that number is 12.3% as of 2022.

be 54.8% more likely to be unemployed

In Netherlands, 3.6% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Belgium, that number is 5.5% as of 2023.

Life

be 25.0% more likely to die during childbirth

In Netherlands, approximately 4.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Belgium, 5.0 women do as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 26.4% more on education

Netherlands spends 5.3% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Belgium spends 6.7% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

Geography

see 85.3% less coastline

Netherlands has a total of 451 km of coastline. In Belgium, that number is 66 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

Belgium: At a glance

Belgium is a sovereign country in Europe, with a total land area of approximately 30,278 sq km. Belgium became independent from the Netherlands in 1830; it was occupied by Germany during World Wars I and II. The country prospered in the past half century as a modern, technologically advanced European state and member of NATO and the EU. Political divisions between the Dutch-speaking Flemings of the north and the French-speaking Walloons of the south have led in recent years to constitutional amendments granting these regions formal recognition and autonomy. Its capital, Brussels, is home to numerous international organizations including the EU and NATO.
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How big is Belgium compared to Netherlands? See an in-depth size comparison.

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