Belgium

Belgium: High Debt Load Set Against Strong Governance Scores

Belgium's economy was worth $671.4 billion in 2024, per the World Bank's WDI data, with GDP per capita of $56,615 and a population of 11.9 million, both for the same year. The IMF's WEO projects government debt at 109.2% of GDP in 2026 — the highest debt projection among the countries reviewed in this batch.

Military and Fiscal Position

SIPRI's 2025 figures put Belgian military expenditure at $14.5 billion, or 2.009% of GDP under SIPRI's own GDP series; that share should not be recalculated against the World Bank GDP figure cited above, as the two series are not interchangeable. The IMF's IFS data list Belgium's reserves at $24.46 billion for 2025.

The COW NMC dataset lists 23,000 active personnel in 2022, with a CINC score of 0.0022 for the same year.

Governance

V-Dem's 2025 (v15) data give Belgium an electoral democracy score of 0.889, a liberal democracy score of 0.794, and a state capacity score of 0.964.

Energy

Per Our World in Data, Belgium's primary energy consumption was 2.319 exajoules in 2024, with 72.89 terawatt-hours of electricity generated in 2025. Oil and gas production are both listed at 0.0 TWh, dated 2016 — a figure nearly a decade old that should not be read as describing current output, though it is consistent with Belgium's position as a net energy importer.

Summary

The 109.2% debt-to-GDP projection for 2026 and reserves of $24.46 billion for 2025, both from IMF sources, are not explained further in the underlying data beyond the figures themselves. V-Dem's governance scores remain high — 0.889 on electoral democracy, 0.794 on liberal democracy, and 0.964 on state capacity, all for 2025. Military spending of $14.5 billion, or 2.009% of GDP under SIPRI's own series, and an active-personnel figure of 23,000 from COW NMC, place Belgium's force size and spending share in the middle of this batch's range.

Sources: World Bank WDI; IMF WEO; IMF IFS; SIPRI Milex; COW NMC; V-Dem v15; Our World in Data (Energy).