Prosperity gap in Belgium
Belgium: Prosperity gap was 0.5306 in 2023. ▼ Falling
Prosperity gap in Belgium, 1985–2023
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2023, prosperity gap in Belgium stood at 0.5306. That is the lowest value across all 27 years on record.
The figure is down 0.6% on the previous year and down 25.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, prosperity gap in Belgium peaked at 1.57 in 1992 and was at its lowest, 0.5306, in 2023.
Belgium ranks 117th of 120 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 27 years of available data.
Prosperity gap in Belgium, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 1.04 | — |
| 1988 | 1.29 | +24.0% |
| 1992 | 1.57 | +22.3% |
| 1995 | 1.05 | -33.1% |
| 1997 | 0.9391 | -10.8% |
| 2000 | 0.931 | -0.9% |
| 2003 | 0.8047 | -13.6% |
| 2004 | 0.6454 | -19.8% |
| 2005 | 0.7392 | +14.5% |
| 2006 | 0.7196 | -2.7% |
| 2007 | 0.6817 | -5.3% |
| 2008 | 0.6555 | -3.8% |
| 2009 | 0.6469 | -1.3% |
| 2010 | 0.6902 | +6.7% |
| 2011 | 0.686 | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 0.711 | +3.6% |
| 2013 | 0.712 | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 0.6246 | -12.3% |
| 2015 | 0.617 | -1.2% |
| 2016 | 0.6359 | +3.1% |
| 2017 | 0.6599 | +3.8% |
| 2018 | 0.6073 | -8.0% |
| 2019 | 0.5887 | -3.1% |
| 2020 | 0.5453 | -7.4% |
| 2021 | 0.5352 | -1.9% |
| 2022 | 0.534 | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 0.5306 | -0.6% |
Belgium compared with similar countries
- Belgium's 0.5306 is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.08, 49% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
- Belgium's 0.5306 is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.29, 41% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 1.16 | 1.04 | 1.29 | 2 |
| 1990s | 1.19 | 0.9391 | 1.57 | 3 |
| 2000s | 0.728 | 0.6454 | 0.931 | 8 |
| 2010s | 0.6533 | 0.5887 | 0.712 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.5363 | 0.5306 | 0.5453 | 4 |
Countries ranked near Belgium
- 114 Cyprus 0.6079 compare
- 115 Iceland 0.5892 compare
- 116 Norway 0.5522 compare
- 118 Netherlands 0.5081 compare
- 119 Switzerland 0.4829 compare
- 120 Luxembourg 0.4062 compare
More reference data data for Belgium
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.9298 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.291 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.09 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1382 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.09 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.12 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.93 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.61 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 10.4 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.7526 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is prosperity gap in Belgium?
- Prosperity gap in Belgium was 0.5306 in 2023, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest prosperity gap recorded in Belgium?
- The highest recorded value was 1.57 in 1992.
- What is the lowest prosperity gap recorded in Belgium?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5306 in 2023.
- How does Belgium rank for prosperity gap?
- Belgium ranks 117th out of 120 countries with data for 2023.
- Is prosperity gap rising or falling in Belgium?
- Over the last ten years it is down 25.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Belgium data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Prosperity gap. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Average factor by which incomes need to be multiplied to bring everyone to the prosperity standard of $28 per person per day.