Economic Outlook No 114 — Total employment in Belgium

Belgium: Economic Outlook No 114 — Total employment was 5.29 million in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
5.29 million
Change on year
up 0.8%
World rank
19th
of 35 countries
All-time high
5.29 million
in 2025
All-time low
3.56 million
in 1960
Years of data
66
1960–2025

Economic Outlook No 114 — Total employment in Belgium, 1960–2025

02.0M4.0M6.0M196019922025

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Analysis

Belgium recorded 5.29 million for economic outlook no 114 — total employment in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.

The figure is up 0.8% on the previous year and up 12.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, economic outlook no 114 — total employment in Belgium peaked at 5.29 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 3.56 million, in 1960.

Belgium ranks 19th of 35 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.

Economic Outlook No 114 — Total employment in Belgium, year by year

Annual values for Economic Outlook No 114 — Total employment (labour force survey basis) in Belgium, 1960 to 2025.
Year Value Change
1960 3.56 million
1961 3.59 million +0.8%
1962 3.64 million +1.6%
1963 3.67 million +0.7%
1964 3.72 million +1.4%
1965 3.74 million +0.4%
1966 3.75 million +0.4%
1967 3.74 million -0.4%
1968 3.73 million -0.1%
1969 3.80 million +1.7%
1970 3.80 million +0.1%
1971 3.82 million +0.7%
1972 3.82 million -0.2%
1973 3.85 million +0.8%
1974 3.91 million +1.6%
1975 3.86 million -1.4%
1976 3.84 million -0.5%
1977 3.82 million -0.4%
1978 3.83 million +0.2%
1979 3.87 million +1.0%
1980 3.86 million -0.2%
1981 3.79 million -1.9%
1982 3.74 million -1.3%
1983 3.69 million -1.3%
1984 3.69 million -0.1%
1985 3.71 million +0.5%
1986 3.73 million +0.7%
1987 3.76 million +0.8%
1988 3.83 million +1.9%
1989 3.89 million +1.5%
1990 3.93 million +1.1%
1991 3.95 million +0.3%
1992 3.94 million -0.2%
1993 3.91 million -0.6%
1994 3.90 million -0.4%
1995 3.93 million +0.7%
1996 3.94 million +0.3%
1997 3.97 million +0.7%
1998 4.04 million +1.8%
1999 4.09 million +1.4%
2000 4.17 million +2.0%
2001 4.23 million +1.4%
2002 4.24 million +0.3%
2003 4.24 million -0.1%
2004 4.28 million +1.0%
2005 4.35 million +1.4%
2006 4.40 million +1.2%
2007 4.47 million +1.7%
2008 4.55 million +1.8%
2009 4.54 million -0.1%
2010 4.57 million +0.7%
2011 4.63 million +1.3%
2012 4.65 million +0.4%
2013 4.64 million -0.3%
2014 4.66 million +0.4%
2015 4.70 million +0.9%
2016 4.76 million +1.2%
2017 4.83 million +1.6%
2018 4.90 million +1.5%
2019 4.98 million +1.6%
2020 4.98 million +0.0%
2021 5.07 million +1.9%
2022 5.18 million +2.0%
2023 5.22 million +0.8%
2024 5.25 million +0.5%
2025 5.29 million +0.8%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 3.69 million 3.56 million 3.80 million 10
1970s 3.84 million 3.80 million 3.91 million 10
1980s 3.77 million 3.69 million 3.89 million 10
1990s 3.96 million 3.90 million 4.09 million 10
2000s 4.35 million 4.17 million 4.55 million 10
2010s 4.73 million 4.57 million 4.98 million 10
2020s 5.16 million 4.98 million 5.29 million 6

Countries ranked near Belgium

  1. 16 Chile 9.46 million compare
  2. 17 Romania 7.52 million compare
  3. 18 Sweden 5.32 million compare
  4. 20 Czechia 5.09 million compare
  5. 21 Portugal 5.03 million compare
  6. 22 Switzerland 4.87 million compare

See the full ranking of 46 places →

More economy & growth data for Belgium

All data for Belgium →

Frequently asked questions

What is economic outlook no 114 — total employment in Belgium?
Economic outlook no 114 — total employment in Belgium was 5.29 million in 2025, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest economic outlook no 114 — total employment recorded in Belgium?
The highest recorded value was 5.29 million in 2025.
What is the lowest economic outlook no 114 — total employment recorded in Belgium?
The lowest recorded value was 3.56 million in 1960.
How does Belgium rank for economic outlook no 114 — total employment?
Belgium ranks 19th out of 35 countries with data for 2025.
Is economic outlook no 114 — total employment rising or falling in Belgium?
Over the last ten years it is up 12.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Belgium data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Economic Outlook No 114 — Total employment (labour force survey basis). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Economic Outlook No 114 — Total employment in Belgium. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 06 September 2026, from https://economy.statizoid.com/stat/economic-outlook-no-114-total-employment-labour-force-survey-basis/belgium/

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About this data

Indicator
Economic Outlook No 114 — Total employment (labour force survey basis)
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
46 places, 2,067 data points, 1960–2025
Last refreshed

The OECD Economic Outlook presents the OECD’s analysis of the major global economic trends and prospects for the next two years. The Outlook puts forward a consistent set of projections for output, employment, government spending, prices and current balances based on a review of each member country and of the induced effect on each of them on international developments. EO114 Database inventory EO114 Last historical points OECD Economic Outlook website: https://www.oecd.org/economic-outlook/ Contact: eco.outlook@oecd.org