Public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % GDP in Belgium
Belgium: Public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % GDP was 10.72 Percentage of GDP in 2021. ▲ Rising
Public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % GDP in Belgium, 1980–2021
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage of GDP.
Analysis
In 2021, public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % gdp in Belgium stood at 10.72 Percentage of GDP.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 6.5% on the previous year and up 6.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % gdp in Belgium peaked at 11.47 Percentage of GDP in 2020 and was at its lowest, 8.76 Percentage of GDP, in 2007.
That places Belgium 9th out of 33 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 42 years of available data.
Public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % GDP in Belgium, year by year
| Year | Percentage of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 9.07 Percentage of GDP | — |
| 1981 | 9.59 Percentage of GDP | +5.7% |
| 1982 | 9.64 Percentage of GDP | +0.6% |
| 1983 | 9.85 Percentage of GDP | +2.2% |
| 1984 | 9.55 Percentage of GDP | -3.1% |
| 1985 | 9.49 Percentage of GDP | -0.6% |
| 1986 | 9.52 Percentage of GDP | +0.3% |
| 1987 | 9.43 Percentage of GDP | -0.9% |
| 1988 | 9.6 Percentage of GDP | +1.8% |
| 1989 | 9.3 Percentage of GDP | -3.1% |
| 1990 | 9.36 Percentage of GDP | +0.6% |
| 1991 | 9.67 Percentage of GDP | +3.4% |
| 1992 | 9.78 Percentage of GDP | +1.1% |
| 1993 | 10 Percentage of GDP | +2.3% |
| 1994 | 9.83 Percentage of GDP | -1.7% |
| 1995 | 9.55 Percentage of GDP | -2.8% |
| 1996 | 9.68 Percentage of GDP | +1.3% |
| 1997 | 9.48 Percentage of GDP | -2.0% |
| 1998 | 9.42 Percentage of GDP | -0.7% |
| 1999 | 9.26 Percentage of GDP | -1.7% |
| 2000 | 9.08 Percentage of GDP | -1.9% |
| 2001 | 9.17 Percentage of GDP | +1.0% |
| 2002 | 9.2 Percentage of GDP | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 9.27 Percentage of GDP | +0.8% |
| 2004 | 9.16 Percentage of GDP | -1.1% |
| 2005 | 9.16 Percentage of GDP | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 9.1 Percentage of GDP | -0.7% |
| 2007 | 8.76 Percentage of GDP | -3.7% |
| 2008 | 9.36 Percentage of GDP | +6.9% |
| 2009 | 9.98 Percentage of GDP | +6.6% |
| 2010 | 9.89 Percentage of GDP | -0.9% |
| 2011 | 10.05 Percentage of GDP | +1.6% |
| 2012 | 9.95 Percentage of GDP | -1.0% |
| 2013 | 10.28 Percentage of GDP | +3.2% |
| 2014 | 10.31 Percentage of GDP | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 10.57 Percentage of GDP | +2.5% |
| 2016 | 10.42 Percentage of GDP | -1.5% |
| 2017 | 10.59 Percentage of GDP | +1.6% |
| 2018 | 10.63 Percentage of GDP | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 10.66 Percentage of GDP | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 11.47 Percentage of GDP | +7.6% |
| 2021 | 10.72 Percentage of GDP | -6.5% |
Belgium compared with similar countries
- Belgium's 10.72 Percentage of GDP is above the median for high income countries, which is 7.99 Percentage of GDP, 1.3× the median. (29 countries reporting)
- Belgium's 10.72 Percentage of GDP is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 8.85 Percentage of GDP, 1.2× the median. (21 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 9.5 Percentage of GDP | 9.07 Percentage of GDP | 9.85 Percentage of GDP | 10 |
| 1990s | 9.6 Percentage of GDP | 9.26 Percentage of GDP | 10 Percentage of GDP | 10 |
| 2000s | 9.22 Percentage of GDP | 8.76 Percentage of GDP | 9.98 Percentage of GDP | 10 |
| 2010s | 10.34 Percentage of GDP | 9.89 Percentage of GDP | 10.66 Percentage of GDP | 10 |
| 2020s | 11.1 Percentage of GDP | 10.72 Percentage of GDP | 11.47 Percentage of GDP | 2 |
Countries ranked near Belgium
- 6 Netherlands 6.44 Percentage of GDP compare
- 6 Spain 12.28 Percentage of GDP compare
- 7 Finland 12.18 Percentage of GDP compare
- 7 Türkiye 6.08 Percentage of GDP compare
- 8 Germany 10.79 Percentage of GDP compare
- 10 Japan 9.15 Percentage of GDP compare
- 11 Bulgaria 8.9 Percentage of GDP compare
- 12 Romania 8.85 Percentage of GDP compare
More economy & growth data for Belgium
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 1.04 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 1.25 Percent per annum (2029)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), gaps -19.31 billion BoP, current US$ (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per unit -0.0266 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net outflows (BoP, current US$), per capita -1,617 BoP, current US$ per person (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), gaps filled -28.79 billion BoP, current US$ (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), annual 30.39 % change on previous year (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per unit -0.0397 BoP, current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$), per capita -2,411 BoP, current US$ per person (2025)
- Total reserves (includes gold, current US$), annual growth rate 33.22 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % gdp in Belgium?
- Public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % gdp in Belgium was 10.72 Percentage of GDP in 2021, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
- What is the highest public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % gdp recorded in Belgium?
- The highest recorded value was 11.47 Percentage of GDP in 2020.
- What is the lowest public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % gdp recorded in Belgium?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.76 Percentage of GDP in 2007.
- How does Belgium rank for public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % gdp?
- Belgium ranks 9th out of 33 countries with data for 2021.
- Is public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % gdp rising or falling in Belgium?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.7%. 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 Public expenditure on old-age and survivors cash benefits in % GDP — Social expenditure. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
The OECD Social Expenditure Database (SOCX) has been developed in order to serve a growing need for indicators of social policy. It includes reliable and internationally comparable statistics on public and mandatory and voluntary private social expenditure at programme level. SOCX provides a unique tool for monitoring trends in aggregate social expenditure and analysing changes in its composition. It covers 38 OECD countries and some accession countries for the period 1980-2021/23 and estimates for aggregates for 2022-24. A Social Expenditure Update can be found under www.oecd.org/en/data/datasets/social-expenditure-database-socx.htm. The main social policy areas are as follows: Old age, Survivors, Incapacity-related benefits, Health, Family, Active labor market programmes, Unemployment, Housing, and Other social policy areas. This version also includes estimates of net total social spending for 2021 for 38 OECD countries. SOCX aggregated data as well as sources and methodology are described in The OECD SOCX Manual – 2019 edition- A guide to the OECD Social Expenditure Database.