3.1% economic growth in Belgium in 2022

Belgium's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 3.1% in 2022. Household consumption and foreign trade in particular kept the engine running.

The Belgian economy grew by 0.1 per cent quarter-on-quarter in the fourth quarter of 2022, the Belgian National Bank confirmed on Tuesday, following an earlier flash estimate. This brings total Belgian GDP growth to 3.1 per cent in 2022.

Household spending grew by 4.3 per cent in 2022. Residential investment also remained positive throughout the year (+1.6 percent), but declined in the last quarter (-2.4 percent).

Public consumption grew in 2022 (+1.4 %), while public investment decreased by 6.9 %. Business investment fell by 1.7 per cent, although there was some growth in the final quarter (+0.5 per cent).

Over the year as a whole, the volume of exports (+4.6 %) grew faster than the volume of imports (+4.2 %). As a result, net exports of goods and services made a positive contribution of 0.4 percentage points to growth, according to the country's National Bank.

Just under 100,000 jobs were created in 2022: +99,500 persons or +2 per cent, comparable to job creation in 2021. 

^{The Port of Antwerp, Belgium © BELGA PHOTO JONAS ROOSENS}