Belgium
BE
Belgium vs Netherlands
Compare Belgium and Netherlands using 17 indicators with exactly comparable years.
Compare Belgium and Netherlands using 17 indicators with exactly comparable years.
Netherlands
NL
Shared indicators
17
Belgium better
6
Netherlands better
10
Tie
1
Belgium(BE)
Indicators comparison
Netherlands(NL)
6.2%
Unemployment rate
i
Measures unemployed people as a percentage of the labour force aged 15 to 74.
Interpretation: Lower values indicate a more favorable outcome.
Eurostat ↗Better outcomeBetter: Netherlands
3.9%
11%
Jobless Households
i
Measures people aged 0 to 64 living in households where working-age members worked 20% or less of their combined potential working time during the previous year. Eurostat excludes specified groups such as certain students and retired people from the work-intensity calculation.
Interpretation: Lower values indicate a more favorable outcome.
Eurostat ↗Better outcomeBetter: Netherlands
7.8%
5.1%
Housing & Utility Bill Arrears
i
Measures the share of people living in households with arrears on mortgage or rent payments, utility bills, or hire-purchase instalments.
Interpretation: Lower values indicate a more favorable outcome.
Eurostat ↗Better outcomeBetter: Netherlands
3.5%
102.4 index
Home Price Affordability
i
Measures the relationship between house prices and household income as a standardised index, with the long-term average set to 100. Values above 100 indicate that house prices are high relative to income compared with that long-term average.
Interpretation: Lower values indicate a more favorable outcome.
Eurostat ↗Better outcomeBetter: Belgium
108.4 index
6.7%
Housing Affordability
i
Measures the share of people living in households where total housing costs exceed 40% of disposable household income.
Interpretation: Lower values indicate a more favorable outcome.
Eurostat ↗Better outcomeBetter: Netherlands
6.5%
6.6%
Overcrowded Housing
i
Measures the share of people living in a dwelling with fewer rooms than required under the Eurostat overcrowding standard. The minimum number of rooms depends on household composition and the ages of its members.
Interpretation: Lower values indicate a more favorable outcome.
Eurostat ↗Better outcomeBetter: Netherlands
4.1%
4.2%
Energy Poverty / Cold Homes
i
Measures the share of people living in households that cannot afford to keep their home adequately warm.
Interpretation: Lower values indicate a more favorable outcome.
Eurostat ↗Better outcomeBetter: Belgium
6.6%
114
GDP per Capita
i
Measures GDP per inhabitant after adjusting for differences in price levels between countries using purchasing power standards (PPS). The EU27 average is set to 100, so values above or below 100 indicate a level above or below the EU average for that year. The index is primarily intended for cross-country comparison and changes over time should not be interpreted as real GDP growth.
Interpretation: Higher values indicate a more favorable outcome.
Eurostat ↗Better outcomeBetter: Netherlands
133
23.4 index
Income Inequality (Gini Index)
i
Measures inequality in the distribution of equivalised disposable income. A value of 0 represents complete equality and 100 represents maximum inequality.
Interpretation: Lower values indicate a more favorable outcome.
Eurostat ↗Better outcomeBetter: Belgium
25.9 index
3.25 ratio
Income Inequality (Rich-Poor Gap)
i
Measures the ratio between the total equivalised disposable income received by the highest-income 20% of the population and that received by the lowest-income 20%. A ratio of 5 means the top fifth receives five times as much income as the bottom fifth.
Interpretation: Lower values indicate a more favorable outcome.
Eurostat ↗Better outcomeBetter: Belgium
3.76 ratio
10.9%
Poverty Rate
i
Measures the share of people whose equivalised disposable income after social transfers is below 60% of the national median. It is a relative-income measure rather than a measure of absolute poverty.
Interpretation: Lower values indicate a more favorable outcome.
Eurostat ↗Better outcomeBetter: Belgium
13.4%
16.5%
Poverty & Social Exclusion Risk
i
Measures the share of people experiencing at least one of three conditions: risk of poverty after social transfers, severe material and social deprivation, or living in a household with very low work intensity. People meeting more than one condition are counted only once.
Interpretation: Lower values indicate a more favorable outcome.
Eurostat ↗Better outcomeBetter: Netherlands
15.8%
22.1%
Financial Vulnerability
i
Measures the share of people living in households that cannot afford to meet an unexpected necessary financial expense from their available resources.
Interpretation: Lower values indicate a more favorable outcome.
Eurostat ↗Better outcomeBetter: Netherlands
15.3%
82.4 years
Life Expectancy
i
Measures the average number of years a newborn would live if the age-specific mortality conditions observed in the reference period remained applicable throughout life.
Interpretation: Higher values indicate a more favorable outcome.
Eurostat ↗Better outcomeBetter: Belgium
81.9 years
9.4%
Material and Social Deprivation
i
Measures the share of people who, because they cannot afford them, lack at least 5 of 13 specified material or social items considered relevant to an adequate standard of living.
Interpretation: Lower values indicate a more favorable outcome.
Eurostat ↗Better outcomeBetter: Netherlands
5.9%
2.1 rooms/person
Housing Space per Person
i
Measures the average number of rooms available in a household relative to the number of people living there, using Eurostat rules on which habitable spaces count as rooms.
Interpretation: Higher values indicate a more favorable outcome.
Eurostat ↗Better outcomeBetter: Tie
2.1 rooms/person
4.9%
Severe Material Deprivation
i
Measures the share of people who, because they cannot afford them, lack at least 7 of the 13 material or social items used in the Eurostat material and social deprivation framework.
Interpretation: Lower values indicate a more favorable outcome.
Eurostat ↗Better outcomeBetter: Netherlands
2.6%
Indicative result based on the count of shared indicators. Each indicator uses the latest exact year available for both countries, and no weighted composite score is applied.
View data table
| Indicator | Country A value | Country B value | Better outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate | 6.2% | 3.9% | Netherlands |
| Persons living in households with very low work intensity (0 to 64 years) | 11% | 7.8% | Netherlands |
| Arrears on housing or utility bills | 5.1% | 3.5% | Netherlands |
| House price to income ratio | 102.4 index | 108.4 index | Belgium |
| Housing cost overburden rate | 6.7% | 6.5% | Netherlands |
| Overcrowding rate | 6.6% | 4.1% | Netherlands |
| Inability to keep home adequately warm | 4.2% | 6.6% | Belgium |
| GDP per capita in PPS | 114 | 133 | Netherlands |
| Gini coefficient | 23.4 index | 25.9 index | Belgium |
| Income quintile share ratio S80/S20 | 3.25 ratio | 3.76 ratio | Belgium |
| At-risk-of-poverty rate | 10.9% | 13.4% | Belgium |
| Persons at risk of poverty or social exclusion | 16.5% | 15.8% | Netherlands |
| Inability to face unexpected financial expenses | 22.1% | 15.3% | Netherlands |
| Life expectancy at birth | 82.4 years | 81.9 years | Belgium |
| Material and social deprivation rate | 9.4% | 5.9% | Netherlands |
| Average number of rooms per person | 2.1 rooms/person | 2.1 rooms/person | Tie |
| Severe material and social deprivation rate | 4.9% | 2.6% | Netherlands |
Poverty & Financial Hardship: mixed signals
Belgium has the more favorable reading on Poverty Rate, while Netherlands has it on Financial Vulnerability. Both are on the favorable side of the European benchmark for Poverty Rate. Both are on the favorable side of the European benchmark for Financial Vulnerability.
Topic: Poverty & Financial Hardship
Primary indicator: Poverty Rate
Year: 2025
Difference: significant
Income & Purchasing Power: mixed signals
Belgium has the more favorable reading on Income Inequality (Gini Index), while Netherlands has it on GDP per Capita. Both are on the favorable side of the European benchmark for Income Inequality (Gini Index). Both are on the favorable side of the European benchmark for GDP per Capita.
Topic: Income & Purchasing Power
Primary indicator: Income Inequality (Gini Index)
Year: 2025
Difference: significant
Housing & Energy Costs: mixed signals
Belgium has the more favorable reading on Energy Poverty / Cold Homes, while Netherlands has it on Overcrowded Housing. Both are on the favorable side of the European benchmark for Energy Poverty / Cold Homes. Both are on the favorable side of the European benchmark for Overcrowded Housing.
Topic: Housing & Energy Costs
Primary indicator: Energy Poverty / Cold Homes
Year: 2025
Difference: significant
Quality of Life in Europe: more favorable reading for Netherlands
Netherlands has the more favorable reading on Material and Social Deprivation compared with Belgium. Both are on the favorable side of the European benchmark for Material and Social Deprivation.
Topic: Quality of Life in Europe
Primary indicator: Material and Social Deprivation
Year: 2025
Difference: significant