The Economy of Belgium

Belgium is a highly developed market economy and it belongs to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), a group of leading industrialized democracies.

With a geographic area about equal to that of Maryland, and a population of 10.4 million, Belgian per capita GDP ranks among the world’s highest although public debt remains high.

One of the world's most highly industrialized regions, Belgium was the first country to undergo an industrial revolution. Today, it depends a great deal on world trade because of high exports. About 75% of Belgium's trade is with fellow EU member states. Despite the lack of natural resources, Belgium has representation by most traditional industrial sectors such as steel, textiles, refining, chemicals, food processing, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, electronics, and machinery fabrication.

As part of the European Union, Belgium’s currency is the Euro.