Freedom in Belgium
Where Belgium sits on every statistic this site carries, each against the countries the same source covers. Belgium has a figure for 55 of 60 indicators.
Personal
What a person may say, believe, publish, join and where they may go.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freedom of expression | 0.969 | 2025 | 3 of 163 |
| Freedom of association | 0.896 | 2025 | 13 of 163 |
| Civil liberties | 0.955 | 2025 | 5 of 163 |
| Freedom from political violence | 0.981 | 2025 | 9 of 163 |
| Equal protection of rights | 0.962 | 2025 | 5 of 163 |
| Academic freedom | 0.946 | 2025 | 3 of 163 |
| Media censorship effort | 3.489 | 2025 | 1 of 163 |
| Harassment of journalists | 2.007 | 2025 | 19 of 163 |
| Media self-censorship | 3.040 | 2025 | 3 of 163 |
| Universal right to vote | 1.000 | 2025 | 9 of 167 |
| Legal rights for women | 100.0 | 2023 | 1 of 164 |
| Women can get a passport as men do | 1.000 | 2023 | 11 of 164 |
| Access to justice for women | 1.000 | 2025 | 5 of 163 |
| Access to justice for men | 1.000 | 2025 | 5 of 163 |
| Civil liberties score | 57.0 | 2025 | 11 of 167 |
| Political rights score | 38.0 | 2025 | 19 of 167 |
Economic
What a person may own, trade, earn and keep.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trade openness | 152.9% | 2025 | 9 of 125 |
| Tax revenue as a share of GDP | 23.0% | 2024 | 64 of 83 |
| Foreign investment inflows | -4.0% | 2025 | 85 of 87 |
| Regulatory quality | 74.5 | 2024 | 21 of 169 |
| GDP per capita | $63.5K | 2025 | 13 of 157 |
| GDP growth | 1.0% | 2025 | — |
| Inflation | 2.5% | 2025 | — |
| Unemployment | 5.9% | 2025 | 96 of 163 |
| Income inequality | 26.800 | 2023 | — |
| Extreme poverty | 0.1% | 2023 | 5 of 55 |
Digital
What a person may read, send and encrypt online, and who is watching.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Internet use | 95.8% | 2024 | 16 of 154 |
| Fixed broadband subscriptions | 44.2 | 2024 | 9 of 134 |
| Mobile subscriptions | 103.9 | 2024 | 98 of 134 |
Government
How power is held, checked and abused.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electoral democracy | 0.889 | 2025 | 3 of 163 |
| Liberal democracy | 0.794 | 2025 | 10 of 163 |
| Rule of law | 0.964 | 2025 | 16 of 163 |
| Judicial checks on government | 0.826 | 2025 | 45 of 163 |
| Legislative checks on government | 0.889 | 2025 | 29 of 157 |
| Political corruption | 0.031 | 2025 | 13 of 163 |
| Civil society participation | 0.947 | 2025 | 9 of 163 |
| Women’s political empowerment | 0.952 | 2025 | 2 of 163 |
| Voice and accountability | 83.1 | 2024 | 13 of 170 |
| Control of corruption | 77.6 | 2024 | 19 of 170 |
| Government effectiveness | 74.6 | 2024 | 23 of 169 |
| Political stability | 68.0 | 2024 | 66 of 170 |
Society
Health, schooling, safety and who takes part.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Human Development Index | 0.951 | 2023 | 9 of 165 |
| Life expectancy | 82.3 | 2024 | 19 of 170 |
| Health spending | 10.8% | 2023 | — |
| Health costs paid out of pocket | 21.5% | 2023 | 56 of 164 |
| Maternal mortality | 4.0 | 2023 | 14 of 167 |
| Women in parliament | 41.3% | 2025 | 21 of 156 |
| Women in the workforce | 49.8% | 2025 | — |
| Fertility rate | 1.44 | 2024 | — |
| Urban population | 87.7% | 2025 | — |
| Refugees who left | 0.8 | 2024 | 26 of 168 |
| Population | 11.9M | 2025 | — |
Environment
Energy, emissions and access to power.
| Statistic | Value | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| CO₂ emissions per person | 7.31 | 2024 | 139 of 165 |
| Renewable energy use | 11.7% | 2021 | 129 of 169 |
| Access to electricity | 100.0% | 2024 | 7 of 169 |
What is missing
5 of the 60 statistics here have no figure for Belgium in the year they were last ranked. Coverage differs by source: an indicator missing here is one its producer does not publish for Belgium, not a zero. Who publishes what