Belgium: Population and Key Statistics
Belgium is a federal country of 11.7 million people made up of Flemish-speaking and French-speaking regions. As the seat of the European Union institutions and of NATO, its capital, Brussels, serves in practice as the political capital of Europe.
With the Port of Antwerp and an advanced logistics network, the country is one of the key junctions of European trade, and it is also strong in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Its urbanization rate of 98 percent is among the highest in the world.
Population (2025)
11.9 million
11,941,781 people
GDP (2025)
$725bn
nominal, current US dollars
GDP per capita
$60,750
Life expectancy
82.3
years
Area
30,689
km²
Population density
389
people/km²
Median age
41.9
Internet usage
95.8%
Military Strength
Military expenditure (2024)
$8.6bn
8,562 million dollars
Share of GDP
1.28%
NATO guideline: 2%
Share of government spending
2.36%
Spending per capita
$717
per year, per person
Armed forces (2020)
24 thousand
24,000 active personnel
Armed forces per 1,000 people
2.0
0.47% of the labor force
Expenditure figures come from SIPRI and personnel counts from the IISS, both distributed through the World Bank. Source years differ by indicator, so each figure is shown with its own year.
Data sourcesPopulation and social indicators: UN World Population Prospects, World BankEconomy: IMF World Economic Outlook, World BankMilitary: SIPRI and IISS, distributed through the World BankLast refreshed: 2026-08-26